Department of History and Philosophy of Science

Return to: Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

The graduate program in the history and philosophy of science offers MA and PhD degrees through a combination of coursework and dissertation research. The department also offers an area of concentration in classics, philosophy and ancient science. The department supports scholarship in the history and philosophy of general science and in history and philosophy of particular sciences. It has special strengths in the history and philosophy of physical, biological, social, cognitive and neurosciences, and in ancient and 17th-century science. See http://www.hps.pitt.edu/graduate/areas.php.

Contact Information

Department Chair: Michael Dietrich
Main Office: 1101 Cathedral of Learning
412-624-5896
Fax: 412-624-6825
E-mail: mdietrich@pitt.edu
www.hps.pitt.edu

Admissions

Applicants for admission to the graduate program in history and philosophy of science will be expected to have a suitable undergraduate degree and to have some knowledge of the natural or social sciences. Applications are online. The deadline for completed applications is January 10. While the department awards both PhD and MA degrees, virtually all students are admitted into the PhD program.

Financial Assistance

Students in the PhD program are supported by fellowships or teaching assistantships/fellowships during their first six (6) years. The rates are set annually by the University. The department does not offer financial support to non-continuing MA students.

Degree Requirements

The graduate program consists of a series of seminars (approximately four to six are offered each term). These range from general surveys of the field and methods of research to specialized research seminars on selected topics in history and philosophy of science. These courses are divided into three areas:

• Area 1: Core sequence: a three-term introduction at the graduate level to history and philosophy of science
• Area 2: History of science
• Area 3: Philosophy of science

Faculty

Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences Faculty  

Programs

• History and Philosophy of Science, PhD

• History and Philosophy of Science, MA

Courses

• HPS 2497 - TEACHING PRACTICUM
• HPS 2501 - PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE CORE SEM
• HPS 2502 - HISTORY OF SCIENCE 1
• HPS 2503 - HISTORY OF SCIENCE 2
• HPS 2504 - HISTORY OF GENETICS: MENDEL TO METHYLATION
• HPS 2505 - PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF COGNITIVE SCIENCE
• HPS 2509 - SPECIAL TOPICS IN THE HISTORY OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE`
• HPS 2515 - PERSPECTIVES IN HISTORY OF SCIENCE
• HPS 2519 - CONTROVERSY, CRISIS, AND CONSENSUS
• HPS 2520 - NEWTON
• HPS 2521 - HISTORY OF PARTICLE PHYSICS
• HPS 2522 - SPEC TOPICS-HISTORY OF SCIENCE
• HPS 2527 - ORGANIZATION, LEVELS AND EMERGENCE
• HPS 2530 - READING SEM HIST OF SCIENCE
• HPS 2531 - FREUD AND PSYCHOANALYSIS
• HPS 2532 - HISTORY OF OLD QUANTUM THEORY
• HPS 2533 - DESCARTES
• HPS 2540 - LOCKE AND LEIBNIZ
• HPS 2541 - HISTORY OF NEUROSCIENCES
• HPS 2547 - ARISTOTLE’S PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
• HPS 2555 - ARISTOTLE’S CONCEPT OF NATURAL SCIENCE
• HPS 2559 - THERMDYNMC AND STATISCAL MECHANC
• HPS 2562 - PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS
• HPS 2565 - THE GENE:TRANSFRM/FRAGMNT CONCPT
• HPS 2571 - GOING MOLECULAR
• HPS 2580 - MODERN COSMOLOGY
• HPS 2590 - EINSTEIN 1905
• HPS 2622 - RECENT TOPICS IN PHIL OF SCIENCE
• HPS 2626 - TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS
• HPS 2627 - PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS
• HPS 2633 - PHILOSOPHY OF COGNITIVE SCIENCE
• HPS 2634 - TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY OF COGNITIVE SCIENCE
• HPS 2635 - CENTRAL PROBLEMS IN SYSTEMS NEUROSCI
• HPS 2643 - PHILOSOPHY OF CLIMATE SCIENCE
• HPS 2646 - TOPICS IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY
• HPS 2649 - SCIENCE AND VALUES
• HPS 2650 - PHILOSOPHY OF PSYCHIATRY
• HPS 2653 - MODELS AND MODELING IN SCIENCE
• HPS 2657 - PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY
• HPS 2658 - PHILOSOPHY OF MEDICINE
• HPS 2660 - CAUSALITY
• HPS 2663 - PERCEPTION
• HPS 2665 - PHILOSOPHY OF MEDICINE
• HPS 2666 - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
• HPS 2667 - PHILOSOPHY OF QUANTUM MECHANICS
• HPS 2668 - TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY
• HPS 2669 - REALISM
• HPS 2673 - STUDIES IN ARISTOTLE
• HPS 2679 - PHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS
• HPS 2680 - READING SEM IN PHIL OF SCIENCE
• HPS 2681 - AUTHORITY: POLITICAL & SCIENTIFIC
• HPS 2682 - THEORIES OF CONFIRMATION
• HPS 2687 - THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF EXPERIMENTAL PRACTICES
• HPS 2690 - HISTORY AND PHIL OF PSYCHOLOGY
• HPS 2699 - EXPERIMENT & SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE
• HPS 2720 - PRAGMATISM
• HPS 2902 - PRE MA DIRECTED STUDY
• HPS 2990 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
• HPS 2999 - PROSPECTUS RESEARCH
• HPS 3000 - DISSERTATION RESEARCH
• HPS 3902 - ADVANCED DIRECTED STUDY

Return to: Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences