We do not typically grant transfer of graduate credits earned at other institutions except in unusual circumstances. Requests for transfer of graduate credits earned elsewhere must be submitted to the Graduate Committee and will be judged on their individual merits, subject to the following conditions:
- These courses generally must be taken in an accredited graduate program in philosophy and must be substantially similar in scope, content, and degree of difficulty to graduate courses that are usually offered (or are likely to be offered) at Ohio State.
- No more than 4 courses taken at another university may be used to satisfy distribution requirements at Ohio State, with no more than 2 courses in a given distribution area so counting.
- Decisions on whether courses taken at other universities will count as having satisfied distribution requirements at Ohio State will be decided by the faculty members of the Graduate Committee upon petition.
- The Graduate School will count as many as 45 transfer credits toward a Ph.D., provided the Graduate Committee approves. Yet at most 20 of these credits will satisfy Departmental distribution requirements.
- Students entering with advanced graduate credit or a master's degree from another institution will be required to take the Candidacy Examination.
In addition, we encourage our Ph.D. students to consider the value of earning supplementary master's or professional degrees in other Departments or colleges of the University. An additional year of funding may be available to our students working toward such outside degrees. Requests for an additional year of funding should be submitted to the Graduate Committee and will be judged on their individual merits.
Obtaining an outside degree frequently has the following advantages: it enables students to obtain skills and knowledge necessary or advantageous for their doctoral dissertations; it complements and contributes to the student's philosophy research; it broadens expertise so that graduates are better qualified for traditional academic as well as non-academic positions. Special programs, jointly designed by the graduate Advisor and the student, are subject to the approval of the Graduate Committee. The approved program may include modifications of Departmental degree requirements.
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