Philosophy MA

The MA in Philosophy will give you a thorough grounding in the core knowledge and skills required for philosophical research, while allowing you to pursue your own philosophical interests in depth.

You will be taught and supervised by members of a friendly and informal department with an outstanding reputation in the UK and internationally. The MA is designed for you to gain full advantage from the research expertise of individual members of staff. For more than half of the course, you will benefit from one-to-one tutorials with a member of the department. You will be guided throughout by a personal tutor who will help you structure your course of study and choose the topics you wish to research.

You will be an active member of our flourishing research culture and will be encouraged to participate in the three weekly research seminars on a wide range of philosophical issues. There is also a weekly postgraduate seminar, where you may present your own work before your peers, helping you to develop argumentative strategies in a supportive environment.

Programme structure

Core units
-Epistemology and Metaphysics Seminar
-Philosophical Writing and Research Seminar
-Value Theory Seminar

Optional units
You will take three optional units. For each of the three you may choose either:
-A taught seminar unit from a list of those available. The list changes from year to year but typically includes: Philosophy and History of Medicine; Philosophy of Science; Philosophy of Psychology; Philosophy of Biology; Philosophy of Physics; Philosophy of Mathematics; History of Science.
OR
-A unit taught by individual tutorials on an agreed topic of your choice.

Dissertation
Satisfactory completion of semesters one and two will allow you to progress to writing a dissertation of up to 15,000 words on an approved topic of your choice. The dissertation is your chance to produce an extended piece of philosophical research that can act as preparation for a graduate research degree. You will have supervisory meetings with a member of staff who will provide feedback on a draft of your work.

Careers

Students who have completed the MA in Philosophy have gone on to careers as counsellors, journalists and teachers of philosophy. A number of MA graduates have gone on to study at MLitt/PhD level and develop careers as philosophy academics.

Visit the Philosophy MA page on the University of Bristol website for more details!