Department of

Applicants for admission to the graduate program in History and Philosophy of Science should have a suitable undergraduate degree and some knowledge of the natural or social sciences. Applicants are very welcome to visit the department to meet and talk with faculty and graduate students. Arrangements can be made through the HPS administrative office.

Applications must be submitted online. The University of Pittsburgh no longer accepts paper applications.

The deadline for completed applications is January 10.

A complete application consists of the following. The online application procedure will detail which of these may be submitted electronically and which may be submitted by paper.

• Completed application form
• Application fee ($50)
• Transcripts of previous academic work
• Three letters of recommendation
• Aptitude scores on the Graduate Record Examination
• Statement of career objectives
• Sample of written work
• TOEFL or IELTS scores (applicants whose native language is not English)

Note: From 2002 the university accepts IELTS (International English Language Testing System) scores as an alternative to TOEFL for English language competence in the admission of international students to graduate programs. The minimum acceptable IELTS score is 6.5 (taking the academic reading and writing modules, as distinct from the general training reading and writing modules).

Online applicants should familiarise themselves with the information on this site, and especially with the Graduate Handbook, before applying. Please note the following points:

• Application fee and letter of recommendations can be, but need not be, handled online. Your options are explained during the online application procedure.
• For security reasons, official academic transcripts, and official records of GRE and/or TOEFL scores must be submitted in hard copy even when you have supplied this information online. (The GRE school code for the University of Pittsburgh is 2927 and the department code for History of Science (or HPS) is 2703).
• Writing samples should be mailed to the following address:
      Paolo Palmieri
      Director of Graduate Admissions
      Department of HPS
      University of Pittsburgh
      1017 Cathedral of Learning
      Pittsburgh, PA USA 15260
  They can also be emailed to Joann Mcintyre (vanna@pitt.edu).
• Your statement of career objectives should be added to the online application in the 'additional information' section. Please tell us anything you think may be relevant to our decision on your application.

Connect to the online application procedure

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