The Departments of Philosophy
and Physics at
Columbia University are now
offering a Master of Arts Program in the Philosophical Foundations of
Physics.
General Overview
The program is designed to meet the needs of an increasing population of
gifted students who are intrigued by, and want to participate in, the growing
scholarly interest in the relationship between the philosophy of science and
the foundations of physics. The program will draw on the diverse strengths
of Columbia University and the surrounding metropolitan area in Physics, the
Foundations of Physics, the Philosophy of Physics, and the Philosophy of
Science.
The program should be extremely attractive to bright students who have
undergraduate degrees in either physics or philosophy and who aspire to do
original research in the conceptual foundations of modern physics. It is
envisaged that students who successfully complete the program will most often
want to continue toward a Ph.D. in either physics or philosophy and
thereafter to pursue a career in research, but the program will also prove
very useful to students whose future plans involve teaching or science
journalism.
Course and Thesis Requirements
The instructional component of the program consists of ten courses (six graded
and four audited) which can be taken over two semesters of full-time work. In
addition, students submit a written master's thesis which presents original
research on some aspect of the foundations or philosophy of physics and which
is to be completed under the supervision of a member of the Physics or
Philosophy Department at Columbia University.
Students can satisfy the program's course requirements by choosing from
the following offerings in philosophy and physics:
Philosophy Department
- The Philosophy of Science
- The Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Mechanics
- The Philosophy of Space and Time
- The Direction of Time
- Probability and Induction
- Logic
- The Theory of Knowledge
- The Scientific Revolution
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Physics Department
- Special and General Relativity
- General Relativity and Black Holes
- Early Universe Cosmology and Particle Astrophysics
- Classical Mechanics
- Quantum Mechanics
- Quantum Field Theory
- Thermal and Statistical Physics
- Statistical Mechanics
- Mathematical Methods of Physics
- Geometric Concepts in Physics
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Faculty Members and Areas of Specialization
- David Albert (Philosophy; Program Director)
- Foundations of quantum theory, foundations of statistical mechanics,
foundations of relativity theory, philosophy of science.
- Allan Blaer (Physics; Associate Program Director)
- Quantum mechanics, thermal and statistical physics, relativity,
elementary particles.
- John Collins (Philosophy)
- Metaphysics, epistemology, decision theory.
- Richard Friedberg (Physics)
- Statistical mechanics, quantum theory, relativity.
- Alan Gabbey (Philosophy)
- History and philosophy of science, history of early modern
philosophy.
- Haim Gaifman (Philosophy)
- Probability theory, logic, philosophy of language.
- Brian Greene (Physics and Mathematics)
- Quantum field theory, relativity, geometric concepts in physics.
- Marc Kamionkowski (Physics)
- Cosmology, relativity, astrophysics.
- Isaac Levi (Philosophy)
- Epistemology, decision theory, philosophy of science.
- Christia Mercer (Philosophy)
- History and philosophy of science, history of early modern
philosophy.
- Alfred Muller (Physics)
- Quantum field theory, relativity, elementary particles.
- Malvin Ruderman (Physics)
- Astrophysics, fluid dynamics, statistical physics.
- Achille Varzi (Philosophy)
- Logic, formal semantics, analytic metaphysics.
- Erick Weinberg (Physics)
- Relativity, cosmology, quantum mechanics, elementary particles.
For More Information and Application Forms
Graduate School
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Program Coordinator
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- GSAS Admissions Office
Mail Code 4305
Columbia University
535 West 116th Street
New York, NY 10027
- Phone: 212-854-8120
Email: gsasma@columbia.edu
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- Mr. Kofi Taha
Department of Philosophy
Mail Code 4971
Columbia University
1150 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10027
- Phone: 212-854-8507
Email: kat5@columbia.edu
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Philosophy Department
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Physics Department
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- Professor David Albert
Department of Philosophy
Mail Code 4974
Columbia University
1150 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10027
- Phone: 212-854-3519
Email: da5@columbia.edu
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- Professor Allan Blaer
Department of Physics
Mail Code 5227
Columbia University
550 West 120th Street
New York, NY 10027
- Phone: 212-854-3262
Email: asb@phys.columbia.edu
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To be considered for the 1998-99 M.A. program, completed applications
must be received by Columbia University no later than March 31, 1998.
(The program will begin in September, 1998, pending approval by the New
York State Regents.)