mit philosophy dissertations

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

General information.

The term in which you plan to defend, submit your dissertation, and graduate, you must be registered for Thesis (4.THG – 36 units). Your dissertation defense takes place in the presence of your full Dissertation Committee consisting of at least three members including your dissertation supervisor.

Upon satisfactory defense and submission of the dissertation, the supervisor will assign a grade. (“SA” is the final satisfactory grade for PhD.) The grade will not be submitted to the Registrar until the final approved dissertation document is submitted to the department portal by the thesis deadline provided on the departmental thesis deadlines calendar. For help with formatting of your full document, see the Formatting, Specifications & Thesis Submission page for more information.

You are responsible for working directly with your dissertation committee and area administrators to schedule your defense. The defense must not be scheduled for any later than two weeks prior to the thesis submission deadline. Each area may handle the logistics differently, so it is important to touch base with your group early in the defense planning process. For example, many faculty are not available during winter holidays or summer session, and may wish to schedule the defense early in December for a February degree.

Registration Deadline:

• Register for 36 units of   4.THG
• Degree list: Put yourself on the upcoming degree list by applying for a degree .
• Be mindful of the Institute deadline to change your thesis title in WebSIS
• Register your final thesis title: You must return to the online site of your application and add or make a change to your thesis title by this deadline. The title on your final thesis must be an exact match of the one you submit on your Application for Degree. If you add your title after this date, you will be charged a late fee.

One Week Prior to Institute Thesis Deadline:

• Be sure to provide your exact spelling of your name (either legal name or preferred name — whichever you have provided to your degree administrator) when submitting your thesis book to the portal. Using a different name will result in a submission error.
• Max file size: 10MB or less. If file is too large, a submission error will result.

Institute Thesis Deadline:

• All final edits and adjustments to the final dissertation book must be submitted to the department on or before this deadline. Final grade submission by your advisor also must be submitted on or before this deadline. 

One Week After Institute Thesis Deadline:

• Last day to come off the degree list (contact Tessa Haynes )
• Degree conferral date (see Academic Calendar or Department Thesis Deadlines)

Specific Deadlines & Procedure

Sept 2024 theses deadlines, friday, june 14, 2024.

• Registration Deadline:  Summer  term registration (4.THG) (Pre-registration for spring deadline is May 1, 2024.
• Degree list: Put yourself on the September degree list by applying for a degree .
• Register your final thesis title: You must return to the online site of your application and add or make a change to your thesis title by this deadline. The title on your final dissertation must be an exact match of the one you submit on your Application for Degree. If you add your title after this date, you will be charged a late fee; but you may still update your thesis title until the actual submission date.

Friday, August 2, 2024

• Your final dissertation book is due by 9am on Friday, August  to the Department Thesis Submission Tool ( choose “Single Sign On” and log in with your MIT email address ) for formatting review. This is for the purpose of making certain the document is in compliance with MIT archive requirements. You will be contacted quickly if adjustments are needed. Your signed signature page must also be submitted at this time.

Friday, August 9, 2024

• Final, corrected, approved, electronic version uploaded to the Department Thesis Submission Tool ( choose “Single Sign On” and log in with your MIT email address )

Formatting, Specifications & Thesis Submission

Important : Consult the Formatting, Specifications and Thesis Submission information page for advice and templates on how to format your book. Please pay particular attention to the templates for the frontmatter (Title Page, Committee Page, Abstract, and Table of Contents.) Following the templates now means fewer edits to make later!

PhD Thesis Contacts

• Program Director: Leslie K. Norford
• Director of Computation PhD: George Stiny
• Director of Building Technology PhD: Christoph Reinhart
• Director of HTC PhD: Timothy Hyde
• PhD degree administrator and thesis submission: Tessa Haynes

