MRes Philosophy

Whether you’re destined for a philosophy PhD and a career in academia, research and teaching – or you simply want to extend your experience – this course will take your philosophical studies to the next level.

During your MRes year, you will work week-by-week on essays you choose and plan in collaboration with your tutor. You will work on three modules with at least two different tutors, and will undertake a core methodology module. This means you will be able to sample several areas within philosophy and work with different mentors, before choosing your dissertation topic.

The philosophy department at UEA is dynamic, friendly and committed to nurturing your emerging philosophical voice. Join our varied and inclusive research team, and you could work with us on philosophy of mind and language, political philosophy, philosophy of the social sciences, ethics, environmental philosophy and more. You might examine issues in philosophical method, or alternative approaches, such as experimental philosophy. UEA is a centre of excellence in Wittgenstein and we also have expertise in ancient philosophy, phenomenology and the history of analytic philosophy.

You’ll also have the opportunity to explore links between philosophy and literature or film, or the border with linguistics, political science, environmental science, mathematics, economics, or classical studies/ancient science.

Alongside your studies, you will attend a range of research events and seminars, including the postgraduate workshop (where you’ll share work in progress and feed back on other students’ work) and the research seminar (with distinguished visiting speakers from Britain and abroad). You might also join the regular Wittgenstein Workshop, or other specialised research meetings.

About

Take your philosophical studies to the next level. Explore your own ideas and interests, develop your ability to think independently, and design your own topics to explore.

This programme is designed to give you the skills you need to undertake your own research in philosophy. Our aim is to help you develop as an independent thinker, giving you time and space to find a topic for further research. You can take the MRes by itself, or as the first year of a 1+3 programme if you’re already applying for the PhD.

You’ll work closely with your academic supervisors to develop your own ideas and research, advancing your independent inquiry skills as the course progresses.

Our academics are at the forefront of their fields, they’ve published widely and have shaped the development of philosophy across the world. With their guidance, a research-driven programme and a variety of workshops and research groups, there’s no better place to follow your passions and expand your mind.

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Course Reference Number: 664246

Important Information

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the courses listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the regular review of course programmes. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes, there will normally be prior consultation of students and others. Changes may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will inform students.

Assessment for Year 1

We will assess each module through essays or other forms of coursework. For each supervised study module, you’ll submit a package containing the two best essays from the three that you’ve prepared, having refined them with advice from your tutor.

For the dissertation module you’ll submit a more major piece of work of 12,000-15,000 words. Your credits for this module will include your performance in the postgraduate workshops.

Your degree result will be based on your marks for all your modules and your dissertation.

Structure

You will take four taught modules over two semesters, starting with a compulsory module with seminars that explore the different approaches and methodologies that figure in the various traditions of Western philosophy.

Your three other taught modules (one in the autumn and two in the spring) consist entirely of guided study and essay writing with a supervisor, and are taught through one-to-one tutorials. To set up your supervision for these three modules, we match your interests as far as possible with an available expert in the department. You will then meet with the specified supervisor and together you will plan a sequence of tutorial deadlines and essay questions. The typical procedure is that your tutor agrees an essay topic with you, then you research and write your essay for a deadline two weeks later. After you submit the essay, you will attend a tutorial to receive feedback, discuss and agree the next assignment, and so on (much like the Oxbridge teaching system).

In the first term you will work with one tutor, and in the second term with two, working on two different areas or topics. For assessment, you will submit two of the essays you have written for each module, after revisions that take account of the tutor’s comments.

Alongside the four taught modules, there are regular workshops for all graduate students. Participating and sharing your work at these workshops is the main activity prescribed for the research training component of the dissertation module. At these workshops you’ll meet and discuss your ideas with PhD students and taught MA students. Some sessions are devoted to skills in the use of bibliographical resources, career development and research applications.

When the two semesters of taught modules are complete, you will start your dissertation: this is usually your task from May to September. This will be on a topic of your choice, agreed in consultation with the course director and under the guidance of a supervisor.

It is also possible to replace a supervised study module with an appropriate taught MA module, or to work with your tutor on language training along with your essay work (for example, developing your ability in ancient Greek or German).

Teaching and Learning

The main focus of this degree is on developing your independent research skills. So most of your learning is self-directed study in preparation for your essay tutorials. You’ll be able to make use of UEA’s state-of-the-art library facilities, learning how to locate relevant literature for your studies using the online databases and our many subscriptions to journals in the field.

You’ll receive one-to-one tuition on your essays for the three supervised study modules, and on your dissertation drafts during your work on it. In the core methodology module you’ll be taught in a weekly seminar or small group session. You’ll receive written feedback on your coursework for this module.

In postgraduate workshop meetings you’ll share work you’ve prepared for other essays and receive peer support and discussion, with comments and suggestions from the rest of the graduate community. A senior academic will oversee these workshops and give feedback on your performance in academic presentations.

The dissertation is your opportunity to develop a longer piece of written work. The one-to-one teaching for that task is geared towards advising on bibliography, and giving constructive criticism on draft sections, so that you can revise them and bring them together to form a coherent whole. This builds upon your earlier experience in the small essays for the supervised study modules. It also gives you a sense of what’s involved in preparing a PhD thesis, which might be your next step.

Our distinctive research environment offers an interdisciplinary outlook and a focus on methodological and metaphilosophical reflection. We are a leading centre for Ludwig Wittgenstein research – and other staff research interests include: philosophy of language and linguistics, philosophy and social science, environmental philosophy, metaphilosophy, philosophy of literature, film and the arts, Wittgenstein and the Wittgensteinian tradition, phenomenology, and ancient philosophy.

With the approval of the Course Director students may replace up to 2 supervised study modules with any Philosophy module or a suitable module from another discipline.

