Explore philosophy in the wild! The University of Montana, located in the heart of the northern Rocky Mountain ecosystem, now offers a graduate concentration in environmental philosophy administered through the Department of Philosophy.

Masters students in philosophy may earn a concentration in environmental philosophy as preparation for doctorate-level work in philosophy, or for work in such related fields as environmental law, policy, or community activism. The program is designed for students with undergraduate degrees in philosophy.

Faculty areas of specialization include environmental ethics, environmental pragmatism and pluralism, technology and the environment, environmental postmodernism, political ecology, wilderness issues, ecofeminism, ecocriticism, and environmental issues in agriculture. Philosophy faculty directly affiliated with the concentration are:

• Albert Borgmann (Ph.D., University of Munich, 1963)

  • Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1984)
  • Crossing the Postmodern Divide (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1992)

• Andrew Light (Ph.D., University of California, Riverside, 1996)

  • Environmental Pragmatism, co-editor (Routledge, 1996)
  • The Environmental Materialism Reader, editor (Univ. of Minnesota Press, forthcoming)
  • Anarchism, Nature, and Society: Critical Essays on Social Ecology, (Guilford Press, forthcoming)
  • and co-editor of the journal Philosophy and Geography

• Deborah Slicer (Ph.D., University of Virginia, 1989)

  • editorial board member for Ethics and the Environment
  • numerous essays on ecofeminism and environmental postmodernism

Additional instructional and research opportunities are available with nine other philosophy faculty in a wide array of areas including: applied ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of science, continental feminism, philosophy of language, legal philosophy, political philosophy, and ancient philosophy. Other opportunities exist with faculty in the University's graduate program in Environmental Studies, the Center for the Rocky Mountain West, the Center for Practical Ethics, Native American Studies, a large School of Forestry, and an undergraduate Wilderness and Civilization Program.

All environmental philosophy students must take an introductory environmental studies course at the University of Montana or an equivalent course at another institution. Thesis students must earn 30 graduate semester hours, up to 24 of these may be in environmental philosophy. Thesis students must also write a traditional thesis on a single topic in environmental philosophy or three professional papers in areas of environmental philosophy. Nonthesis students must earn 36 semester hours, up to 30 of these may be in environmental philosophy. Nonthesis students must successfully complete an exam in environmental philosophy and complete a research project in environmental philosophy that will culminate in a summary paper to be defended orally. Both thesis and nonthesis students must complete a 3 credit internship with an approved environmental organization or agency.

For application deadlines and additional requirements, consult the Philosophy Section of the Graduate Catalog.

For additional information or application materials write:

Deborah Slicer
Department of Philosophy
University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812
Fax: 406-243-4076
Phone: 406-243-2171

Or e-mail: alight@selway.umt.edu