• Skip to Content
• Bulletin Home

• Degree Charts >
• Brain and Cognitive Sciences (PhD)
• Around Campus
• Academic Program
• Administration
• Arts at MIT
• Campus Media
• Fraternities, Sororities, and Independent Living Groups
• Health Services
• Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center
• Religious Organizations
• Student Government
• Work-​Life and Family Resources
• Advising and Support
• Digital Learning
• Disability and Access Services
• Information Systems and Technology
• Student Financial Services
• Writing and Communication Center
• Major Course of Study
• General Institute Requirements
• Independent Activites Period
• Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
• First-​Year Advising Seminars
• Interphase EDGE/​x
• Edgerton Center
• Grading Options
• Study at Other Universities
• Internships Abroad
• Career Advising and Professional Development
• Teacher Licensure and Education
• ROTC Programs
• Financial Aid
• Medical Requirements
• Graduate Study at MIT
• General Degree Requirements
• Other Institutions
• Registration
• Term Regulations and Examination Policies
• Academic Performance and Grades
• Policies and Procedures
• Privacy of Student Records
• Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health
• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
• Art, Culture, and Technology Program
• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
• Center for Bits and Atoms
• Center for Clinical and Translational Research
• Center for Collective Intelligence
• Center for Computational Science and Engineering
• Center for Constructive Communication
• Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research
• Center for Environmental Health Sciences
• Center for Global Change Science
• Center for International Studies
• Center for Real Estate
• Center for Transportation &​ Logistics
• Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
• Concrete Sustainability Hub
• D-​Lab
• Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation
• Division of Comparative Medicine
• Haystack Observatory
• Initiative on the Digital Economy
• Institute for Medical Engineering and Science
• Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies
• Institute for Work and Employment Research
• Internet Policy Research Initiative
• Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
• Knight Science Journalism Program
• Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
• Laboratory for Financial Engineering
• Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems
• Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity
• Laboratory for Nuclear Science
• Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship
• Lincoln Laboratory
• Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship
• Materials Research Laboratory
• McGovern Institute for Brain Research
• Microsystems Technology Laboratories
• MIT Center for Art, Science &​ Technology
• MIT Energy Initiative
• MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
• MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
• MIT Media Lab
• MIT Office of Innovation
• MIT Open Learning
• MIT Portugal Program
• MIT Professional Education
• MIT Sea Grant College Program
• Nuclear Reactor Laboratory
• Operations Research Center
• Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
• Plasma Science and Fusion Center
• Research Laboratory of Electronics
• Simons Center for the Social Brain
• Singapore-​MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Centre
• Sociotechnical Systems Research Center
• Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
• Women's and Gender Studies Program
• Architecture (SB, Course 4)
• Architecture (MArch)
• Art and Design (SB, Course 4-​B)
• Art, Culture, and Technology (SM)
• Architecture Studies (SMArchS)
• Media Arts and Sciences
• Planning (SB, Course 11)
• Urban Science and Planning with Computer Science (SB, Course 11-​6)
• Aeronautics and Astronautics Fields (PhD)
• Aerospace Engineering (SB, Course 16)
• Engineering (SB, Course 16-​ENG)
• Biological Engineering (SB, Course 20)
• Biological Engineering (PhD)
• Chemical Engineering (Course 10)
• Chemical-​Biological Engineering (Course 10-​B)
• Chemical Engineering (Course 10-​C)
• Engineering (Course 10-​ENG)
• Engineering (Course 1-​ENG)
• Computation and Cognition (Course 6-​9)
• Computer Science and Engineering (Course 6-​3)
• Computer Science and Molecular Biology (Course 6-​7)
• Electrical Engineering with Computing (Course 6-​5)
• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (MEng)
• Computer Science and Molecular Biology (MEng)
• Health Sciences and Technology
• Archaeology and Materials (Course 3-​C)
• Materials Science and Engineering (Course 3)
• Materials Science and Engineering (Course 3-​A)
• Materials Science and Engineering (PhD)
• Mechanical Engineering (Course 2)
• Mechanical and Ocean Engineering (Course 2-​OE)
• Engineering (Course 2-​A)
• Nuclear Science and Engineering (Course 22)
• Engineering (Course 22-​ENG)
• Anthropology (Course 21A)
• Comparative Media Studies (CMS)
• Writing (Course 21W)
• Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (MASc)
• Economics (Course 14-​1)
• Economics (PhD)
• Mathematical Economics (Course 14-​2)
• Global Studies and Languages (Course 21G)
• History (Course 21H)
• Linguistics and Philosophy (Course 24-​2)
• Philosophy (Course 24-​1)
• Linguistics (SM)
• Literature (Course 21L)
• Music (Course 21M-​1)
• Theater Arts (Course 21M-​2)
• Political Science (Course 17)
• Science, Technology, and Society/​Second Major (STS)
• Business Analytics (Course 15-​2)
• Finance (Course 15-​3)
• Management (Course 15-​1)
• Biology (Course 7)
• Chemistry and Biology (Course 5-​7)
• Brain and Cognitive Sciences (Course 9)
• Chemistry (Course 5)
• Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (Course 12)
• Mathematics (Course 18)
• Mathematics (PhD)
• Mathematics with Computer Science (Course 18-​C)
• Physics (Course 8)
• Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
• Chemistry and Biology
• Climate System Science and Engineering
• Computation and Cognition
• Computer Science and Molecular Biology
• Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science
• Humanities and Engineering
• Humanities and Science
• Urban Science and Planning with Computer Science
• African and African Diaspora Studies
• American Studies
• Ancient and Medieval Studies
• Applied International Studies
• Asian and Asian Diaspora Studies
• Biomedical Engineering
• Energy Studies
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Environment and Sustainability
• Latin American and Latino/​a Studies
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Polymers and Soft Matter
• Public Policy
• Russian and Eurasian Studies
• Statistics and Data Science
• Women's and Gender Studies
• Advanced Urbanism
• Computational and Systems Biology
• Computational Science and Engineering
• Design and Management (IDM &​ SDM)
• Joint Program with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• Leaders for Global Operations
• Microbiology
• Music Technology and Computation
• Operations Research
• Real Estate Development
• Social and Engineering Systems
• Supply Chain Management
• Technology and Policy
• Transportation
• School of Architecture and Planning
• School of Engineering
• Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making (Course 6-​4)
• Nuclear Science and Engineering (PhD)
• School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
• Humanities (Course 21)
• Humanities and Engineering (Course 21E)
• Humanities and Science (Course 21S)
• Sloan School of Management
• School of Science
• Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Fields (PhD)
• Interdisciplinary Programs (SB)
• Climate System Science and Engineering (Course 1-​12)
• Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science (Course 6-​14)
• Interdisciplinary Programs (Graduate)
• Biological Oceanography (PhD)
• Computation and Cognition (MEng)
• Computational Science and Engineering (SM)
• Computational Science and Engineering (PhD)
• Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science (MEng)
• Engineering and Management (SM)
• Leaders for Global Operations (MBA/​SM and SM)
• Music Technology and Computation (SM and MASc)
• Real Estate Development (SM)
• Statistics (PhD)
• Supply Chain Management (MEng and MASc)
• Technology and Policy (SM)
• Transportation (SM)
• Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course 16)
• Aerospace Studies (AS)
• Architecture (Course 4)
• Biological Engineering (Course 20)
• Civil and Environmental Engineering (Course 1)
• Comparative Media Studies /​ Writing (CMS)
• Comparative Media Studies /​ Writing (Course 21W)
• Computational and Systems Biology (CSB)
• Computational Science and Engineering (CSE)
• Concourse (CC)
• Data, Systems, and Society (IDS)
• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (Course 12)
• Economics (Course 14)
• Edgerton Center (EC)
• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Course 6)
• Engineering Management (EM)
• Experimental Study Group (ES)
• Global Languages (Course 21G)
• Health Sciences and Technology (HST)
• Linguistics and Philosophy (Course 24)
• Management (Course 15)
• Media Arts and Sciences (MAS)
• Military Science (MS)
• Music (Course 21M)
• Naval Science (NS)
• Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
• Special Programs
• Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• Theater Arts (21T)
• Urban Studies and Planning (Course 11)
• Women's and Gender Studies (WGS)

Doctor of Philosophy in Brain and Cognitive Sciences Fields

Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences

Program Requirements

Print this page.

The PDF includes all information on this page and its related tabs. Subject (course) information includes any changes approved for the current academic year.

• DSpace@MIT Home
• MIT Libraries

This collection of MIT Theses in DSpace contains selected theses and dissertations from all MIT departments. Please note that this is NOT a complete collection of MIT theses. To search all MIT theses, use MIT Libraries' catalog .

MIT's DSpace contains more than 58,000 theses completed at MIT dating as far back as the mid 1800's. Theses in this collection have been scanned by the MIT Libraries or submitted in electronic format by thesis authors. Since 2004 all new Masters and Ph.D. theses are scanned and added to this collection after degrees are awarded.

MIT Theses are openly available to all readers. Please share how this access affects or benefits you. Your story matters.

If you have questions about MIT theses in DSpace, [email protected] . See also Access & Availability Questions or About MIT Theses in DSpace .

If you are a recent MIT graduate, your thesis will be added to DSpace within 3-6 months after your graduation date. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

Permissions

MIT Theses may be protected by copyright. Please refer to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy for permission information. Note that the copyright holder for most MIT theses is identified on the title page of the thesis.

Theses by Department

• Comparative Media Studies
• Computation for Design and Optimization
• Computational and Systems Biology
• Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Department of Architecture
• Department of Biological Engineering
• Department of Biology
• Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
• Department of Chemical Engineering
• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
• Department of Economics
• Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
• Department of Humanities
• Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
• Department of Materials Science and Engineering
• Department of Mathematics
• Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
• Department of Ocean Engineering
• Department of Physics
• Department of Political Science
• Department of Urban Studies and Planning
• Engineering Systems Division
• Harvard-MIT Program of Health Sciences and Technology
• Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
• Media Arts & Sciences
• Operations Research Center
• Program in Real Estate Development
• Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies
• Science, Technology & Society
• Science Writing
• Sloan School of Management
• Supply Chain Management
• System Design & Management
• Technology and Policy Program

Collections in this community

Doctoral theses, graduate theses, undergraduate theses, recent submissions.

Transport Properties of Divertor Edge Plasmas Measured with Multi-Spectral Imaging 

Entanglement and Chaos in Quantum Field Theory and Gravity 

Illuminating the Cosmos: dark matter, primordial black holes, and cosmic dawn 

Show Statistical Information

Doctoral degree

MIT offers the degrees of Doctor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy interchangeably in the engineering and science departments (except biology and brain and cognitive sciences) and in the fields of medical engineering and medical physics. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is awarded in architecture; biology; brain and cognitive sciences; computational science and engineering; economics; history, anthropology, and science, technology, and society; linguistics; management; media arts and sciences; philosophy; political science; technology and policy; bioengineering and environmental health; urban studies and planning; and from health sciences and technology. These degrees certify creditable completion of an approved program of advanced study in addition to a research dissertation of high quality based on original research.

The two Institute requirements for a doctorate are completion of a program of advanced study, including a general examination, and completion and oral defense of a thesis on original research.

The course of advanced study and research leading to the doctorate must be pursued under the direction of the departmental committee on graduate students for at least four academic terms. In some cases, the required period of residence may be reduced, but in no instance can it be reduced to less than two regular academic terms and one summer session.

A student is enrolled in a program of advanced study and research approved by the department. The thesis research is in this same area, but the program often includes subjects reaching into several departments. If the field requires substantial participation by two or more departments, an interdepartmental faculty committee,  approved by the Office of Graduate Education via petition , should be appointed to supervise the student’s program.

Each doctoral candidate must take a general examination in their program of study at such time and in such manner as the departmental or interdepartmental committee approves. This examination consists of both oral and written parts.

Although there is no Institute requirement of a minor for the doctoral degree, certain departments require that candidates take a number of subjects outside their major field.

Language proficiency

Information on language proficiency expectations in various departments

This site uses cookies to give you the best possible experience. By browsing our website, you agree to our use of cookies.

If you require further information, please visit the Privacy Policy page.

Dissertations/Theses: How to write a dissertation/thesis

• How to write a dissertation/thesis

Examples - thesis-writing help

MIT resources

• MIT Thesis FAQ
• Academic integrity
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Thesis - Information from the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education
• Writing & Communication Center

For books on thesis writing, try the following subject headings to  Search Our Collections in an advanced search.

Dissertations, Academic

Dissertations, Academic -- Authorship

Dissertations, Academic -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Academic writing

Academic writing -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Report writing

Technical writing

Select "subject" from the search filters drop-down menu.

Related guides

• Citing sources
• Citation management & writing tools
• ORCID & author identifiers
• << Previous: Non-MIT
• Last Updated: Oct 19, 2022 7:33 AM
• URL: https://libguides.mit.edu/diss

MIT Libraries logo MIT Libraries

News & events.

• Subscribe to news

Full Text of Dissertations and Theses Now Available

//libraries.mit.edu/get/dissertations

Before 1997, many theses will only have abstracts, but the full text collection is growing continuously.

Need an MIT thesis?

MIT dissertations and theses are NOT included in the ProQuest database. Find the thesis you are looking for in the Barton catalog (search by author, supervisor, department and more):

//libraries.mit.edu/barton-theses

Most MIT theses are available full text from 2004 onwards, with selected earlier theses available full text as well.

If you have any questions or comments about this new resource, please Ask Us!

Writing Together Retreats

Music Forum: Patrick Harlin, Composer

Current Students

Doctor of philosophy in urban studies and planning, funding and responsibilities for dusp doctoral students, degree requirements, sample schedule by milestones, important early dates (guide by semester), past dissertations, additional resources.

Building 7, MIT

The Department of Urban Studies and Planning offers a degree in a Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Planning which is an advanced research degree in planning or urban studies and is focused on training individuals for research and teaching in the areas of applied social research and planning.

Daniel Engelberg

Enjoli Hall

Carmelo ignaccolo.

Aarthi Janakiraman

Justin Kollar

Kevin Lujan Lee

Arianna Salazar Miranda

Chenab Navalkha

Soyoung Park

Lidia Cano Pecharroman

Benjamin Preis

Gokul Sampath

Wonyoung So

Andrew Stokols

Anna Waldman-Brown

Lizzie Yarina

The Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Planning program emphasizes the development of fundamental research competence, flexibility in the design of special area of study, and encouragement of joint student/faculty research and teaching. The program is tailored to the needs of individual students, each of whom works closely with a custom ecosystem of scholars in their field and a mentor in the Department.

DUSP graduates are well prepared for (and go on to work in) a wide range of careers in academia, government, and industry.

Admissions for the doctoral program emphasizes academic preparation, professional experience, and the fit between the student's research interests and the department's research activities. Nearly all successful applicants have previously completed a master's degree. Admission to the doctoral program is highly competitive. 

Core criteria and guidelines for doctoral admission decisions:

• Application strength: cohesiveness of statement, compelling research topics, preparedness for doctoral level work.
• Alignment with Departmental research priorities: achieving racial justice, tackling the climate change, enhancing democratic governance, and closing the wealth gap
• Could an applicant work with more than one DUSP faculty on their committee?
• Does applicant have a strong match with at least one lead faculty?

11.001J    Introduction to Urban Design & Development

11.002    Making Public Policy

11.005    Introduction to International Development

11.200    Gateway I

11.201    Gateway II

11.202/203    Microeconomics

11.205/11.188    Introduction to Spatial Analysis

11. 220   Quantitative Reasoning  

11.222    Introduction to Critical Qualitative Methods 

• Cross-cutting substantive areas – research of interest to multiple DUSP program groups and strategic priorities
• If you reach out to a faculty member directly and they have not responded before you complete your application, please note that no response does not reflect a judgement. Faculty have many time commitments and may be unable to answer your request quickly.
• Please do note DUSP students offer Peer Application Support Services (PASS) , supporting students who may face structural barriers in applying, including (but not limited to) international applicants, first generation college students, and applicants who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, queer, disabled, and/or a person of color. 
• Faculty members do on occasion recruit students for their externally funded research, but those student's admission is still decided by committee.  

Learn more via the Admissions page, here.

Each doctoral student has an assigned faculty academic advisor with whom they should develop a plan of study. All faculty are concerned with promoting good personal and academic relationships between students and advisors. Faculty advisors are responsible for: approving the registration for the doctoral student at the beginning of each semester, reviewing the student's progress, meeting with their advisee on a regular basis, and alerting the student and Department Headquarters if any issues arise concerning satisfactory progress towards completing the student's degree requirements.

If the student is nonresident, the student and faculty should communicate on a regular basis with each other concerning the progress being made, the timing to be determined jointly by the student and faculty member.

Advisees may request switching advisors. Initiating a change in advisors is the responsibility of the student. The student should:

• Talk to the other faculty member about her/his willingness to serve as a doctoral advisor;
• Inform the current advisor about the desired change in advisors (ideally the decision would be made in discussions with the current and future advisor);
• If the issue becomes complicated, discuss the move with the Head of the PhD Committee;
• Inform the Doctoral Program Academic Advisor .

Addition resources for roles, relationships, and advising best practices may be found here . Student support resources may be found here . Additional information on doctoral student advisee/advisor relationship may be accessed via the DUSP Handbook.

The Department admits five to seven students a year to the doctoral program. All admitted students receive funding for five academic years, including the option of summer work. In addition, some students are admitted with five academic years of funding as part of a research project sponsored by a faculty member and/or external funding.

Departmentally-funded students commit to completing five teaching assistantships and three research assistantships during their time as students at DUSP. The department also issues a call for optional funded summer work during the spring term. 

