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Applying to MA programs without a specialist in a niche subfield?

In our March "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I am an undergraduate student who is interested in philosophy but not majoring in it. I am thinking of applying to some terminal MA programs, but I have a problem:
My interest is in a relatively niche subfield of philosophy (FYI, it is metaphilosophy). And only a few departments with funded terminal MA programs have people who have published in this field.

In this case, do you think it is a good idea to apply to departments without people working in my field of interest? If so, what should I do in a department without people who share my interest to maximize my learning? If not, do you know of any alternatives?

I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks, but given that the reader notes that they are not a philosophy major, I guess I'm inclined to think that they should apply to MA programs regardless. First, they might find that other subfields interest them once they are in a graduate program–as my sense (and personal experience) is that philosophical interests can change a lot in grad school. Second, if they are interested in metaphilosophy, faculty in a good MA program may be able to provide decent mentorship on developing research in the area, even if they aren't specialists per se.

But these are just my thoughts. What are yours?

 

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7 responses to “Applying to MA programs without a specialist in a niche subfield?”

  1. Michel

    IMO, specialization matters for the PhD bit not the MA. The point of the MA is to gain breadth in the subject; the point of the PhD is breadth.

    Reply
  2. one take

    I think you should pursue graduate level study in philosophy only if you have a fairly wide interest in the discipline, or at least feel pulled towards one of its major subareas (including history). If you truly just have a narrow interest in one niche area, then I’m not sure that grad level work would make sense. You’ll have to do a bunch of coursework, and write a bunch of papers, related to things that may not interest you. That’s my two cents anyway.

    Reply
  3. Metaphilosophy

    There’s a journal called Metaphilosophy. You can read articles from there to get an idea of what the subfield is about.

    Reply
  4. Sara Bellum

    Interests are in part a function of exposure. Since undergraduate non-majors normally haven’t had much exposure, they should be open to the fact that their interests are likely to change more than they here now anticipate. Terminal MA programs are a great way to rectify area and unit deficiencies and accumulate breadth while starting to focus. Good MA programs are good in part because they have good faculty; and, yes, good faculty can provide decent mentorship even if they aren’t specialists per se.

    Reply
  5. academic migrant

    Absolutely worth it insofar as your midterm goal is to do a PhD on whatever you want to do. One important point of a MA is to get into a good PhD program. You will be competing on grounds of your writing sample, letters, and transcripts, among other things. A good MA helps you prepare these things.

    Reply
  6. mossy

    It sounds like you should apply to every funded MA program you can and see what happens. Once you see what happens, then you can see if you have any room to be nitpicking. I did my undergrad not in Philosophy and then went on to get a Philosophy MA. I got into one program so the decision was pretty easy about which one but I was also only applying to continental or environmental programs.

    Reply
  7. Chris

    While I’m not sure what you mean by “metaphilosophy” – because people mean different things by that – studying metaphilosophy without much philosophy background sounds a bit like doing philosophy of physics without much physics background. Seems like it would be hard to do well.

    Reply

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