A good M.A. program will provide many benefits: it will allow a student to get a basic grounding in philosophy or expand the breadth of her existing knowledge, develop increased familiarity with current debates in philosophy, prepare and polish written work in philosophy that will be useful in the applications process for Ph.D. programs and get to know some established philosophers who can then provide meaningful letters of recommendation for Ph.D. programs.
Among terminal M.A. programs offered by schools that do not grant the Ph.D., the top program in the country (in terms of faculty reputation) is Tufts University. After Tufts, several other terminal MA programs have very strong faculties: Brandeis University; Georgia State University; and Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Other terminal M.A. programs with strong faculties include Northern Illinois University; University of Houston; San Francisco State University; and University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Other M.A. programs also worth considering for students with the right interests include California State University, Long Beach; California State University, Los Angeles; Colorado State University (esp. for applied ethics); Ohio University; Texas Tech University; University of Missouri, St. Louis; and Western Michigan University.
Some of these programs do have specific areas of expertise and emphasis, though most can offer a broad exposure to the discipline. Georgia State is one of the few major M.A. programs with a lot to offer students interested in Kant and post-Kantian Continental philosophy, but at the same time is quite strong in cognitive science and experimental philosophy (as well as legal and political philosophy). Virginia Tech has a lot to offer those interested in history and philosophy of science, among other areas. Look carefully at the faculties and their interests when deciding where to apply.
Students should investigate the success of all M.A. programs in placing their students in top Ph.D. programs. A number of terminal M.A. programs now publish placement information on their website. Students should ask those that do not for comparable data.
Another important consideration when looking at terminal M.A. programs is that of whether they offer a waiver or partial waiver of tuition and fees and a stipend. While this can be expected in Ph.D. programs, this is not so for M.A. programs—many of which are intended to generate revenue for the institution. For some philosophy departments the M.A. program is their only way of staying afloat in the wake of the drastic drop in philosophy majors. Before considering attending a terminal M.A. program, students should ask what sort of tuition waiver and stipend they can expect if admitted. Georgia State has a model site providing this information (http://philosophy.gsu.edu/graduate/admissions/funding/), and students should request comparable data.
Many U.s. schools with a Ph.D. programs also have a terminal M.A. program. Students should be more wary of the M.A. programs at schools that grant the Ph.D. These programs are even less likely to offer a waiver of tuition and fees and a stipend. Furthermore, M.A. students often take a back seat to the Ph.D. students (in terms of faculty attention), and students with weak philosophy backgrounds may find the pace and level of seminars geared to Ph.D. students daunting. Students considering M.A. programs in top-ranked Ph.D.-granting institutions should investigate the situation of M.A. students at the school carefully before enrolling. However, some Ph.D. programs that are less highly ranked, but still have strong faculties, may in fact turn out to be very good choices for the M.A.
Many students also report having had a good experience by applying for the B.Phil. or equivalent degrees at various schools in the UK—Oxford, St. Andrews, LSE, UCL, are among the attractive choices—before applying to Ph.D. programs.
The Canadian graduate education system (like the British one) is structured somewhat differently than the U.S. Most Canadian PhD programs do offer a terminal M.A. program as well, and some Ph.D. programs (such as Calgary, Dalhousie, and Simon Fraser) have thriving terminal M.A. programs, whose graduates often go on to Ph.D. programs elsewhere (including in the U.S.). In addition, the University of Victoria has a reputable terminal M.A. program only (no Ph.D.).
Finally, we encourage potential graduate students to contact the current graduate students and visit the program if possible. This goes for stand-alone terminal M.A. programs or M.A. programs housed in departments with Ph.D. programs. In the time of distance learning, remote working, and video communications and conferencing, it should be easy to meet with people to get a sense of what a department is like rather than relying just on websites and emails.
