Single Honours

In the first year, you take five philosophy modules. These provide both a thorough introduction to the subject and a stimulating invitation to further enquiry. Although they do not require any previous knowledge of philosophy, those who already have some experience in the field will find the approach at University new and provocative, and will find many opportunities to develop and rethink their earlier views. 
In years two and three, the selection of core and optional modules in philosophy allows you to design a coherent programme around your own interests. You must do a certain number of subject-based modules, e.g. mind or ethics, and a certain number of historically-based modules, e.g. Kant or empiricism. Outside of these requirements, your choice of philosophy modules is entirely free. Any student who qualifies through a sufficiently strong performance in their second year may substitute for one of their taught modules a module in which they are supervised to write a 10,000-word dissertation on a philosophical subject of their own choosing.
 

Joint Honours

In the first year you take three philosophy modules and three modules in the other subject of your joint degree. First year philosophy modules do not require any previous knowledge of the subject and will give you the basic conceptual tools to tackle any second or third year module.
The course structure of your second and third year may vary, depending on your joint degree. Our courses page provides detailed information about the structure of the joint degrees in English Literature and Philosophy, Philosophy and History, Philosophy and Film Studies 

The School of Philosophy is also one of the organisers of the degree in Politics and Philosophy, whose administration is managed by the School of Political, Social and International Studies, and of the degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, whose administration is managed by the School of Economics.
 

Philosophy Modules

First-year modules are designed to introduce you to philosophical problems and skills and to provide you with the basic foundations needed for the further study of philosophy. Second and third-year modules will allow you to explore specific areas of philosophical inquiry, to learn about their contemporary developments and to get to grips with cutting-edge research: if you are taking a joint honours degree, these modules will also complement your other subject of study. Specialist third-year modules will introduce you further into current research and will bring you closely in contact with growing debates and open problems, challenging you to think about them in a creative and independent way in the light of your philosophical competence.

In second-year modules, preparatory formative essays or exercises will help you consolidate your knowledge of the subject and take a critical attitude towards it. This will provide an ideal preparation for class-exams, the prevalent assessment method in your second year. Third-year assessment is especially designed to strengthen your written communication skills and centres on written coursework.

Year 1 Modules

• Reasoning and Logic; Philosophical Problems.
• Classic Readings in Philosophy; Modern Readings in Philosophy; Great Books.

Year 2, 3 Modules
(taken in either your second or third year; the third year version is more challenging)

• Moral Philosophy – The Basics; Practical Ethics;
• Political Philosophy; Philosophy of History; Environmental Philosophy.
• Philosophy of Mind; Philosophy of Religion.
• Aesthetics; Film and Literature as Philosophy.
• Logic; Language and Reality; Knowledge and Perception.
• History and Philosophy of Science; Philosophy of Biology; Philosophy of Philosophy.
• Space, Time and Reality among the Greeks; Knowledge and Truth among the Greeks.
• The Empiricists; The Rationalists; The Enlightenment and Its Critics.
• Kant in Context; Nietzsche and Post-Kantian Philosophy; Phenomenology and Existentialism.
• Early Analytical Philosophy and Wittgenstein; The Later Wittgenstein.
• Semester Abroad.

Specialist Year 3 Modules

• Classical Philosophy Special Subject
• Language in Mind
• Literature and Philosophy
• Philosophy of Social Science
• Philosophical Dissertation Module