I am applying to a Philosophy Master degree which I have little experience on, what should I do with my CV and cover letter?

Question

I did Economics for my Undergrad but I switched to Philosophy for my Taught master degree. I absolutely love Philosophy but I only have a Merit for it, so I didn't think I would be competent enough for a PhD so I have been working in banking for about 1.5 yr instead.

But now I want to apply to another Taught Master degree which focuses on Logic, with the goal of applying to a PhD eventually, since I feel that I need a Master to boost up my knowledge/exposure in Philosophy and Logic before jumping to PhD.

The problem is I have very little I can talk about in my cover letter and CV...

When I look at the others' CV I see a long list of awards, publications...etc. In contrast, I have hardly any exposure to Philosophy from my Undergrad except a course in ethics, and one in intro to logic.

From my Master I have 5 paper assignments + 1 dissertation with no in-depth research to talk about (since my dissertation really just explained two opposing theories in my own words without much original input from my own, I simply did not have enough ideas about Philosophy back then to develop my own ideas).

I have indeed been self-studying logic/discrete maths on my own while I have a 9-6, sometimes 9-7 job. This is perhaps my biggest pros since I think it does take determination, but it seems cheeky to elaborate on it and also difficult to develop as a point. I also haven't been making a good progress on it since I can only do about 1 hr of studying every night...

All in all I don't think my CV would last more than 1 page, so I am desperate for any idea to expand on it. Could anyone please help? Thank you so much!

The English here seems off on several points. Can you state in the most succinct form what your question is? — virmaior, Dec 11 '16 at 10:31
Sorry, my point is, in view of my background above, I am not sure how can I complement the serious weakness I have to create a persuasive CV and cover letter to my application. — Constantly confused, Dec 11 '16 at 10:50
Possible duplicate of How does the admissions process work for Ph.D. programs in the US, particularly for weak or borderline students? — gman, Dec 11 '16 at 14:01

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 11 '16 at 20:17

A taught master's degree are given in programs where the majority of the 'work' that you do is coursework rather than research.

In those cases, the assumption is that you are seeking more background in the field -- which implies that you don't have enough background in the field. I think that you'll find that if you get in, most of your cohort will have similar ... how shall we say it... diverse backgrounds.

I would write your statement just as you did, that you don't have much background but that you are seeking a PhD in the field and see the taught master's as a stepping stone towards that.

I am applying to a Philosophy Master degree which I have little experience on, what should I do with my CV and cover letter?

1 Answers1