1.1 Application Procedures

A. Deadlines for application:

  • For US applicants: December 30
  • For International applicants: December 30

 B. Required supporting material:

  • A Curriculum Vita/Resume of no more than 2 pages (if you want to be considered for a University fellowship)
  • A personal statement (no more than 1 page)
  • A writing sample: a paper on a philosophical topic
  • 3 letters of recommendation
  • Transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions attended
  • GRE scores are not required
  • TOEFL (if your native language is not English)

C. Request that your 3 references submit their letters of recommendation electronically

  • If they agree to submit letters electronically, you will need to supply their email addresses on the application form. Emails will then be sent to your references with directions about how to upload the letters online.
  • Should your letter writers be unwilling to submit their letters on line, provide them with the letter of recommendation forms that you will find on the apply-online web site. Please provide them also with envelopes addressed to the Director of Graduate Admissions in our department (see second address below).

D. Apply on line

  • Fill out and submit your application form on line, uploading with it the file which contains your CV, personal statement, and writing sample.
  • If your references have agreed to submit their letters electronically, check the appropriate boxes on the application form and supply their email addresses.
  • If you need financial assistance, check both the "Graduate School Fellowship" and the "Teaching Associateship" boxes on the Admission Application form.
  • Your application is not complete until the Department of Philosophy has received the application and all supporting material. The Department will automatically receive the online application and supporting material uploaded with the application. You must arrange to have mailed to the department any supporting material that you have not uploaded with your application.

E. Applicants now have the option to upload transcripts when they submit their application, or they can email transcripts to us at gpadocs@osu.edu if they have already applied. The images need to be of actual transcripts, not advising reports or web printouts.

If you need to mail the paper copy, all applicants (Domestic and International) 

It is:

Graduate Admissions Office
P.O. Box 182004
Columbus OH   43218-2004

PLEASE NOTE:

  • Use the departmental address for letters of recommendation that are not submitted online.
  • Use the departmental address for sending hard copies of any other supporting material that you have not uploaded with your application.

F. Checklist:

  1. Request letters of recommendation from three professors well in advance of the deadline of application. Request that they submit the letters online and explain that if they agree to do so, they will receive an email from OSU Graduate Admissions Office explaining how to do so. If they do not want to submit the letters online, provide them with the letter of recommendation forms (found on the apply-online web site) with envelopes addressed to the Director of Graduate Admissions in the Department of Philosophy (second address above).
     
  2. If you wish to submit GRE scores, take the the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) at least six weeks in advance of the deadline of application. General test information and registration are available on line at: www.ets.org/  Arrange to have the test scores sent to Graduate Admissions Office.
     
  3. If your native language is not English: The Educational Testing Service no longer offers the TSE, rather it has been wrapped into the Internet Based Toefl (IbT) test.   The Graduate School and the Spoken English program made a rule Fall 2010 that if an applicant scores a speaking score of 28 on the IbT they are exempted from the on-campus Speak test.  One can still take a speak test once on campus, but they would have to already be admitted and on campus to take it.
     
  4. Upload your transcript at the time you apply.  If you need to send it electronically send it to: gpadocs@osu.edu or send physical copy to address listed above under F.
  5. Prepare your personal statement, i.e. a brief (one-page) statement of your academic goals; include information concerning your background, interest, and motivation for graduate work in philosophy
  6. Prepare your writing sample: paper on a philosophical topic. This paper may be a revised version of one you have submitted for a course or a paper you have written especially for this occasion.
  7. If you would like to be considered for a University Fellowship, prepare a Curriculum Vita/Resume of not more than two pages
  8. Fill out and submit an application on line, uploading as an attachment the file with your supporting material.
    • If you need financial assistance, check both the "Graduate School Fellowship" and the "Teaching Associateship" boxes on the Admission Application form.
       
  9. Your application is not complete until the Department of Philosophy has received the application and all supporting material. The Department will automatically receive the online application and supporting material uploaded with the application. You must arrange to have mailed to the department any required supporting material that you have not uploaded with your application.
G. Decisions to accept or decline an admissions offer is required by April 15th. 
 
H. The department admits only applicants to whom it offers some form of financial aid (such as a fellowship or graduate teaching associateship).
 
I. Applicants whose native language is not English The university requires official TOEFL or IELTS scores from applicants:
  • whose native language is not English,
  • who have been educated primarily outside of the U.S., or
  • who have held U.S. permanent resident, asylee or refugee status for less than one year from the first term of enrollment.

To be official, score results must be received directly from the testing agency (ETS or IELTS) by your application deadline.

Exemptions

Applicants who are citizens of, or who have received a bachelor’s degree or higher from, one of the following countries are exempt from the English proficiency requirement: Australia, Belize, the British Caribbean and British West Indies, Canada (except Quebec), England, Guyana, Ireland, Liberia, New Zealand, Scotland, the United States and Wales.
 

J. Application fees cannot be waived, postponed, or paid by the department on the applicant's behalf.
 

Next page: Admissions Guidelines