For more detailed information regarding the cost of attendance, including specific costs for tuition and fees, books and supplies, housing and food as well as transportation, please visit the SFS website .

Required Coursework

In their first (fall) semester, students are required to take 11.233. There are no exceptions nor substitutions to this requirement. The output of this class is a research proposal that can form the basis for the required first-year research paper.

The Doctoral Research Seminar focuses on writing a research paper - the first year paper (FYP) - on a subject of the student's choice. The paper's purpose is to assess the student's ability to independently make a reasoned argument based on evidence that they have collected and to allow the student to work closely with a faculty advisor.

Students are expected to finish the paper in the spring of their first year, and students CANNOT register for their third semester of courses until this paper has been completed.

Methods Courses

All PhD students must complete one graduate-level class in quantitative methods and one graduate-level class in qualitative methods from a list of approved subjects by the end of their fourth semester. Enrolled doctoral students may consult the PhD Wiki pages for community collected information on methods courses of interest to DUSP PhD students:

• Quantitative Methods Courses
• Qualitative Methods Courses

In addition, students are strongly encouraged to enroll in DUSP's Advanced Seminar on Planning Theory (11.930).

Field Exams (General Exams)

General Exams will ordinarily be taken either in late spring of the second year or in early fall of the third year. These examinations contain a written and an oral component. All PhD students are expected to prepare for an examination in two fields. The first field is theory oriented and must be a discipline or equivalent systematic approach to social inquiry. The second field is typically customized to student specializations.

• City Design & Development
• International Development
• Urban Information Systems
• Public Policy and Politics
• Health and Global Communities
• Urban History
• Urban and Regional Economics
• Urban Sociology
• Environmental Planning and Natural Resource Management
• Housing and Real Estate Development
• Labor and Employment Policy
• Neighborhood and Community Development
• Negotiation and Dispute Resolution
• Planning in Developing Countries
• Regional Development
• Transportation and Land Use

Dissertation  

Summary and Full Dissertation Proposal

Within three months after successful completion of the general examinations, each PhD candidate is expected to submit to the PhD Committee a five-to six-page preliminary dissertation research proposal summary.

• The proposal should include the dissertation topic, the importance of the topic, the research method, the types of information to be used, the means of obtaining the required information (surveys, statistical testing, literature, etc.), and a selected bibliography.
• The preliminary dissertation proposal must be approved and signed by the dissertation advisor on the student's committee. The dissertation committee must be chaired by a member of DUSP and include at least one other member of the MIT faculty.
• Membership of the general examination and dissertation committees need not overlap.

Within one year after passing the general examinations, the student must submit a full proposal to their dissertation committee and for approval by the PhD Committee. Full proposals should expand upon the topics covered in the preliminary proposals and must be signed by all members of the student's dissertation committee. An external reviewer will be invited to provide feedback as well.

• In this proposal (usually 25-30 pages in length), the student should provide details on the research design and preliminary ideas (e.g., hypotheses) that will guide the research effort. They should also discuss the relevant literature and potential data sources.
• All students are expected to organize a colloquium in which they discuss their dissertation proposal before their full committee, the external reviewer, and other interested members of DUSP and MIT more generally. The student is expected to notify all DUSP members of the time and place of the colloquium and the dissertation proposal cannot be approved until the colloquium has been held. No colloquia will be held during the last two weeks of the semester, or final exam week, or during the summer. 

Oral Dissertation Defense

After the dissertation committee and the student indicate that the dissertation is completed, the committee chair will ask for the student to appear for an oral examination. The oral examination will customarily last for two hours and will be attended by all members of the dissertation committee. Other faculty and/or students may be allowed to attend the oral examination at the discretion of the dissertation committee. If revisions, normally slight, to the dissertation are suggested by the committee, the committee chair may be solely in charge of approving the revised document. If major revisions are needed, all members of the committee need to review the revised document, and, in some cases, another oral examination may be required. 

Guidelines for preparation of the dissertation document are available from DUSP's PhD Academic Administrator. The student must follow these guidelines carefully. All final dissertation document are submitted electronically. Students will be removed from the degree list for graduation if the appropriate dissertation documents are not met by the deadline set each semester by DUSP. All PhD dissertations are graded on a satisfactory basis. 

Written Dissertation Options 

In addition to the traditional monograph (i.e. a book-length manuscript), students may opt for a three-paper dissertation. 

The three-paper option is based on three related publishable papers and is designed to be used in situations where the thesis material is better suited to three papers on the same general topic rather than turning the dissertation into a book. A dissertation cannot be comprised of essays on three totally separate topics.

• Both the summary and full dissertation proposal are still required, with a dissertation committee consisting of a chair and two readers. The three-papers option should represent different aspects of the same topic.
• A student wishing to submit a three-paper dissertation should propose this plan at the time they submit the initial dissertation summary proposal or, if a decision to do so is made only subsequently, the student should indicate this plan as part of the full dissertation proposal that is submitted to the PhD Committee in advance of the Dissertation Proposal Colloquium.
• One paper in a three-paper dissertation may be co-authored. In such cases, as part of the full Dissertation Proposal, the student should explain the rationale for the proposed co-authorship. The PhD committee representative charged with evaluating the dissertation proposal will be asked to review this to determine the significance of the student's role in the collaborative paper. If there is a change in the plan for co-authorship after the Dissertation Proposal Colloquium has taken place, this must be cleared with the PhD Committee.
• In meeting the criterion of “publishable papers,” the dissertation may include a paper that has been previously published, as long as this paper has been completed as part of the student's doctoral program at MIT.
• A student's First Year Paper may not be used for one of the three papers submitted for the dissertation, unless it has been significantly revised and updated.
• Finally, the three-paper dissertation itself must contain a section that explains how the three papers are related.

