Candidate of Philosophy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Candidate of Philosophy is any of the following academic degrees: a Bachelor's level, Master's level, higher than Master's level, or Doctorate level degree, depending on the country.
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[edit] In the United States
The usual practice in the United States is for a graduate student working toward a doctorate to earn a Master's degree (usually Master of Arts or Master of Science) in course after about two years of coursework. In many universities, a student who has completed all of the coursework, all of the comprehensive examinations in the subject and all of the language examination requirements, and whose dissertation topic has been approved - in short, who has fulfilled all requirements for the doctorate except the writing and defense of the dissertation itself - may be awarded a Master of Philosophy degree, beyond the Master of Arts or Master of Science already earned. In other universities, such students used the informal designation of Ph.D. (ABD), for "All But Dissertation," not an actual degree but an informal convention.
A very few schools actually designate such students Candidatus Philosophiae or Candidate in Philosophy, abbreviated C.Phil. as a formal status.
[edit] Universities offering the C.Phil.
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of California, San Diego
[edit] Europe and United Kingdom
The C.Phil is broadly similar to the Master of Philosophy and Master of Research degrees in the United Kingdom, which may also contain the prerequisite taught work needed for the doctorate. However, it is unusual for those degrees to be routinely awarded as part of a Ph.D. programme.
The European licentiate is similar to the UK degree, in the respect that it requires the coursework of a doctorate, but a less extensive dissertation.
[edit] Other meanings
The Candidate of Philosophy is the lowest academic degree, essentially the same as a Bachelor's degree, in several countries. For example, Finland and Sweden give these degrees, which are, however, usually translated as "Bachelor". In Finnish, this is filosofian kandidaatti. Like "Doctor of Philosophy", this degree doesn't necessarily imply specialization in theoretical philosophy, but is awarded in a variety of sciences.
In Finland, formerly the undergraduate degree in natural sciences (cf. Bachelor) was called luonnontieteiden kandidaatti "Candidate of Natural Sciences", and the graduate degree (cf. Master) was called filosofian kandidaatti. (See fi:Kandidaatti)
Notice also that a "Candidate of Philosophy", Kandidat, is a doctorate degree in Russia and CIS countries (i.e. ex-Soviet Union).
