M.A. in Philosophy, Law, and Policy

The M.A. program in Philosophy, Law, and Policy addresses policy questions by relating theory and practice. It is a collaboration between the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, the Law School, the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, and the School of Theology and Ministry, and housed in the Philosophy Department.聽

Program Details

The program is designed for completion within four semesters, but a longer trajectory can be arranged. In consultation with a program advisor, students focus their own paths of inquiry by choosing from among electives across the participating schools and departments.聽There is no language requirement, although for students whose areas of research require competency in a particular language, the study of that language is strongly encouraged. Language courses do not count toward the ten required for the degree.

Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA to remain in good standing in the program.

The degree consists of ten courses, or the equivalent, including foundations, electives, and a capstone course. Students must meet with the Director of the program or other designated advisor before registering each semester. On approval by the Director, students may use previous credits to place out of PLP Foundations requirements, with the exception of the foundational Philosophy requirement, the Capstone requirement, and the overall number of credits (30) required for the degree, taking electives instead.

The structure and requirements of the program are organized as follows

Foundations, consisting in a total of five courses

  • Philosophy Foundation: Engaged Philosophy, taught in the Philosophy Department, serves as the keystone cohort-building course that instructs students in combining philosophical inquiry with analysis of contemporary issues and policy questions at the intersections of ethics, political theory, law, and the social sciences. To be taken in the first semester (Fall).
  • Law Foundation: One course to be taken in the first or second semester (Fall or Spring) in Law School, chosen from the following:
    • Foundations of Western Law
    • American Legal History
    • Constitutional Theory
    • American Legal Theory

Or other courses in the Law School to be approved by the Director

  • Legal Philosophy Foundation: A course in philosophy of law, to be taken from a designated list taught in the Law School or the Philosophy Department.
  • Analysis Foundation: A to be taken from an approved list of courses offered by participating departments. For most students, the approved course in the methodology of quantitative analysis will be Sociology 7702, Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis. Courses in other departments covering methodologies of social science analysis may be substituted with the Director鈥檚 approval. Students particularly interested in analysis are encouraged to take Sociology 7703, Multivariate Statistics, after Sociology 7702.聽
  • Policy Foundation: One course on one or more policy questions and the context for their meaning, implementation, and assessment, to be taken from a list of applicable courses offered by participating schools and departments.聽

Electives

Four courses, chosen in consultation with the PLP Director or designated advisor to focus each student鈥檚 track of study. These may also be taken at partner universities in BC鈥檚 consortium.聽

Capstone

One course, chosen in consultation with the PLP Director, to serve as a conclusion to each student鈥檚 focused area of study. This may take one of two forms:

Thesis course

Recommended for students intending further graduate study. Students wishing to do a thesis must first consult with the Director the semester before registering for the thesis course, and the Director must approve the thesis project. The student must secure an advisor for the thesis project before registration in order to be eligible for the thesis option. The course will result in a qualifying paper that could serve as writing sample in applying to other graduate programs.

Focused coursework

Some students may have a particular professional or academic expertise that they wish to improve through a specific course, such as in advanced statistical techniques. Other students may have an academic interest or career goal that they wish to advance through a specific course, such as in environmental law and policy. To take this option, the student must consult with the Director before registering for the course, and they must communicate with the course instructor and arrange for a focused research project to complete as a final project in the course (sometimes in addition to the regular course requirements).

For their electives, students choose their courses primarily from offerings in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, the Law School, the Lynch School of Education, and the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College. The main participating departments in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences are: Economics, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology and Neuroscience, Sociology, and Theology. Coursework in other departments is possible after consultation with the Program Director and permission of the course instructor.

Some departments have strict prerequisites for their graduate courses. Before registering, students must consult with their advisor and with the instructor of courses outside of Philosophy to determine if these electives are appropriate for their program of studies and if the student has the requisite background. Students also have access to courses in philosophy at other member institutions of the Boston Area Consortium: Boston University, Tufts University, and Brandeis University. By application, they can also participate in other consortiums with area institutions and Boston College.

Late in their second semester of coursework, students choose a specific focus for their coursework. While this is not a formal concentration, and can be changed, the coursework focus is important for advising and the selection of electives. The focus is up to the student to design, so long as it fits with the program鈥檚 parameters; examples include environmental policy, constitutional politics, administrative decision-making, data analysis for policy making, philosophy of law, religion and governance, and so on.

All students are mentored by an advisor assigned in their first year. Once they choose their focus for elective coursework, students are encouraged to choose an advisor appropriate to their own specific interests.

Each of the following sample courses of study, using electives assume four of the five Foundations and one Capstone courses as described in the Requirements section. Note that the Capstone course should also address the student鈥檚 area of focus.

  • Philosophy: 鈥淓ngaged Philosophy鈥 鈥 Fall, first year
  • Law: Choice of either 鈥淎merican Legal History鈥 or 鈥淎merican Legal Theory鈥 or 鈥淔oundations of Western Legal Theory鈥 or 鈥淐onstitutional Theory鈥 in the Law School 鈥 Fall or Spring, any year
  • Legal Philosophy: Taken either as 鈥淧hilosophy of Law鈥 in the Law School or in Philosophy; the PHIL course 鈥淟aw and Interpretation鈥 can also fulfill this requirement 鈥 Fall or Spring, first year
  • Data Analysis: 鈥淚ntroduction to Statistics and Data Analysis鈥 in Sociology or suitable substitution, Fall, first year
  • Capstone: Taken in the final semester, either as a Thesis course, Focused Coursework, or an Internship that serves to complete the student鈥檚 integrative design of their course of study.