A note on completing your dissertation during the summer:

Please be aware that most DUSP faculty are on nine-month contracts, and are not paid to teach or work with students during June, July, and August. Accordingly, any student seeking to complete PhD thesis work over the summer in order to be placed on the September degree list must be certain about the willingness of the advisor and readers to take on this responsibility. Any student seeking this arrangement must submit a form signed by all members of the advising team, attesting to their willingness and summer availability. This form should be submitted to the PhD Academic Administrator no later than the Spring thesis due date. Failure to do so may result in removal from eligibility for the September degree list. If this happens, a student would need to submit their thesis and hold the defense during the fall term, and would need to pay the pro-rated fall semester's tuition if beyond the funded five academic years.

• Advisor sign-off required
• Advisor sign-off required 
• With members of PhD Committee required 
• Determine first and second field exams interests
• Assemble general exams committee
• General exam committee sign-off required
• Complete course work p reparation for general exams
• Complete second-year review statement and meeting
• Dissertation committee and external reviewer sign-off required

Year Three+

• Complete further coursework - if helpful to dissertation 
• Research and write dissertation
• Dissertation chair and committee members
• Revise dissertation as necessary  
• Dissertation chair and/or committee sign-off required
• Revise dissertation as necessary 
• Submit completed dissertation to department

First Semester

• Meet with your assigned faculty advisor
• Determine who will be your faculty advisor for your First-Year Paper (FYP)
• Complete FYP research proposal 

Second Semester

• Work on FYP, including fieldwork during IAP if necessary 
• Submit your First-Year Paper
• Schedule your First-year Review
• At least two weeks before First-year Review at the end of second semester.
• Take any recommended actions after First-year Review meeting   

Third Semester

• OPTIONAL schedule a presentation of your First-Year paper in the PhD Colloquium series
• Determine your first and second field exams interests
• Your chair must be a member of DUSP faculty
• at least another two faculty members, at least one of whom must be a member of the MIT faculty

Fourth Semester

• Schedule your first and second field examinations 
• sent to the members of your exam committee
• sent to DUSP's PhD Academic Administrator at least one month before taking your general exams
• with PhD Committee member and your advisor 
• take any necessary actions following meeting
• Take   your first and second field examinations
• within three months of finishing general exams
• Explore and decide who will chair your Dissertation Committee
• Think about and discuss with your Dissertation Chair who else will sit on your Dissertation Committee

Fifth Semester

• If exams are not completed in your second year, please note you must complete your general exams by the end of your fifth semester. Please refer to semester four for more details.
• Meet with your Dissertation Committee chair to discuss your dissertation proposal
• Write a draft dissertation proposal for feedback from your Dissertation Committee
• ​​​​​​​Circulate your dissertation proposal to your Dissertation Committee
• Schedule a colloquium on your dissertation proposal

This embedded table shows recent dissertation research by the doctoral community. A more complete listing of DUSP dissertation work can be found here.

Additional resources for DUSP doctoral students may be found in DUSP's Resources, Policies, and Procedures page under general ,  funding sources , professional development , students , and doctoral students .  

We welcome any questions you have about the DUSP doctoral program. 

• Questions, concerns, and/or complaints regarding registration, enrollment, leaves, exams and/or other student requirements should be addressed to Sandra Elliot  .
• Questions, concerns, and/or complaints regarding regarding the doctoral student process should be addressed to the PhD Committee co-Chairs ( see DUSP Governance )

HISTORY • ANTHROPOLOGY • SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY

Combining rigorous critical methods with a vibrant interdisciplinary approach, we study how science and technology shape—and are shaped by—the world we live in today.

HASTS at MIT is a tight-knit community of intellectually dynamic, enthusiastically collaborative, and endlessly curious students, faculty members, and alumni.

Faculty Students Alumni

HASTS is a doctoral program within MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Our students work at the heart of the world’s most prominent institution devoted to science and technology.

Apply to HASTS

As one of the most selective of MIT’s graduate programs, HASTS provides rigorous training that prepares students to define the future of the fields in which they establish their careers.

Get Started

HASTS PROJECTS

Rigorously explored. Curiously driven.

Every HASTS graduate completes a final doctoral dissertation based on a multiyear investigation. The projects that our students undertake are vibrantly interdisciplinary and derived from each person’s individual interests—from exploring the culture of data centers to tracking the supply chains that create modern medicines.

Learn more about the projects—and the questions—that captivate us.

Sample Projects

Department of Linguistics and Philosophy

Are you an undergraduate Seeker of Enlightenment? Someone with an undergraduate degree who likes the idea of being called “Doctor”? A traveller from an antique land who wishes to rest awhile in MIT philosophy? If so, your quest is over.

Undergraduate Program Ph.D. Program Dissertations Placement etc. Graduate Admissions Visitor Program

• USF Research
• USF Libraries

Digital Commons @ USF > College of Arts and Sciences > Philosophy > Theses and Dissertations

Philosophy Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.

