Candidate of Philosophy
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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.
The University of California began offering the Candidate in Philosophy degree in the early seventies, but most campuses discontinued the practice before the end of that decade.
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, Davis
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of California, San Diego
- University of California, San Francisco
- University of California, Santa Barbara
[edit] Europe
The C.Phil is broadly similar to some degrees found in Europe.
[edit] UK
- The Master of Philosophy and Master of Research degrees in the United Kingdom. The Master of Research typically contains taught work similar to the prerequisite needed for the doctorate in the US and is pursued as a stand alone degree. Ph.D. students by contrast are typically registered for a Master of Philosophy and have their registration upgraded after making satisfactory progress (usually after the first year). Failure to upgrade or a judgement of insufficient original contribution at the examination stage can result in the student being awarded or offered the opportunity to re-submit for the lower M.Phil. degree instead. The MPhil degrees at many (though by no means all) UK universities has traditionally been considered a 'consolation' degrees (for failed PhDs), though there are signs that this pattern may slowly be changing, and that MPhil and MRes degrees are becoming valued in themselves, largely because of UK Research Council imperatives regarding research training and funding. It is unusual for both the MPhil and PhD degree to be awarded as part of a Ph.D. programme. (Note, however, that at the University of Cambridge, the MPhil degree is a one year taught degree qualification, not normally a research degree. Graduates who go on to PhD study may therefore earn both a MPhil and a PhD.)
[edit] Sweden
- In Sweden and some other European countries the licentiate is a similar 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).
