Apparently the University of Florida is
cutting its Ph.D. in Philosophy. It has had some discussion in the blogosphere. Honestly, I think it's a good thing; the philosophy market can't handle the Ph.D.'s being produced as things are. (For similar reasons, I think the recent increase in philosophy majors is bad for the profession, not because it's bad to have more philosophy majors, but because we are kidding ourselves or lying to our students if we are suggesting that things are set up so that they are likely to gain anything more from the philosophy major, relative to other degrees, than the personal philosophical growth they might get from it if their program is well taught. If the increase consisted of all double majors, that would be different.) Better that it be simply cut at a university that is being forced into massive budget cuts than to limp and decline as crunch after crunch comes along under an administration that isn't going to make it a priority. But I seem to be very much in the minority on these issues (unsurprisingly). For thoughtful contrary arguments see
Leiter Reports,
Praeter Necessitatum, and the
Florida Student Philosophy Blog. There is an
online petition, put together by Sabrina Jamil, to protest; I won't be signing it, of course, but if you feel strongly about the issue, it is something to consider. (If you do sign the petition, be sure to follow Leiter's advice and put some indicator of who you are, e.g., "assistant professor in philosophy at Ivory Tower University," "graduate student in philosophy at Hudson College," or whatever, so that there's more than just the name.)
UPDATE: Sabrina Jamil left a comment that I'll put here, so it doesn't get eaten by Haloscan down the road.
A dissenting opinion is always valuable, and I think you make some excellent points, but it seems that the problem you target (issues with the job market) are the result of a larger attitude that treats philosophy as unimportant. At institutions where philosophy is valued, in fact, the potential for jobs is ample, but budgetary constraints prevent them from becoming actual jobs. For instance, at Miami Dade College (where I currently work), there are very few full-time lines in philosophy -- one to two per campus, over eight campuses -- but the college overall easily offers 3 or 4 times the number of courses that can be taught by full-time faculty. The remainder courses are taught by adjuncts. If the budget allowed for it, presumably the College would open up more full-time positions, and hire more Ph.D. faculty, rather than M.A. faculty such as myself. The issue here is no different than it is for any other discipline within the "humanities" umbrella -- the discipline itself is undervalued by institutions of higher learning, so the budget for those disciplines is constrained. A better approach to the problem of job flow is to encourage growth in the discipline that will push institutions to open more full-time positions. (This is effectively how the position I hold now was created.)
