The Department of Philosophy is planning to launch a two-year master’s program in the fall 2028 semester to teach a range of topics, including ethical theory, normative and applied ethics and applied –or everyday– philosophy.
According to Jennifer Kling, the head of the philosophy department and an associate professor, the program stemmed from high student demand.
“We’ve had a number of our majors say, ‘Hey, I really want to do graduate work in philosophy. Can I do that here?’ And we’ve had to say over and over again, unfortunately, no,” Kling said.
According to Kling, the goal is to equip students with the necessary skills to thrive in a variety of professional fields. The curriculum will give students the opportunity to study topics in-depth they may have only briefly covered during their undergraduate years.
The program will emphasize professional development, including a Proto Seminar where students will develop strong workplace skills in philosophy, such as proper participation in meetings, project management and development as well as syllabus development.
A master’s in philosophy can prepare students for many careers in academia and further graduate study. Many philosophy graduate students are interested in becoming professors, according to Kling.
It will take approximately two years to graduate with students taking four to five courses a semester.
In addition to the traditional path, Kling said the philosophy department hopes to launch a 4+1 path for undergraduate students to obtain their bachelor’s and master’s degrees within 5 years. The program would involve students beginning graduate courses their senior year and curating their thesis in the fifth year.
Creating a new program is a long process that involves edits and feedback at every level of the university system, including the department head, dean’s office, provost and Board of Regents. However, Kling strongly believes that this degree would move the school in a positive direction.
“I think it’s a great way to grow our campus. [Students] want to stay here, and ideally, we attract other students who say, ‘I love living [in Colorado Springs]. I want to go further in humanities,’ and we want to be able to say, ‘yeah, come hang out,’” Kling said.
Although UCCS would be the first university with a philosophy master’s in southern Colorado, it would not be the first in the CU system. CU Boulder has a traditional path, and CU Denver offers the 4+1 program.
Because the program is still under development, admission requirements are unknown, but students who would like to learn more can contact Kling via email at [email protected].
Philosophy books. Photo by Karl Raymund Catabas on Unsplash.