Later, at the graduate level, Tshivhase entered philosophy proper, where she completed her Master's thesis research on personal identity.
[3] Tshivhase's doctoral dissertation, entitled “Towards a Normative Theory of Uniqueness of Persons,” was supervised by Thaddeus Metz.
[4] As the first black South African woman to receive a PhD in philosophy, Tshivhase was celebrated and the Independent Online described her achievements as "pioneering.
"[5] Tshivhase's achievement also led to discussions on the sociology of race and ethnic relations in South Africa.
[6] A primary question in Tshivase's research is whether uniqueness is an element of personal development that is worth pursuing at the expense of other things.