Talk:Candidate of Philosophy

[Untitled]
Curps, an explanation for reverting the move from C.Phil. to All But Dissertation would be nice. I don't want to get into a US/UK war here. Is it just a matter of which term is more common overall? &mdash;Quarl (talk) 2006-01-12 04:30Z 

C.Phil. in UK
After going through two English universities and being awarded a Ph.D. at one of them, I have never come across the term C.Phil. used in the UK. There is no true British equivalent to the US ABD status; as UK doctoral students only write a dissertation they are, by definition, always "all but dissertation".

The degree of M.Phil. (Master in Philosophy) are the closest thing, as UK Ph.D. students actually start their doctoral programme registered as an M.Phil. student. After 12-18 months (full-time - longer if part-time) they write an upgrade report (or give a presentation, or have a viva, depending on the university / department). If they pass this, they move up to full Ph.D status. If they fail, they may submit what work they have for an M.Phil. degree, or, if their dissertation is not felt to be good enough at viva, they may be awarded an M.Phil. in place of the Ph.D. &mdash;The preceding unsigned comment was added by Dalloyd (talk &bull; contribs).


 * Okay, I removed "(UK)". I wrote that because I foolishly assumed it was a UK thing since I had never heard of it either.  Apparently it is a US thing.  I've changed it.  Would add that information about M.Phil. etc to the article?  &mdash;Quarl (talk) 2006-01-13 21:03Z 


 * Actually, I'd like to see some examples of this from the US. As a US academic, I had never heard of C.Phil. until I just looked up the informal term "ABD".  Can someone provide references to this "degree" or "status" being formally awarded in the U.S.?  It's not that I doubt it, I'd just like to see it... Isoxyl 17:16, 15 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Hi isoxyl. I'm a graduate student in math at the University of California, San Diego, and I expect to receive a C.Phil. degree in a few months, when I have "advanced to candidacy."  This will occur when I form my committee and they approve my dissertation topic.  Of course the degree itself is really just a formality, intended as a stepping-stone to the Ph.D.; I am not sure whether they even actually issue a paper diploma.  However there are some technicalities involved: for instance, regulations prohibit receiving a Master's degree (M.A.) after receiving the C.Phil.  Now, you have to have an M.A. to teach at the local community colleges, which is a nice source of extra income for grad students.  The requirements for the M.A. are a proper subset of those for the Ph.D., so a Ph.D. student making normal progress will be eligible for the M.A. after his/her first year or two.  But the degree is not automatically awarded, you have to file some paperwork.  So it is essential to remember to do this before advancing to candidacy, else you will lose the opportunity! Anyway, the formal regulations describing the degree can be found at .  Hope this helps! Nate. 71.136.247.93 07:34, 2 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Thanks, Nate. That helps a lot.  I had not heard of it being formally awarded, though I had heard of places, such as Cornell where some graduate students receive an M.A. (and others may receive M.S., not sure) when they advance to candidacy.   Interesting.  Thanks for filling me in!  Isoxyl 13:05, 5 July 2006 (UTC)


 * The MPhil degree in the UK isn't really the same thing at all. It's a higher (postgraduate) degree by research that lies somewhere in difficulty between a research MA/MSc/MRes/etc and a PhD.  It's often awarded to PhD candidates whose thesis is judged not to be of the required standard for a PhD, and has thus acquired a reputation as a sort of academic 'consolation prize'.  Many (but by no means all) UK universities require all PhD students to register for the MPhil in the first instance, and to formally request transfer to PhD at the end of the first or second year of study - typically some sort of written report and/or presentation is required.  However, the MPhil is an academic degree in its own right, and I know several people who (for various entirely valid reasons) have embarked on one with no intention of upgrading to PhD. Nicholas Jackson 11:52, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Is there an ABT
My resume currently says "MBA (Current)" which is hoping no one will notice I haven't finished yet. I'm all done with all the classes, but piteously slow working on my thesis. The other day, when I referred to my illustrious President as PhD-ABD someone pulled me aside and said the ABD wasn't a rank, but an apology. But it sounds nice, especially since my primary income comes from teaching at local colleges (which would generally require a Masters, but I'm a good teacher, so no one's ever questioned it). Is there such thing as an ABT (all but thesis?) Do you think I could get away with it? If so should it be mentioned in the article? --Mrcolj 22:42, 28 August 2006 (UTC)


