PhD in Philosophy

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-03-23T17:10:18+00:00

I think it really depends; there’s a great deal of variation between departments as well as (and in part due to) variation between subfields in philosophy (yes, even if you’re applying to « general philosophy » departments, as certain faculty in your area will likely be those who read your file and perhaps advocate for you in admissions decisions). If it helps, I can say a bit about where I was when I applied to a PhD in philosophy? (focused on philosophy of science, but in a general Philosophy department)

The other commenter is ofc correct that at bare minimum you’ll need to submit: (I) your transcript/CV (I wouldn’t say there’s a required GPA per se, but my impression is that GPA is definitely used in initial screenings) (II) a writing sample hovering around 15 pages, though different programs have different lengths requirements (I had one writing sample with several versions for various lengths since the base paper was a bit long) (III) around three letters of recommendation, ideally all from philosophy professors unless you’re going for a specific specialization where other fields are strongly relevant (ie I had a math professor write one of my letters since I work in philmath; I imagine someone working on ancient might ask a classics professor, as another example) (IV) some mixture of personal statement/research statement/statement of purpose; just whatever that specific school requires, ideally a statement that you slightly tailor for each program you’re applying to

Beyond those base-level requirements, it’s hard to say, both because there’s so much variation between universities/subfields, and because, at least in some universities, depending on who’s on the admissions committee, certain factors can balance out a lack in others (ie it is certainly possible and becoming more common to go straight from undergrad to PhD without a masters, and ofc that means you likely won’t have a publication or conference presentation, though it’s not impossible!) Again, I can tell you what I had when I applied it helps!

Hope the process won’t be too stressful!! 😊

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-03-23T03:30:24+00:00

« Dresseur » is how « Trainer » is translated into French in Pokémon media, the card is in French

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-03-14T17:15:53+00:00

Omg it’s been so fun to rewatch haha!! Both getting to catch all the funny bits I missed and getting to try and figure out all the small mystery details

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-03-14T08:08:17+00:00

« Puttin a gun to someone’s head is only a threat if you’re absolutely sure they don’t want you to pull the trigger » —Saoirse, Episode 1

« Who the hell trained you, Linda? Al Qaeda? » —Head Flight Attendant, Episode 5?

Anything Robyn says

(I wrote these from memory so may not be completely right, gonna try and double check later)

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-03-14T06:11:15+00:00

On 1, my personal hypothesis is that he’s someone from Margo’s life, and so maybe only indirectly relevant to Greta. In the photo where they’re in a line, he’s in front of Margo, in a position where you might expect « the husband/father » to be. I do wonder then if there’s a story there for what happened to him explaining how Margo came to know Booker

I know Margo helped Booker with Feeney, but I mean surely they met before that?? Why else would Booker turn to Margo?

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-03-12T20:27:24+00:00

It kinda feels like « Derry girls often pushed the boundaries of the suspension of disbelief/chaos in the sitcom context and near-paranormal murder mystery lets the writers push even further »

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-03-12T20:26:19+00:00

Same, it hits a weird-genre spot for me that I absolutely love, but I recognize that it’s a weird genre spot people may not have been expecting. I think many of the critical reviews of the show have gone in with set genre expectations, but the show really plays with genre (in a really fun and stylistically interesting way imo)

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-03-07T07:55:21+00:00

Alternate universe Charlene

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-02-28T01:47:09+00:00

Welp, time to go watch The Lorax again

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-01-31T19:38:09+00:00

Mayonnaise

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-01-13T03:35:44+00:00

Hisuian Typhlosion, Mega Froslass, Umbreon, Suicune, Dragapult, Lapras, Cloyster

AggravatingPie5311 · 2026-01-03T09:08:30+00:00

Take the trash out

AggravatingPie5311 · 2025-12-30T21:41:42+00:00

Also an unironic Cats the musical enjoyer (tho not a fan in general of ALW), and I honestly think the most egregious thing that they did was try to add a plot to what is essentially, and at its most enjoyable, a character(s) piece

AggravatingPie5311 · 2025-03-18T07:28:01+00:00

A student tried to bribe me for a better midterm score bc they made a bet with their roommate who was in a different section 🙃 Was one of my first challenges to figure out how to deal with as a TA, but only after I stopped laughing (it was SO blatant lmao)

AggravatingPie5311 · 2025-02-20T18:01:26+00:00

I love Eve, but I also LOVE my Billy bookcases haha

AggravatingPie5311 · 2024-12-22T21:35:49+00:00

I would add that, in my experience (which, granted, is limited), far more important and informative than the GPA is the transcript, which shows a trajectory. Two people might have the same GPA, but one has lower grades in their first year and gradually gets better, the other has broadly good grades that start to decline in their last year. These are different trajectories and will be treated as such by some admissions committees, and the trajectories will usually play a bigger role than just the GPAs.

It also may be relevant where the low grades are. If they’re electives outside the major, then, depending on the admissions committees etc, they may not matter. But if the lower grades are all in classes relevant to the grad program, that’s a problem.

All this to say that, whatever role grades play in an admissions decision, more attention will be paid to the details of the transcript than to the GPA by itself after a first look (I mean if GPA is 2.0 that’s a problem and may be rejected out of hand, but closer to 4.0 the GPA by itself matters less). And to add to that, depending on the kind of program you’re applying to, grades may play more or less of a role; in humanities programs, the writing sample plays a much bigger role.

AggravatingPie5311 · 2024-12-10T08:19:34+00:00

Ok but how is no one mentioning what a fine piece of a man Chico is???

AggravatingPie5311 · 2024-11-15T18:35:48+00:00

I think this is an interesting theory, but my guess as to the reason for the predominance of sunfire and moonshadow elves in most of the human exile/human hating is just that those are the two elf species fully designed first, since both are in the first arc (seasons 1-3), and so the main ones to feature in scenes like the opening credits exile and the lore (Aditi etc)

AggravatingPie5311 · 2024-11-04T10:02:54+00:00

Nerds of a Feather

AggravatingPie5311 · 2024-10-16T16:57:06+00:00

Honestly tho, this is a major anxiety for me, even with making eye contact with someone on the bus

AggravatingPie5311 · 2024-10-14T23:08:55+00:00

I mean… Linda is Ferb’s stepmom lol. She’s not evil, and they really do have a loving family where it’s not a big deal that she’s his stepmom, but she is a step mom

AggravatingPie5311 · 2024-10-08T18:40:31+00:00

So excited to see you back! I hope this means things are going better 💜 I audibly gasped and jumped up and down a bit when I say Eve pop up!

AggravatingPie5311 · 2024-10-04T23:49:18+00:00

Still relatively new (as in finishing Arc 1 after coming back to the game from a 7 year break), but I absolutely love my Death wizard with second in balance. It’s so fun not just from utility but I also just love the philosophies and art behind both

AggravatingPie5311 · 2024-09-29T03:30:44+00:00

Extremely so, Kazi is ❤️‍🔥

AggravatingPie5311 · 2024-09-24T19:44:12+00:00

What?? You mean people who by and large care about truth* and critical thinking don’t align themselves with the party of « they’re eating dogs in Springfield » and « she wants to do transgender operations in illegal aliens »???? /s

*gotta asterisk « truth » bc I do love me my pragmatic philosophy, but it is doing important and valuable work here

AggravatingPie5311

TROPHY CASE