Sample Focus 1: Legal Theory

  • Policy: A choice from a set of approved options, such as 鈥淐ybersecurity Policy: Privacy and Legal Requirements鈥 in the Law School.
  • Electives: Four, as approved by the director, such as those listed above but not taken for Law Foundation or Legal Philosophy Foundation, as well as courses such as 鈥淐onstitutional History: The Framing of the Constitution,鈥 and 鈥淔uture of Constitutional Democracy鈥 in the Law School

Sample Focus 2: Policy Analytics

  • Policy: A choice from a set of approved options, such as 鈥淪ocial Issues and Social Policy鈥 in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development
  • Electives: Four, as approved by the Director, such as 鈥Multivariate Statistics鈥 and 鈥淟ongitudinal Data Analysis鈥 in Sociology, 鈥淟aw, Policy, and Politics of Higher Education in the (Inter)National Context鈥 in the Lynch School of Education and Human development, and 鈥淗ealthcare Law and Compliance鈥 in the Law School

Sample Focus 3: Race, Division, and Depolarization

  • Policy: A choice from a set of approved options, such as 鈥淩ace, Policing, and the Constitution鈥 in the Law School
  • Electives: Four, as approved by the Director, such as 鈥淧hilosophical Hermeneutics on Race and Justice鈥 in Philosophy, 鈥淩ace, Culture, and Power鈥 in History, 鈥淩ace, Freedom, and the Bible in America鈥 in Theology, 鈥淧articipatory Action Research: Gender, Race, Power鈥 in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development

Sample Focus 4: Technology and the Environment

  • Policy: A choice from a set of approved options in various departments at the graduate level, any year, such as 鈥淓nergy Law and Deregulation鈥 in the Law School
  • Electives: Four, as approved by the Director, such as 鈥淭echnology and Culture鈥 and 鈥淗ow to Save the World: Ethics of Climate Change鈥 in Philosophy, 鈥淏iotechnologies, Health, and Theological Ethics鈥 in Theology, and 鈥淓nvironmental Sociology鈥

Sample Focus 5: Service-Learning Pedagogy

  • Policy: A choice from a set of approved options, such as 鈥淎ssessment of and for Learning鈥 in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development
  • Electives: Four, including in the first year the two-semester sequence, 鈥淧hilosophy and the Pedagogy of Service Learning鈥 (aka, 鈥淕rad PULSE鈥) in the Philosophy Department, and two others as approved by the director, such as 鈥淪upporting Positive Behavior in Schools and Community鈥 and 鈥淓thics and Equity in Education鈥 in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development

Sample Focus 6: Ethical Life and Social Dynamics

  • Policy: A choice from a set of approved options, such as 鈥淟aw, Policy, and Politics of Higher Education in the (Inter)National Context鈥 in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development
  • Electives: Four, as approved by the director, such as 鈥淥rigins of Virtue鈥 and 鈥淐urrent Topics in Moral Psychology鈥 in Psychology and Neuroscience, 鈥淐hristian Ethics in Migration鈥 in Theology, 鈥淓thical Principles in Comparative Perspectives鈥 in Philosophy

Sample Focus 7: Violence, Non-Violence, and Justice

  • Policy: A choice from a set of approved options, such as 鈥淚mmigration: Processes, Politics, and Policies鈥 in Political Science.
  • Electives: Four, as approved by the director, such as 鈥淭he Ethics of Peace and War鈥 in Philosophy, 鈥淔rom Revolution to Human Rights: Histories of Violence and Non-Violence鈥 in History, 鈥淭ransitional Justice in Comparative Perspectives鈥 in the Law School, 鈥淭errorism in America鈥 in History, and 鈥淧sychology of Trauma: Cross-Cultural and Social Justice鈥 in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development

Sample Focus 8: Religion and Civic Life

  • Policy: A choice from a set of approved options, such as 鈥淟aw and Religion鈥 in the Law School
  • Electives: Four, as approved by the director, such as 鈥淛ews and Christians: Understanding the Other鈥 in Theology, 鈥淧ublic Theology, Politics, and Faith in the United States鈥 and 鈥淔aith and Justice: Liberation Theologies in the U.S.鈥 in the School of Theology and Ministry, and 鈥淓thics, Religion, and International Politics鈥 in Philosophy.

Philosophy, Law, and Policy is closely affiliated with the聽Public Philosophy Initiative at Boston College, which offers workshops in skills useful for practical philosophy and hosts an annual conference, usually in Spring. For more information on this, contact Professor Fried.

The program is also closely connected to two centers at Boston College: the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy and the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy. These centers offer regular programming, such as speaker events and student colloquiums.

Contact Us

For specific questions about the Philosophy department's graduate programs please contact the Graduate Program Assistant, Christopher Hanlon.聽All other requests on the application process should be made to the Graduate School at the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences.
Back To Top