On the Possibility of Secular Morality , Zachary R. Alonso

An Ecofeminist Ontological Turn: Preparing the Field for a New Ecofeminist Project , M. Laurel-Leigh Meierdiercks

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

Karl Marx on Human Flourishing and Proletarian Ethics , Sam Badger

The Ontological Grounds of Reason: Psychologism, Logicism, and Hermeneutic Phenomenology , Stanford L. Howdyshell

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Interdisciplinary Communication by Plausible Analogies: the Case of Buddhism and Artificial Intelligence , Michael Cooper

Heidegger and the Origin of Authenticity , John J. Preston

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Hegel and Schelling: The Emptiness of Emptiness and the Love of the Divine , Sean B. Gleason

Nietzsche on Criminality , Laura N. McAllister

Learning to be Human: Ren 仁, Modernity, and the Philosophers of China's Hundred Days' Reform , Lucien Mathot Monson

Nietzsche and Eternal Recurrence: Methods, Archives, History, and Genesis , William A. B. Parkhurst

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Orders of Normativity: Nietzsche, Science and Agency , Shane C. Callahan

Humanistic Climate Philosophy: Erich Fromm Revisited , Nicholas Dovellos

This, or Something like It: Socrates and the Problem of Authority , Simon Dutton

Climate Change and Liberation in Latin America , Ernesto O. Hernández

Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa as Expressions of Shame in a Post-Feminist , Emily Kearns

Nostalgia and (In)authentic Community: A Bataillean Answer to the Heidegger Controversy , Patrick Miller

Cultivating Virtue: A Thomistic Perspective on the Relationship Between Moral Motivation and Skill , Ashley Potts

Identity, Breakdown, and the Production of Knowledge: Intersectionality, Phenomenology, and the Project of Post-Marxist Standpoint Theory , Zachary James Purdue

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

The Efficacy of Comedy , Mark Anthony Castricone

William of Ockham's Divine Command Theory , Matthew Dee

Heidegger's Will to Power and the Problem of Nietzsche's Nihilism , Megan Flocken

Abelard's Affective Intentionalism , Lillian M. King

Anton Wilhelm Amo's Philosophy and Reception: from the Origins through the Encyclopédie , Dwight Kenneth Lewis Jr.

"The Thought that we Hate": Regulating Race-Related Speech on College Campuses , Michael McGowan

A Historical Approach to Understanding Explanatory Proofs Based on Mathematical Practices , Erika Oshiro

From Meaningful Work to Good Work: Reexamining the Moral Foundation of the Calling Orientation , Garrett W. Potts

Reasoning of the Highest Leibniz and the Moral Quality of Reason , Ryan Quandt

Fear, Death, and Being-a-problem: Understanding and Critiquing Racial Discourse with Heidegger’s Being and Time , Jesús H. Ramírez

The Role of Skepticism in Early Modern Philosophy: A Critique of Popkin's "Sceptical Crisis" and a Study of Descartes and Hume , Raman Sachdev

How the Heart Became Muscle: From René Descartes to Nicholas Steno , Alex Benjamin Shillito

Autonomy, Suffering, and the Practice of Medicine: A Relational Approach , Michael A. Stanfield

The Case for the Green Kant: A Defense and Application of a Kantian Approach to Environmental Ethics , Zachary T. Vereb

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Augustine's Confessiones : The Battle between Two Conversions , Robert Hunter Craig

The Strategic Naturalism of Sandra Harding's Feminist Standpoint Epistemology: A Path Toward Epistemic Progress , Dahlia Guzman

Hume on the Doctrine of Infinite Divisibility: A Matter of Clarity and Absurdity , Wilson H. Underkuffler

Climate Change: Aristotelian Virtue Theory, the Aidōs Response and Proper Primility , John W. Voelpel

The Fate of Kantian Freedom: the Kant-Reinhold Controversy , John Walsh

Time, Tense, and Ontology: Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Tense, the Phenomenology of Temporality, and the Ontology of Time , Justin Brandt Wisniewski

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

A Phenomenological Approach to Clinical Empathy: Rethinking Empathy Within its Intersubjective and Affective Contexts , Carter Hardy

From Object to Other: Models of Sociality after Idealism in Gadamer, Levinas, Rosenzweig, and Bonhoeffer , Christopher J. King

Humanitarian Military Intervention: A Failed Paradigm , Faruk Rahmanovic

Active Suffering: An Examination of Spinoza's Approach to Tristita , Kathleen Ketring Schenk

Cartesian Method and Experiment , Aaron Spink

An Examination of John Burton’s Method of Conflict Resolution and Its Applicability to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict , John Kenneth Steinmeyer

Speaking of the Self: Theorizing the Dialogical Dimensions of Ethical Agency , Bradley S. Warfield

Changing Changelessness: On the Genesis and Development of the Doctrine of Divine Immutability in the Ancient and Hellenic Period , Milton Wilcox

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

The Statue that Houses the Temple: A Phenomenological Investigation of Western Embodiment Towards the Making of Heidegger's Missing Connection with the Greeks , Michael Arvanitopoulos

An Exploratory Analysis of Media Reporting of Police Involved Shootings in Florida , John L. Brown

Divine Temporality: Bonhoeffer's Theological Appropriation of Heidegger's Existential Analytic of Dasein , Nicholas Byle

Stoicism in Descartes, Pascal, and Spinoza: Examining Neostoicism’s Influence in the Seventeenth Century , Daniel Collette

Phenomenology and the Crisis of Contemporary Psychiatry: Contingency, Naturalism, and Classification , Anthony Vincent Fernandez

