The Ph.D. program is designed to prepare the student for an academic career in philosophy as scholar, researcher, and teacher. The requirements described below structure a Ph.D. program of 4 to 5 years, for which students will normally receive full financial support. (Students often take an extra year to finish. The Department makes every effort to secure further financial support and has generally been successful in doing so.) Graduate work in philosophy completed prior to entering the Ph.D. program may be counted toward the Ph.D. degree in philosophy at UNM, subject to approval by GAC and to UNM Office of Graduate Studies regulations.