Assessment for Year 1

For the dissertation module you’ll submit a more major piece of work of 12,000-15,000 words. Your credits for this module will include your performance in the postgraduate workshops.

Your degree result will be based on your marks for all your modules and your dissertation.

Compulsory Modules

SUPERVISED STUDY MODULE ONE

Code PPLP7005A

Credits 20

In this module you’ll be trained in research techniques in philosophy and you’ll develop advanced knowledge and understanding in some clearly defined area of the discipline suited to your individual needs and interests, which may be an area previously studied , e.g. at BA level, or a new area to be explored for the first time. You’ll be assigned to work with a tutor with expertise in the selected area. The topics covered, and the manner in which they are covered, will be tailored to your prior experience in the field. Three essay questions, with bibliographical research, will be set for work during the semester, to be submitted as formative work to set deadlines (one essay to be submitted prior to each tutorial). Assessment will be by submission of revised versions of two out of the three formative essays.

SUPERVISED STUDY MODULE THREE

Code PPLP7006B

Credits 20

In this module you’ll be trained in research techniques in philosophy and you’ll develop advanced knowledge and understanding in some clearly defined area of the discipline suited to your individual needs and interests, which may be an area previously studied , e.g. at BA level, or a new area to be explored for the first time. You’ll be assigned to work with a tutor with expertise in the selected area. The topics covered, and the manner in which they are covered, will be tailored to your prior experience in the field. Three essay questions, with bibliographical research, will be set for work during the semester, to be submitted as formative work to set deadlines (one essay to be submitted prior to each tutorial). Assessment is by submission of revised versions of two out of the three formative essays.

SUPERVISED STUDY MODULE FOUR

Code PPLP7008B

Credits 20

In this module you’ll be trained in research techniques in philosophy and you’ll develop advanced knowledge and understanding in some clearly defined area of the discipline suited to your individual needs and interests, which may be an area previously studied, e.g. at BA level, or a new area to be explored for the first time. You’ll be assigned to work with a tutor with expertise in the selected area. The topics covered, and the manner in which they are covered, will be tailored to your prior experience in the field. Three essay questions, with bibliographical research, will be set for work during the semester, to be submitted as formative work to set deadlines (one essay to be submitted prior to each tutorial). Assessment is by submission of revised versions of two out of the three formative essays. The module may also include (wholly or partly) training in language skills for original research (e.g. Ancient Greek, German), in which case language exercises and/or translation tasks may replace some or all of the essay work. Training in logic may also take this form.

METHODOLOGY AND EPISTEMOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHY

Code PPLP7000A

Credits 20

As a graduate you will be provided with the methodological foundations for independent philosophical research. Through practical exercises complementing theoretical discussion and philosophical case studies, you will examines various philosophical methodologies from different research traditions, including empirical methodologies, and assesses their strengths and weaknesses. You will also look into the genesis, structure, and status of philosophical problems and theories, as well as the scope, strengths, and weaknesses of both historically important and currently debated philosophical methodologies. On this basis, your module addresses key questions about philosophy: What are the proper aims and purposes of philosophy? In what ways is philosophy similar to, and different from various sciences? In what ways can methods and insights from other disciplines, especially the social sciences, be put to use for philosophical purposes?

MRES IN PHILOSOPHY RESEARCH TRAINING AND DISSERTATION

Code PPLP7010X

Credits 100

This is the dissertation component of the MRes degree in Philosophy, together with a preliminary weekly workshop which guides students towards the research skills required for doing well at independent work in philosophy. Students participate in the workshop during the two teaching semesters, presenting and discussing each other’s work and engaging in the collaborative tasks associated with becoming a critical and collegial member of the research community. They then complete a dissertation proposal at the end of the Spring semester, with a view to being accepted to work with their chosen supervisor on a dissertation topic of their choice. Students complete the dissertation of 12,000 to 15,000 words over the summer.

Important Information

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.

Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies

MRes PHILOSOPHY

Key details

Year of Entry:

Attendance

Full Time

Award

Degree of Master of Research

Duration (years)

Important Information

Take your philosophical studies to the next level. Explore your own ideas and interests, develop your ability to think independently, and design your own topics to explore. This programme is designed to give you the skills you need to undertake your own research in philosophy. Our aim is to help you develop as an independent thinker, giving you time and space to find a topic for further research. You can take the MRes by itself, or as the first year of a 1+3 programme if you’re already applying for the PhD. You’ll work closely with your academic supervisors to develop your own ideas and research, advancing your independent inquiry skills as the course progresses. Our academics are at the forefront of their fields, they’ve published widely and have shaped the development of philosophy across the world. With their guidance, a research-driven programme and a variety of workshops and research groups, there’s no better place to follow your passions and expand your mind.

Are Some Risks Too Big To Take?

As human capability reaches the point where we think we can remould the fundamentals of nature itself, what's guiding us – and how can we avoid becoming the architects of our own extinction?

The Precautionary Principle

Brexit could kill the precautionary principle – here’s why it matters so much for our environment.

MRes PHILOSOPHY

MRES PHILOSOPHY

About

Are Some Risks Too Big To Take?

The Precautionary Principle

Important Information

After the Course

Career destinations

Are Some Risks Too Big To Take?

The Precautionary Principle

Assessment for Year 1

Structure

Teaching and Learning

Assessment for Year 1

Compulsory Modules

Important Information

Entry Requirements

Degree classification

Degree subject

Additional entry requirements

Students for whom english is a foreign language

Intakes

Are Some Risks Too Big To Take?

The Precautionary Principle

Fees and Funding

Course related costs

Are Some Risks Too Big To Take?

The Precautionary Principle

How to apply

FURTHER INFORMATION

Are Some Risks Too Big To Take?

The Precautionary Principle

Are Some Risks Too Big To Take?

The Precautionary Principle

Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies