What Distinguishes Bowling Green's Graduate Program?

• A history of innovation in the development of programs in applied philosophy
  
• A faculty with extra-philosophical interests and backgrounds, e.g., economics, political science, law, business, medicine, the environment, religion, the arts, biology, and cognitive sciences
  
• A willingness to encourage students to pursue cross-disciplinary interests (More below)
  
• A large concentration of faculty with specialization in moral and political philosophy
  
• An atmosphere of collegiality that encourages dialogue among faculty and students
  
• An established program of visiting scholars and annual conferences supported by the Social Philosophy and Policy Center (More below)
  
• Innovative internships which encourage firsthand investigation of the real-life situations that engender philosophical discussion

Cross-Disciplinary Studies

The department encourages graduate students to undertake cross-disciplinary studies whenever courses in other departments and programs bear on their research. The Department has curricular ties of one kind or another to several departments and cross-disciplinary programs.

A variety of topics in applied ethics can better be understood if the theoretical approaches and empirical results of other disciplines are taken into account. Students working in environmental ethics might benefit from studying related issues in courses in environmental policy, for example. Students in medical ethics might want to take courses in public health. Courses in Women's Studies are relevant to work in many areas of moral philosophy.

Research in philosophy of biology can benefit from relevant course work in the biological sciences. Students doing research in aesthetics might benefit from taking courses in music and American Culture Studies. Students studying issues in feminism should consider enrolling in related courses in Women's Studies.

The Director of Graduate Studies and interested faculty will assist students to design appropriate curricula.

The Social Philosophy and Policy Center

The Social Philosophy and Policy Center supports research in political philosophy and its application to issues in public policy.  The Center encourages an interdisciplinary approach to policy questions, drawing not only on factual research but on the resources of ethical analysis, economics, jurisprudence, political science, history, and related fields.  The Center's conferences bring together leading scholars from around the world to discuss original academic research on ethical and philosophical questions underlying public policy controversies.  Several faculty members in the Philosophy Department hold continuing appointments with the Center as Senior Research Fellows, and each semester the Center supports selected graduate students in philosophy who serve as research assistants to Center Scholars.  Its publication program includes the interdisciplinary journal Social Philosophy & Policy, published by Cambridge University Press.

Visiting Scholars

The intellectual environment is enriched through annual conferences sponsored by the department and by the Social Philosophy and Policy Center, the Center's Visiting Scholar's Program, and a lively colloquium series.

Department of Philosophy
305 Shatzel Hall,
Bowling Green State University,
Bowling Green, OH 43403.

Phone: 419-372-2117
Fax: 419-372-8191
Email: mdeluca@bgnet.bgsu.edu