A Critique of Charitable Consciousness , Chioke Ianson

writing/trauma , Natasha Noel Liebig

Leibniz's More Fundamental Ontology: from Overshadowed Individuals to Metaphysical Atoms , Marin Lucio Mare

Violence and Disagreement: From the Commonsense View to Political Kinds of Violence and Violent Nonviolence , Gregory Richard Mccreery

Kant's Just War Theory , Steven Charles Starke

A Feminist Contestation of Ableist Assumptions: Implications for Biomedical Ethics, Disability Theory, and Phenomenology , Christine Marie Wieseler

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Heidegger and the Problem of Modern Moral Philosophy , Megan Emily Altman

The Encultured Mind: From Cognitive Science to Social Epistemology , David Alexander Eck

Weakness of Will: An Inquiry on Value , Michael Funke

Cogs in a Cosmic Machine: A Defense of Free Will Skepticism and its Ethical Implications , Sacha Greer

Thinking Nature, "Pierre Maupertuis and the Charge of Error Against Fermat and Leibniz" , Richard Samuel Lamborn

John Duns Scotus’s Metaphysics of Goodness: Adventures in 13th-Century Metaethics , Jeffrey W. Steele

A Gadamerian Analysis of Roman Catholic Hermeneutics: A Diachronic Analysis of Interpretations of Romans 1:17-2:17 , Steven Floyd Surrency

A Natural Case for Realism: Processes, Structures, and Laws , Andrew Michael Winters

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Leibniz's Theodicies , Joseph Michael Anderson

Aeschynē in Aristotle's Conception of Human Nature , Melissa Marie Coakley

Ressentiment, Violence, and Colonialism , Jose A. Haro

It's About Time: Dynamics of Inflationary Cosmology as the Source of the Asymmetry of Time , Emre Keskin

Time Wounds All Heels: Human Nature and the Rationality of Just Behavior , Timothy Glenn Slattery

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Nietzsche and Heidegger on the Cartesian Atomism of Thought , Steven Burgess

Embodying Social Practice: Dynamically Co-Constituting Social Agency , Brian W. Dunst

Subject of Conscience: On the Relation between Freedom and Discrimination in the Thought of Heidegger, Foucault, and Butler , Aret Karademir

Climate, Neo-Spinozism, and the Ecological Worldview , Nancy M. Kettle

Eschatology in a Secular Age: An Examination of the Use of Eschatology in the Philosophies of Heidegger, Berdyaev and Blumenberg , John R. Lup, Jr.

Navigation and Immersion of the American Identity in a Foreign Culture to Emergence as a Culturally Relative Ambassador , Lee H. Rosen

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

A Philosophical Analysis of Intellectual Property: In Defense of Instrumentalism , Michael A. Kanning

A Commentary On Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's Discourse on Metaphysics #19 , Richard Lamborn Samuel Lamborn

Sellars in Context: An Analysis of Wilfrid Sellars's Early Works , Peter Jackson Olen

The New Materialism: Althusser, Badiou, and Zizek , Geoffrey Dennis Pfeifer

Structure and Agency: An Analysis of the Impact of Structure on Group Agents , Elizabeth Kaye Victor

Moral Friction, Moral Phenomenology, and the Improviser , Benjamin Scott Young

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

The Virtuoso Human: A Virtue Ethics Model Based on Care , Frederick Joseph Bennett

The Existential Compromise in the History of the Philosophy of Death , Adam Buben

Philosophical Precursors to the Radical Enlightenment: Vignettes on the Struggle Between Philosophy and Theology From the Greeks to Leibniz With Special Emphasis on Spinoza , Anthony John Desantis

The Problem of Evil in Augustine's Confessions , Edward Matusek

The Persistence of Casuistry: a Neo-premodernist Approach to Moral Reasoning , Richard Arthur Mercadante

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

Dewey's Pragmatism and the Great Community , Philip Schuyler Bishop

Unamuno's Concept of the Tragic , Ernesto O. Hernandez

Rethinking Ethical Naturalism: The Implications of Developmental Systems Theory , Jared J.. Kinggard

From Husserl and the Neo-Kantians to Art: Heidegger's Realist Historicist Answer to the Problem of the Origin of Meaning , William H. Koch

Queering Cognition: Extended Minds and Sociotechnologically Hybridized Gender , Michele Merritt

Hydric Life: A Nietzschean Reading of Postcolonial Communication , Elena F. Ruiz-Aho

Descartes' Bête Machine, the Leibnizian Correction and Religious Influence , John Voelpel

Aretē and Physics: The Lesson of Plato's Timaeus , John R. Wolfe

Theses/Dissertations from 2009 2009

Praxis and Theōria : Heidegger’s “Violent” Interpretation , Megan E. Altman

On the Concept of Evil: An Analysis of Genocide and State Sovereignty , Jason J. Campbell

The Role of Trust in Judgment , Christophe Sage Hudspeth

Truth And Judgment , Jeremy J. Kelly

The concept of action and responsibility in Heidegger's early thought , Christian Hans Pedersen

Advanced Search

• Email Notifications and RSS
• All Collections
• USF Faculty Publications
• Open Access Journals
• Conferences and Events
• Theses and Dissertations
• Textbooks Collection

Useful Links

• Philosophy Department
• Rights Information
• SelectedWorks
• Submit Research

Home | About | Help | My Account | Accessibility Statement | Language and Diversity Statements

Privacy Copyright