 * It sounds like what you're talking about in this as ABT (all but thesis) would be completely equivalent to ABD. Why don't you just use ABD?  (Notwithstanding comment by colleague above, because if you haven't finished, there's no use tiptoeing around it, or someone will find out your doing so later.)  If you use ABT, some might ask you what that means and you'll have to explain it, whereas ABD is more widely understood and will probably just be skimmed over unless degree completion is very important to them.  While some places might differentiate between thesis and dissertation, I believe most people understand them to be roughly equivalent, with differences in nomenclature between different schools for the same thing.  I believe All But Dissertation is more often the definition people think of (as opposed to all but degree or all but done).  After all, if you've got the dissertation done, what's stopping you from having the degree officially?  The swim test?  Anyway, in your shoes I would use ABD and plan on getting that MBA done!  Or just ignoring it and hoping everyone else does too.  Just don't try to pretend you've got your degree done when you don't, because we've all seen a lot of folks who claimed to have completed their degrees but didn't and got slammed later!  Good luck, Mrcolj! Isoxyl 23:36, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Anglo-American POV
Stumbling on this page and coming from Finland, reading the page was really tough going, as I came from the "procrastination" page via the "all but degree" forward and got something rather surprising... took a while to understand what "C. Phil." is actually a formal pre-doctorate "all but done" state somewhere. Internationally speaking, this really elevates "candidates" way above their status here (and I suspect elsewhere in continental Europe), as here those with a "Candidate's Degree" are actually the lowest academic degree level -- it's essentially Bachelor's. Being a "doctoral candidate" is a whole different matter, and academically, in that state, you either hold a Master's or a Licenciate.

I would suspect that "All But Done" is a more general academic phenomenon that relates to theses -- personally I spent way too much time being ABD with my Master's Thesis, which is an unfortunately common occurrence :-) It should probably be separated from explaining C.Phil., which in turn might deserve a more international treatment... 84.230.24.5 03:26, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

I think ABD means 'all but dissertation' and not 'all but done'...though I admit it could mean both to others. I've never heard it used with the MA, but I've only studied at schools in the USA. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.111.199.58 (talk) 01:36, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

ABD vs. MA/MS
Is there a difference between earning a Master’s only (as in, from an institution that does not confer a PhD) and being ABD? Do you have to not finish a PhD specifically or is it the same thing? Because students who have earned Master’s Degrees have completed the same amount of coursework as would a doctoral student. Intrepidsfsu 00:32, 24 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Being ABD implies that all required qualification exams were passed at the PhD level, that the candidate has presented a thesis research topic (usually with evidence of tangible progress) to his/her doctoral committee, and that the committee has approved of the thesis topic following the presentation. Myasuda 02:42, 24 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't know about the United States, but at least in Europe, doctoral students have to do more coursework after finishing their Master's degrees. Perhaps doctors in the United States are less educated than in Europe. --Vuo 10:10, 24 January 2007 (UTC)
 * In the United States, PhD candidates are not required to obtain Master's degrees. Many do not.  PhD candidates are expected to continue to take courses to maintain enrollment, so if they chose to obtain a Master's degree first then of course they would continue to take more coursework.Myasuda 14:25, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

UC Berkeley does not offer C. Phil.
Hello editors, while at Berkeley, I have never heard of C. Phil.'s being offered, and in fact the list of graduate degrees offered at Berkeley shows no such degree offerred. I am going to remove UCB from the list of schools offering the degree. I intend to check up on the other UC schools too; if I'm wrong, please undo my edits and provide a reference in the article.


 * Oops, nevermind, a little searching found a page that mentions it. --chodges 17:39, 2 September 2007 (UTC) See also: http://opa.berkeley.edu/candidate-philosophy-degree UCB has awarded the degree for some forty years. There is a formal diploma which looks exactly like any UC MA or MS degree certificate.

I am also confused by the statement in the article that "The University of California began offering the Candidate in Philosophy degree in the early seventies, but most campuses discontinued the practice before the end of that decade." Especially since the most prominent UC schools are listed as currently offering it. Something smells funny to me about this... If somebody is aware that these statements are true, please cite them. Otherwise, they are likely to be removed. --chodges 17:32, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

University of Washington Aeronautics & Astronautics Candidate Certificate
The University of Washington Ph.D. Aeronautics & Astronautics program confers upon those who have passed the general examination a Candidate Certificate, however, I am not certain if it is officially a C.Phil. --68.227.32.148 (talk) 08:44, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Where is this degree offered?
Having a dig around the .edu domains, this appears to be a degree only awarded at the University of California, where it is formally called the Candidate in Philosophy (although sometimes referred to as Candidate of Philosophy). Most of the rest of the page appears to be OR at best, and possibly simply personal opinions. Robminchin (talk) 22:22, 24 August 2017 (UTC)


 * Looking into this further, the UK section appears completely spurious - while the information appears correct, there is no connection to the CPhil. The former Danish cand.phil. should be mentioned on an equal footing with the UCal degree. Robminchin (talk) 00:44, 25 August 2017 (UTC)