谁应该考虑攻读哲学硕士（M.A.）项目？有三类学生可能会从这样的项目中受益，ta 们最终希望获得博士学位（Ph.D.）并追求学术事业： (i) 本科专业不是哲学的学生； (ii) 在非主流哲学系攻读哲学专业的学生； (iii) 攻读哲学专业、在各个领域有扎实基础，但在小型学院或学术声誉较弱的机构学习哲学的学生（学生应咨询 ta 们所在的院系，以了解 ta 们的毕业生是否能够进入 ta 们所选择的博士项目）。每一类学生都有可能进入 ta 们所选择的博士项目；但符合以上这些类别的学生可能更容易在进入博士项目时遇到困难，因而或许是能够从哲学硕士项目中受益的良好人选。
一个好的哲学硕士项目将提供诸多好处：它将使学生能够获得哲学的基础训练，或扩展 ta 们现有知识的广度，增加对当前哲学辩论的熟悉程度，准备并润色在申请博士项目时有用的哲学书面作品，并结识一些已经拥有声誉的哲学家，这些人可以为博士项目提供有意义的推荐信。
在不授予博士学位的 terminal M.A. programs 中，全国顶尖项目（就教员声誉而言）是塔夫茨大学（Tufts University）。在塔夫茨之后，还有几个 terminal M.A. programs 拥有非常强大的教员队伍：布兰迪斯大学（Brandeis University）、乔治亚州立大学（Georgia State University）和弗吉尼亚理工大学（Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University）。其他一些强大的 terminal M.A. programs还包括北伊利诺伊大学（Northern Illinois University）、休斯顿大学（University of Houston）、旧金山州立大学（San Francisco State University）和威斯康星大学密尔沃基分校（University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee）。对于有匹配兴趣的学生，还有其他值得考虑的硕士项目，包括加州州立大学长滩分校（California State University, Long Beach）、加州州立大学洛杉矶分校（California State University, Los Angeles）、科罗拉多州立大学（Colorado State University，尤其是在应用伦理方面）、俄亥俄大学（Ohio University）、德克萨斯理工大学（Texas Tech University）、密苏里大学圣路易斯分校（University of Missouri, St. Louis）和西密歇根大学（Western Michigan University）。
这些项目有特定的专业领域和重点（尽管其中的大多数项目都可以提供对这一学科的广泛接触）。乔治亚州立大学是少数几个主要硕士项目之一，非常适合对康德及后康德大陆哲学感兴趣的学生，同时在认知科学与实验哲学（以及法律和政治哲学）方面也拥有很强的实力。维吉尼亚理工大学则在科学史与科学哲学等领域提供丰富资源。请申请者在决定申请时，仔细查看教员及其研究兴趣。
学生应调查所有硕士项目在将学生 placing 到顶尖博士项目的成功率。一些 terminal M.A. programs 现在会在其网站上发布 placement 信息。学生应向未发布此类信息的项目询问此类数据。
在考虑 terminal M.A. programs 时，另一个重要的因素是它们是否提供学费和费用的减免或部分减免以及津贴。虽然在博士项目中可以期待这一点，但硕士项目通常并不如此——其中许多项目旨在为机构创造收入。对于一些哲学系来说，硕士项目是它们在哲学专业人数急剧下降后维持生存的唯一方式。在考虑参加 terminal M.A. programs 之前，学生应询问如果被录取，能期待哪些类型的学费减免和津贴。乔治亚州立大学有一个提供此信息的示范网站（http://philosophy.gsu.edu/graduate/admissions/funding/），学生需要申请获取此类数据。
在美国，许多拥有博士项目的学校也设有 terminal M.A. programs。学生应该对那些授予博士学位的学校的硕士项目保持更加谨慎的态度。这些项目更不可能提供学费和费用的减免以及生活津贴。此外，硕士生在师资关注度上通常处于劣势，而背景薄弱的哲学学生可能会发现以博士生为主的研讨会的节奏和水平令 ta 们感到压力。考虑在顶尖的博士授予机构申请硕士项目的学生，在入学前应该仔细调查该校硕士生的情况。一些排名较低但师资力量仍然强大的博士项目，实际上可能是硕士生的绝佳选择。
许多学生还反映说，ta 们在申请英国各所学校的 B.Phil. 或同等学位（如牛津大学、圣安德鲁斯大学、伦敦政治经济学院、伦敦大学学院等）后，再申请博士项目时有过良好的经历。
加拿大的研究生教育体系（和英国一样）在结构上与美国有所不同。大多数加拿大的博士项目也提供 terminal M.A. programs，一些博士项目（如卡尔加里大学、达尔豪斯大学和西蒙菲莎大学）拥有蓬勃发展的 terminal M.A. programs，其毕业生往往会进入其他地方（包括美国）的博士项目。此外，维多利亚大学仅提供有声望的 terminal M.A. programs（没有博士项目）。
最后，我们鼓励潜在的研究生联系已入学的研究生，并在可能的情况下参观了解该项目。这适用于独立的 terminal M.A. programs 或设在博士项目院系内的硕士项目。在远程学习、远程工作以及视频通讯和会议的时代，应该很容易与人会面，并以此了解一个院系的真实情况，而不是仅仅依赖于网站和电子邮件。
本期编辑：分析哲学练习生
