Individuals concurrently enrolled in other doctoral programs of the University may seek to earn a non-research HPS master's degree in order to complement their doctoral studies.
The non-research HPS M.A. degree requires the completion of 36 hours of coursework. Students may count up to nine hours of coursework toward both degree programs, subject to approval by the director of HPS, and the director of graduate studies in the other program.
There is flexibility in which courses are taken and the HPS program director will work to make courses fit a student's needs. To be eligible for HPS credit, these courses must bear in significant ways on the concerns of history and philosophy of science.
Requirements for the HPS M.A. degree may be completed at any time during the student's graduate career. For more information, please contact HPS Program Director Katherine Brading at kbrading@nd.edu.
Requirements for the non-research degree
36 hours of coursework
Core courses - There is flexibility about how many and which are taken
- 1 course in philosophy of science
- 2 courses in history of science
- 2 courses in the history of the philosophy of science
Electives - The rest of the credit hours will be electives. Some possibilities are:
- History of science courses
- Philosophy of science courses
- Science courses
- Directed reading with HPS faculty member
Reading knowledge in one foreign language (ordinarily French or German)
A one-hour oral examination, based on coursework
Recent course titles and themes
- Environmental Ethics
- Managing Ignorance
- Scientific Revolutions
- History and Foundations of Quantum Theory
- Philosophy of Science & Public Policy
- Science in Literature
- History of Economics
- Biomedical Ethics
- Science & Social Values
