Out of all the opportunities I have taken part in during the past four years, the most rewarding experience by far has been obtaining a Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil) degree, but it is also one of the most misunderstood opportunities available to Pitt students. Many students and faculty members have either not heard of the BPhil or hold misconceptions about what the BPhil entails. As a result, a very small fraction of each graduating class currently pursues this special opportunity, but I am hopeful that this will change going forward. I want to pull back the curtain on this seemingly obscure degree and hopefully convince you that regardless of discipline obtaining the BPhil will significantly enhance any Pitt student’s collegiate experience.
Each student who graduates with a BPhil has a different story, which speaks to the versatility of this degree, and my story is quite unique. It started the winter of my sophomore year. Like most pre-med students, I have a strong research background in the hard sciences and I wanted to continue conducting research because I knew strengthening my research skills would prove invaluable once I started dental school. However, the pandemic had just begun so all wet lab research was suspended, which meant I could neither return to my prior wet lab at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh nor make inroads at a new wet lab on the Pitt campus.
At first, it seemed my research goals had been foiled by this invisible foe. However, all hope was not lost. In addition to my passion for dentistry, I am also fascinated by psychology. I realized this was an incredible opportunity for me to expand my academic horizons and explore research opportunities in the Department of Psychology as a psychology major. I joined a highly regarded psychology lab at Pitt and was fortunate that despite the halt in data collection, my lab had a significant pool of data available for students to use for research projects such that I could conduct research virtually. During the spring term, I took a Directed Research course in the lab to satisfy a major requirement, which introduced me to conducting research in this field. The summer before my junior year, I completed my first research project as part of the lab through the Brackenridge Fellowship offered by the Honors College. These experiences were integral parts of my BPhil journey, as it was after consulting with my research mentor and the Honors College about my future research plans that I was encouraged to pursue the BPhil.
Now for the moment everyone has been waiting for: what exactly is the BPhil? It is a research-focused degree that is offered by a select number of universities worldwide, and the requirements vary by university. The BPhil degree originated in Oxford in 1682 as a two-year pre-doctoral graduate degree in which students conducted research on philosophy in a certain field, such as the philosophy of physics. The nature of the degree has changed since then, as I did not have to take a single philosophy course on my path to obtaining the BPhil! At Pitt, the BPhil is jointly conferred by the Honors College and the school/college the student is graduating from, so this degree supersedes the standard BS or BA degree. A BPhil degree candidate must have already worked with their research mentor for at least one term, either for research credits or pay, to undergo the necessary training to conduct research in their field and to confirm that their research interests align with those of their mentor. Over the course of two terms, the candidate must then develop and conduct an independent research project and write a thesis detailing the project with the help of their mentor, followed by a thesis defense in front of a committee of Pitt faculty, including their mentor, and an external examiner from another university, all of whom conduct research in their chosen field. This usually takes place during the fall and spring semesters of the candidate’s senior year. In total, the candidate must make a minimum three-term commitment to conducting research under their research mentor.
I can understand how this may sound daunting. Completing a BPhil is a graduate-level undertaking and as such it involves a significant time commitment and set of responsibilities. However, what most people don’t realize is that there is a great amount of flexibility in how students can complete the BPhil degree. Students often think of the BPhil as a strict program with a checklist of requirements akin to the list of required classes for a major. However, research is a fluid endeavor: research projects often change regularly and researchers must adapt, so the BPhil degree is designed to adapt with them. There are a multitude of different paths that students can take to earn a BPhil, which can be overwhelming but also exciting, as it allows students to achieve their individualized research goals. My story is a great example of this, as I diverged from the “traditional” BPhil path in several ways.
Instead of following the standard timeline, I conducted my Brackenridge Fellowship and BPhil research projects over the summer months and wrote and defended my BPhil thesis during the fall term and winter break of my senior year. This allowed me to devote hundreds of hours to my research without having to split my efforts between research, schoolwork needed for GAP and Phi Beta Kappa requirements, and extracurriculars. In addition, the Honors College offers several research fellowships every semester that students can apply for and take part in before or during the completion of their BPhil! I was fortunate to be selected to take part in not only the Brackenridge Fellowship before I started my BPhil project, but also the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship while I completed my BPhil project in the fall semester of my senior year. The Honors College advisors are accessible throughout the process along with the student’s research mentor, ensuring the student has the guidance and support they need to successfully complete their BPhil and obtain any necessary funding, as well as apply for national scholarships to further their opportunities after graduation if the student so desires.
As a long-distance commuter student who was only on campus for a limited amount of time each day, I would not have been able to become so involved in research at Pitt without the versatility the BPhil program offers. In fact, I had never met any of the other members of my lab in person until right before graduating! I would like to acknowledge that not all research can be completed virtually, such as wet lab or archival research. For these types of research projects, students can still complete the BPhil thesis proposal, writing, and defense virtually, which can more easily accommodate the busy schedules of the committee members.
I hope my story has shown you that if I could achieve a BPhil with all the obstacles I faced during my time at Pitt, any Pitt student should feel empowered to pursue this rewarding degree. It is certainly rigorous and challenging, but it is also flexible and achievable. Not to mention, choosing to wax philosophical is entirely optional!
-- Chelsea Carver (FHC ’22, A&S ‘22) earned her Bachelor of Philosophy degree in psychology. Jointly awarded by Pitt’s David C. Frederick Honors College and Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Carver’s BPhil is a highly regarded credential that required a rigorous curriculum and independent research under the guidance of a dedicated faculty mentor and the successful defense of a thesis.