Robbins Library Notes

Good morning, readers!

Late last year, I wrote a post about applying to graduate school in philosophy. While doing some other research a few days ago, I came across three columns by Thomas H. Benton from the Chronicle of Higher Education, arguing that one should not apply to graduate school in the humanities.  I was a bit taken aback at first; yet, the more I read these columns over, the more his arguments made sense to me.

You, reader, might be asking yourself, “Now why is offering these to us?”  I do so to help the would-be applicant to graduate studies in philosophy make an informed decision, with all of the issues involved considered thoroughly.  In doing so, I’m not trying to steer the applicant to answer the question in one way or another.  As I noted in my earlier post:

Should one apply to graduate studies in philosophy?  That’s a good question, and a big question, one which only the would-be applicant can answer for her- or himself.

Thus — again — I’m not telling a would-be applicant that they should not consider graduate study in philosophy.  Instead, I’m urging them to remember that it’s good to consider the pros of applying to graduate school, but also to weigh the cons in as well.  There are some very strong reasons to apply to graduate school in philosophy, and there are very strong reason to not apply to graduate school in philosophy.  It is for this reason that I offer you these three columns, to give them as clear, honest, and broad a picture of graduate life and study

You’ll need a Harvard PIN and ID to access these columns:

• So You Want to Go to Grad School? (Chronicle, 6/3/2003)
• Graduate School in the Humanities: Just Don’t Go (Chronicle, 1/30/2009)
• Just Don’t Go, Part 2 (Chronicle, 3/13/2009)

Thoughts, readers?