Introduction

For many years there has been a strong interest in logical studies at Berkeley. In 1957, a group of faculty members, most of them from the departments of Mathematics and Philosophy, initiated a pioneering interdisciplinary graduate program leading to the degree of Ph.D. in Logic and the Methodology of Science. “Methodology of science” is here understood to mean primarily deductive “metascience”—a study which takes sciences themselves, their structures and methods, as its subject matter and which is carried out by logical and mathematical means. Students in this program acquire a good understanding of the mathematical theory known as mathematical logic, which deals in a rigorous way with such central concepts as truth, definability, provability, and computability. They may then seek to contribute to this theory or to apply it. There are important areas of application in Mathematics, Philosophy, Computer Science, and elsewhere.

Typical fields of study include

• foundations of mathematics, including set theory, recursion theory, model theory, and theory of proofs,
• philosophical logic, including modal logic,
• philosophy of mathematics,
• logic in computer science and artificial intelligence,
• theory of computational complexity,
• history of logic,

as well as other areas of research with heavy reliance on formal methods, such as general algebra, non-standard analysis, decision theory, game theory, probability, philosophy of language, and philosophy of science.

Ph.D. work in logic can also be carried out entirely within one of the departments of Mathematics, Philosophy, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (see Graduate Study in Logic at UC Berkeley). The program in Logic and the Methodology of Science is intended for students whose interests lie in more than one of these fields. It offers them the possibility of taking qualifying examinations in more than one of these subjects; indeed, they must do so. Dissertations in this program may be interdisciplinary in character; however, they may also lie entirely within just one of these fields.

The program is administered by the Group in Logic and the Methodology of Science, an interdepartmental agency which cooperates closely with the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Philosophy, and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. The Group Office is located in 731 Evans Hall.

The University of California, Berkeley, is one of the world’s top research universities. Its library is one of the largest in the country and also maintains cooperative programs with other major California research libraries. Berkeley is also host to the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and the International Computer Science Institute.

The campus is located at the foot of the Berkeley hills, across the bay from San Francisco, with a view of the Golden Gate. The climate is mild year-round.