Everyday Ethics

Most of the initial PhD decisions have now been released, and prospective students across the nation are trying to make the difficult decision of where to continue their philosophical careers.  One of the best ways to get a feel for a program is the campus visit, and we’ve prepared a list of helpful tips to maximize your experience so that you can make the best decision possible.

1.  Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Money-This year has been especially tough for many programs, and not everyone has the extra money to pay for prospective students to come and visit.  However, the only way to find out if a program will help pay for your visit is to ask them.  Remember, if a program has offered you admission, you are now in the power position; they have revealed that they want you.  It’s expensive to fly out, eat, and stay somewhere just to check out a program that you might want to go to.  There’s no reason not to ask for some help in paying for all of this, and if a program is really interested, they will likely try to help you out in some way.  Further, if a program can’t afford to pay for a visit, it suggests that they are not as financially blessed as a program that can pay for visits.  If a school can’t even afford to buy a plane ticket for your visit, what are the chances they will pay for a current student to go to a conference and present a paper?

2.  Ask for What You Want-The purpose of the campus visit is twofold.  It’s a chance for you to get a first-hand experience of the program, but it’s also an opportunity for the program to try to impress you.  Campus visits vary widely, with some schools planning a series of activities and events for prospective students while others allow their visitors to dictate what they want to see and do.  Whatever campus visit you find yourself at, don’t hesitate to ask the questions that you want answered.  If you want to know about the quality of the undergraduates, just ask.  If you want to look at off-campus housing options, ask someone to give you a tour.  If there’s a specific professor you want to talk to, try to set up an appointment before you arrive.  Again, this has two purposes.  It helps you to obtain the info that matters to you, and it also helps you see what sort of program you are dealing with.  If a program is unable to accommodate any special requests, or insists on putting you through a series of activities that are not what you want to know about the program, chances are this sort of interaction will not disappear once you are a student there.

3.  Don’t Be Afraid to Remain Non-Committal-When a visit goes well, there is a strong temptation to want to accept the offer from that school.  Campus visits involve a lot of time and money expenditure from both the grad students and the faculty, and there is a very real tendency to give the program what it wants, your acceptance.  Be honest, but don’t be afraid to avoid making a commitment if you aren’t ready to do so.  At a recent visit, I was repeatedly asked “So, are you coming?” and my answer was always, “it’s a strong possibility.”  Fact is, just because a school paid for a visit doesn’t mean you owe them anything.  At this point, you are the commodity and they are the ones doing the courting.  Commitments are easy to make, but very difficult to rescind.  Don’t let the euphoria of a really good visit lead to a decision that you aren’t ready for.

4.  Take the Time to Prepare-This one is especially important when meeting with the faculty of a prospective program.  Philosophy professors are notoriously bad at informal social interaction, and you can avoid an awkward situation with a stranger by having a few good questions that will facilitate a discussion.  In addition, taking some time to prepare will help you to be better equipped to tell your hosts what you are and are not interested in doing.  Otherwise, you may find yourself stuck participating in a long, uninteresting visit weekend that does little to help you make a decision.

Making a final decision about where to go for your philosophy PhD is extremely difficult and requires that you consider a variety of different factors.  Some of these factors have little to do with the quality of the faculty, the amount of your fellowship offer, or the program’s ranking on the Leiter report.  Campus visits can be a great way to help answer some of the intangible questions that e-mails, phone calls, and the department website just can’t answer.  Thus, it’s important to maximize the payoff of these visits, and hopefully these tips can help you to do so.

About the Author

Elijah Weber is a graduate student at Bowling Green State University. He holds a Master's degree in philosophy from Colorado State University, and Bachelor’s degrees in sociology and philosophy from Chapman Univerity. He currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife Laura, his son Brandon, age two and a half, and two cats, both of whom are mentally deranged.