Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP)
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Master in Logic and Philosophy of Science

General Information

Our Master (MA) program in Logic and Philosophy of Science was founded in October 2012. It is an international MA program of the Faculty of Philosophy, Philosophy of Science and Religious Studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich.

LMU has a long-standing tradition in both philosophy of science and logic reaching back to the time of Wolfgang Stegmüller and Kurt Schütte. In recent years, this tradition has been revived by establishing two new chairs in logic and philosophy of language (held by Hannes Leitgeb) and in philosophy of science (held by Stephan Hartmann), and by founding the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP). Hannes Leitgeb was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in 2010. In 2012, a second Alexander von Humboldt Professorship was awarded to Stephan Hartmann. In 2021, Christian List joined the center as co-director. He holds the chair of philosophy and decision theory.

The MCMP provides a lively environment for studying logic and philosophy of science. The MCMP is embedded into the Faculty of Philosophy, Philosophy of Science and Religious Studies at LMU which is one of the largest in the German-speaking world, covering a wealth of philosophical research areas, and attracting students and researchers from around the world.

Our MA program is not just open to philosophy and logic undergraduates but we also aim to attract undergraduates from relevant scientific disciplines, such as mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, computer science, engineering, economics, linguistics, psychology, cognitive science, the social sciences or related disciplines.

Norbert Gratzl and Alexander Reutlinger are the coordinators of our Master in Logic and Philosophy of Science.

Further Details regarding the Master in Logic and Philosophy of Science

Language

The language of the program and its courses is English.

Duration

The MA is a two-year program (four semesters, 120 ECTS).

Tuition and Financial Support

The MA program in Logic and Philosophy of Science is free, apart from a semester fee of approximately 150 € for each student (including a student services contribution and a basic fee covering public transport in Munich, “Semesterticket”). Comparable MA programs in other countries — especially in the United States and the United Kingdom — typically have very high tuition costs. In Munich, however, students are expected to cover their own living costs including, for instance, expenses for accommodation and health insurance.
Although there are no internal scholarships available to MA students at the MCMP, there are a number of external funding organizations that offer financial support for MA students. One useful resource is the DAAD’s (German Academic Exchange Service) Scholarship Database. American graduate students can also apply for a Fulbright grant.

Basic Structure of the Master Program

To complete the MA program, students must earn 120 ECTS (that is, credit points).
Students are required to write a master thesis and complete the following course requirements:

  • 4 Master colloquia (Central Topics in Logic I & II, Central Topics in Philosophy of Science I & II)
  • 2 special Master lectures (Formal Methods I & II)
  • 6 elective courses in at least two of the following modules:
    • Logic
    • Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics
    • General Philosophy of Science
    • Philosophy of the Special Sciences
    • Rational Choice and Formal Epistemology
    • Themes in Analytic Philosophy
  • 1 Master thesis preparation course
  • 1 Disputation (defense of the Master thesis)
A full description of all modules can be found in the modules catalogue for the "Master's Program: Logic and Philosophy of Science" (PDF, 536 Kb) (Last updated: 29 October 2021).

To get an impression of what courses are taught in our Master program, please consult the LMU Course Catalogue (Vorlesungsverzeichnis).

German language requirement for admitted students

Students who are admitted to our MA program are required to obtain a certificate in a basic German course of Level A1 (of the “Gemeinsame Europäischer Referenzrahmen für Sprachen”) until the end of the first year of their studies in the MA program. It is, of course, also possible to satisfy this require before starting the MA program in Munich. For further information about German courses see here: