Logic Degree Programs?

I’m giving a talk on Friday for a general audience, and I thought it would be cute to claim in the little blurb about me that I am “probably the only person in the world who holds both undergraduate and doctoral degrees in logic.” Several people have asked me if that’s really true, and now I wonder myself. There aren’t many programs that offer degrees in logic (and by this I mean: degrees that have “logic” in the name of the degree but not as a specialization of, say, mathematics, and also not a degree in mathematics with a thesis that happened to be in logic). There’s an undergrad degree given out by Carnegie Mellon. The University of Vienna used to offer degrees in “Logistik,” but now mathematical logic is part of the mathematics major there, as far as I can tell. The Computational Logic degree administered by the Universities of Dresden / Bolzano / Madrid / Vienna (TU) / Lisbon and the MA in Logic at the University of Amsterdam are graduate (MSc) degrees. The only straight PhD program in logic I know of is the one at Berkeley. There are also programs in Amsterdam, Carnegie Mellon, Irvine, and Munich, but these, to the best of my knowledge, grant PhDs in Computer Science, Mathematics, or Philosophy with some kind of specialization in logic. I don’t know exactly what the deal is with degrees from Paris 7. Do you know of other programs? Do you know of anyone who got both their undergrad and PhD degrees from logic programs?

17 thoughts on “Logic Degree Programs?

  1. Penn has an undergrad major, headed by Scott Weinstein but shared between faculty in Philosophy, mathematics, and comp sci, called “Logic and computation”. It’s quite a small major, though, and, I believe, the first graduates finished only a year or two ago. The major also puts on some good logic talks once or twice a year, having had Warren Goldfard, Kripke, Tony Martin, Paul Humphries, and others talk.

  2. University of Auckland has a relativily new “Specialization” (but not of maths or any other department) called Logic and computation. I know some people have undergrad degrees (I’m one of them) but I don’t know if anyone has completed any postgrad

  3. I suppose I should find out if any of the grad students in logic here who came from CMU got a logic degree as an undergrad, or if they were all in math or CS. (I don’t think any were in philosophy there.)

  4. Paris 7 has a master degree and PhD in mathematical logic, but, as well as in all French universities, undergraduate courses in logic are part of the philosophical degree, with some specializations : linguistics, mathematics, etc.

  5. VUW has “Logic” and “Logic and Computation” majors, but not for the 3-year BA/BSc degrees like Auckland. I guess you could argue whether the 1-year BA(Hons)/BSc(Hons) degrees are undergrad or not.A number of students have done Honours in Logic and Computation and a couple of these are doing PhDs as well (none completed yet).

  6. Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, has both an undergraduate (BA and MA) and doctoral (PhD) program called just “Logic”. It is a separate program, not just a specialization, and the diploma indicates the degree is in “Logica”; see http://logika.ff.cuni.cz. Currently, the Department of Logic applies for accreditation of its doctoral program in English (the current programs are only taught in Czech). Although I don’t have my PhD yet (I’m supposed to defend my thesis before the end of this year), four of my colleagues have already completed both degrees in Logic at Charles University.

  7. I have studied semantics also….I am sure many have….Ill try to sum this up quickly .I can get a degree in world war two history but that does not mean i was in world war 2I can get a degree that say logic in its name but that does not means I have been conditioned into Logic.That is why there is no real degree in logic because one has to be conditioned or “brainwashed” or trained to become extremely logical…And schools are not willing to do that.Logic can not be taught logic must be conditioned.Being in world war 2 can not be taught it must be experienced.Thus no degree’s in Logic, just degrees with the name logic in them.I can not “dumb myself down” any further than i just have to explain this to you.There is no such thing as a true degree in logic because logic must be conditioned…I have conditioned my self into extreme logic.lestatnine@comcast.net

  8. > I can get a degree in world war two history but that does not mean i was in world war 2World War Two was an event. Logic is a process. You can’t experience something from the past in it’s original form. You can learn a process.> I can get a degree that say logic in its name but that does not means I have been conditioned into Logic.Nor does it mean that you have not. What’s your point?> That is why there is no real degree in logic because one has to be conditioned or “brainwashed” or trained to become extremely logical…Training is what schools do. Training is not automatically the same as “brainwashing”.> And schools are not willing to do that.Would not this very thread invalidate this statement? Several schools already DO this.> Logic can not be taught logic must be conditioned.The definition of “to condition” includes “to train”. To train is essentially the same as to teach. As such, if one can be conditioned in logic, they can also be trained, and taught.> Being in world war 2 can not be taught it must be experienced.So? The taco I ate yesterday can’t be taught. That doesn’t preclude me from learning how to think logically.> Thus no degree’s in Logic, just degrees with the name logic in them.I suggest you look at the curriculum for the CMU degree.> I can not “dumb myself down” any further than i just have to explain this to you.I agree. Nowhere for your argument to go but up.> I have conditioned my self into extreme logic.Are you sure?

  9. The Logic Departmen at the Lorand Eotvos University in Budapest also will offer a masters programme “Logic and Theory of Science” from 2010.And they are offering a standalone PhD in Logic. I am not sure but I heard that It will be an independent programme which repleaces the old PhD in Philosophy with concentration on Logic. Both programme will be taught in English

  10. The University of Salamanca, Valladolid, Autonomus of Madrid, Santiago de Compostela, la Laguna, la Coruña and Institute of Philosophy at the CSIC offer an postgraduate degree (MPhil & PhD) in Logic and Philosophy of Science. (http://epimenides.usal.es)

  11. University of California Irvine offer a logic and philosophy of mathematics PhD program. Something I’m looking for,

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