The Department offers graduate instruction leading to the MA and PhD degrees. In each program emphasis is placed both on the attainment of a substantial degree of competence in major areas of Philosophy, and on acquisition of research skills necessary for independent scholarship. The Department maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio and encourages contact between students and faculty both through the design of the program (see the description of the second, or "area", phase of the PhD program), and by various activities it sponsors. These include a vigorous colloquium series that has brought many well-known philosophers to the campus, and many less formal gatherings arranged by faculty and students. Departmental physical surroundings; a library, meeting and seminar rooms, and student offices located among those of the faculty; also contribute to the pattern of frequent interaction.
The Department maintains an active teaching internship program for teaching assistants which leads in stages from smaller assignments to the independent teaching of an undergraduate course or course segment.