BA (Hons) Philosophy and Politics
Course options
Key Details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Bachelor of Arts
- UCAS Course Code
- LV25
- Entry Requirements
- ABB
- Course Length
- 3 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2023
Chat to us on Unibuddy
Any questions? Chat online with current students, staff and experts. This is your chance to ask anything about UEA, university life, Norwich and more.
Why you should choose us
Of graduates go on to work and/or study within 15 months after the course
Course Overview
Is democracy broken? Can we achieve environmental justice? Should media be under tighter control?
The big questions facing society are both political and philosophical. The political arena is guided by big ideas, so bringing the rigour of philosophy to your political thinking will have great benefits for you, the political animal. That could be you as a citizen with a vote, as a politician campaigning for office, or as an activist trying to change the terms of the debate. At UEA, you’ll work with world experts in both politics and philosophy, choosing options from a range of fascinating historical and contemporary areas in philosophy and in political theory, including international relations.
Our Philosophy and Politics degree is designed to allow you to engage equally with both disciplines or to swing the degree slightly more to one or the other subject. You have a wide choice of modules in each.
Furthermore, you won’t just study each subject separately; you will also be invited to bring them together. The philosophy experts at UEA are particularly engaged in issues that relate to the future of our planet – and to future generations. Alongside the Western intellectual and cultural heritage, from the Ancient Greeks to the great works of modern political thought in the West, you’ll be invited to take a module in world philosophies that covers an array of thinkers from the Middle East and Asia. The philosophy of literature, cinema and art is also an area of philosophical focus here.
Then, with our experts in political theory, you’ll study democracy’s philosophical underpinnings, the clash between different world views, and the philosophical basis of utopian political systems.
Taught by academic leaders in their fields, you’ll be able to choose from a range of fascinating historical and contemporary areas in both philosophy and in politics, including international relations. You’ll come to understand why philosophy is so central to politics – and why all politicians should have a better grasp of it. After all, politicians and commentators are often let down by sloppy thinking, their inability to detect and deflect the shoddy rhetoric of the interviewers, or their simple misunderstandings of basic distinctions: traps that someone who had studied philosophy wouldn’t fall into.
By year 2, you’ll be ready to decide which aspects of philosophy and politics you want to pursue further, depending on your interests and talents. You can take either equal numbers of modules in each subject or weight it a little in one direction or the other. You will take one compulsory keystone module, Philosophy of History and Politics for Second Years, which will invite you to combine the skills, methods and concepts from philosophy and politics. If this proves interesting to you, you can choose to follow it up with the complementary module in the following year, Philosophy of History and Politics for Third Years.
In your final year, you’ll also have the opportunity to take research-led special subject modules or to write a dissertation on a topic of your own choosing.
Placement Year and Study Abroad
You could expand your horizons by choosing to spend a semester of your second year studying abroad at one of UEA’s partner universities. You’d spend the autumn semester completing three modules at UEA, then transfer overseas in the spring.
You will not only experience life in a different country and make international connections, you’ll also make yourself even more attractive to prospective employers, who value the skills of resourcefulness and resilience that studying abroad will bring you.
For further details, visit the Study Abroad section of our website.
Study and Modules
Structure
In your first year you’ll take a well balanced mix of philosophy and politics modules.
In the first semester, you will take Social and Political Theory, The Meaning of Life, and Introduction to Contemporary Politics.
In your second semester, you’ll choose three modules to suit your interests from the full range of philosophy and politics modules. If you wish, you can select one or two modules outside your main subjects – from a wide range of complementary subjects, including languages.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Min Credits: 40, Max Credits: 60)Optional B Modules
(Min Credits: 0, Max Credits: 20)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.
Teaching and Learning
Through engaging lectures, small seminars, skills workshops, and one-to-one support, you’ll explore a wide range of topics and approaches and discover your passions.
As part of supported independent learning, you’ll engage with diverse and fascinating texts, including both historical and contemporary works. Using individual feedback and guidance from your teachers, you’ll develop your ability to express your ideas clearly, both in writing and other formats.
How you’ll spend your time:
35% Teaching
65% Independent learning
Throughout the degree, we place great emphasis on working ideas through together. We encourage everyone to contribute, listen and respond appropriately in both large and small group settings. We seek out positive criticism, and polite and fruitful exchanges of views.
Each of your lecturers holds drop-in office hours, through which you’ll be able to gain one-to-one guidance.
You will have an academic adviser from the advising team throughout the course of your studies. The adviser is there to provide academic and career guidance, and to support your wellbeing.
During your time at UEA, you will be taught by academics working at the forefront of their academic fields, who are widely published in the key issues that have shaped the development of philosophy and political studies across the world.
Assessment
The assessments are at the module level and consist of a mixture of exam, class test, essay, and journal entries. These assessments will not contribute to the classification of your degree.
You will receive constructive feedback on both your formative and summative assessments to help you develop your understanding and skills.
Structure
By the time you enter your second year of study, you’ll have discovered where your main talent lies, and you’ll be equipped to choose from a range of philosophy and politics modules. You will take six modules, including at least two but no more than four from each field.
Many of the modules, covering topics such as existential philosophies and western political thought, will allow you to explore the connections between philosophy and politics. You will also take our compulsory keystone module Philosophy of History and Politics for Second Years, in which you’ll explore these connections in more depth.
In your second year, there is scope to take up to two modules from outside your chosen degree subjects. Here you can continue with a foreign language, or start one from scratch.
You can also take a placement module in which you apply the skills you are developing through your degree to the working world and to explore a career path that interests you.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Min Credits: 20, Max Credits: 40)Optional B Modules
(Min Credits: 40, Max Credits: 60)Optional C Modules
(Min Credits: 0, Max Credits: 40)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.
Teaching and Learning
Lectures and seminars will help you delve into your chosen areas of study. The teaching methods on individual modules are tailored to support your development in the wide variety of topics on offer. You continue to benefit from one-to-one support.
In your independent study, you’ll immerse yourself in your chosen areas. Using individual feedback and one-to-one support, you will build your skills further as you develop into a self-motivated researcher and independent creative thinker.
How you’ll spend your time:
25% Teaching
75% Independent learning
Assessment
The assessments are at the module level and consist of a mixture of exam, class presentation, and essay. All assessments will be preceded by formative work upon which you will receive written feedback. This is meant to help you improve your performance in the summative tasks.
Structure
In your final year you’ll typically select two advanced modules from politics and two from philosophy, although you have the freedom, for example, to shift the balance towards one of your main subjects, or to select a complementary module from outside your main subjects. Third year modules involve a higher degree of independent study, allowing you to take the subject to a greater depth. You can choose to further progress in areas that you explored in your second year, explore new areas and issues, or a mixture of the two.
You might want to include Philosophy of History and Politics for Third Years, which complements the keystone module that you will have completed in year 2. It takes study of the connections between the two disciplines to the next level. Other modules that will draw on your skills in both fields include explore themes such as utopias or distributive justice.
In year three, you can choose to write a dissertation with individual supervision, the subject of which could be philosophical or political or a combination of the two. Or you may prefer to undertake a special subject, which will involve you and some fellow students working together with a tutor on a topic of mutual interest.
Optional A Modules
(Min Credits: 60, Max Credits: 90)Optional B Modules
(Min Credits: 30, Max Credits: 60)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.
Teaching and Learning
This is your chance to explore important and compelling subjects in depth, taught by subject specialists in lectures and seminars. If you choose, you may pursue a dissertation, working one-on-one with an expert on a project of your own design.
In your independent study, you’ll flourish as a creative and independent thinker as you master the fields of study that matter the most to you.
How you’ll spend your time:
20% Teaching
80% Independent learning
Assessment
The assessments are the same as Year 2 except for the opportunity to write a dissertation on a topic of your choosing of 8-9000 words under the supervision of a member of faculty. The constructive feedback will be substantial throughout so that you can deliver your best work as part of your summative assessment.
Your final degree result is based on the marks for all your modules in the last two years, weighted 40:60 so that more importance is attached to the fully mature work of your third year.
Entry Requirements
- A Levels
- ABB If you are taking an EPQ and three A-levels, we may offer you a one grade reduction on our advertised typical offer, if you achieve an A in the EPQ.
- T Levels
- Not accepted
- BTEC
- DDM excluding BTEC Public Services, Uniformed Services and Business Administration
- Scottish Highers
- AAABB
- Scottish Advanced Highers
- BCC
- Irish Leaving Certificate
- 3 subjects at H2, 3 subjects at H3
- Access to HE Diploma
- Access to Humanities & Social Sciences pathway. Pass the Access to HE Diploma with Distinction in 30 credits at Level 3 and Merit in 15 credits at Level 3
- International Baccalaureate
- 32
- GCSE
- You are required to have Mathematics and English Language at a minimum of Grade C or Grade 4 or above at GCSE.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
-
IELTS: 6.0 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components) for year 1 entry
-
IELTS: 6.5 overall (minimum 6.0 in all components) for year 2 entry
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
If you do not yet meet the English language requirements for this course, INTO UEA offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study:
-
- Interviews
- Most applicants will not be called for an interview and a decision will be made via UCAS Track. However, for some applicants an interview will be requested. Where an interview is required the Admissions Service will contact you directly to arrange a time
- Deferred Entry
- We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Intakes
- This course is open to UK and International applicants. The annual intake is in September each year.
Additional Information or Requirements
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.
We welcome and value a wide range of alternative qualifications. If you have a qualification which is not listed here, please contact us via Admissions Enquiries.
If you do not meet the academic requirements for direct entry, you may be interested in one of our Foundation Year programmes
Important note
Once enrolled onto your course at UEA, your progression and continuation (which may include your eligibility for study abroad, overseas experience, placement or year in industry opportunities) is contingent on meeting the assessment requirements which are relevant to the course on which you are enrolled.
International Requirements
We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. View our International Students pages for specific information about your country.
INTO University of East Anglia
If you do not meet the academic and/or English language requirements for direct entry our partner, INTO UEA offers progression on to this undergraduate degree upon successful completion of a preparation programme. Depending on your interests, and your qualifications you can take a variety of routes to this degree:
International Foundation in Business, Economics, Society and Culture (for Year 1 entry to UEA)
International Foundation in Humanities and Law (for Year 1 entry to UEA)
Fees and Funding
Tuition Fees
View our information for Tuition Fees.
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
View our information about Additional Course Fees.
How to Apply
Apply for this course through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS), using UCAS Hub.
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started.
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information:
Employability
After the Course
Our Philosophy and Politics graduates go on to do great things in a wide range of professions. The reasoning and communication skills developed in this course will prepare you for many different roles, within and beyond politics. They include:
-
Precise and effective communication skills
-
The ability to analyse data and information
-
Reasoning, problem solving and persuasion skills
-
Listening carefully to others, with empathy and rigorous attention to detail
-
Innovative and original ideas supported by reason
-
A commitment to justice, fairness, integrity, and the desire to do things that are praiseworthy.
Careers
A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.
Examples of careers you could enter include:
-
Politics
-
Journalism
-
Civil service
-
Cultural industries
-
Teaching or lecturing
-
Charity and environmental work