Our flagship Philosophy programme offers excellent opportunities to enhance your learning among a large, vibrant and supportive postgraduate and research community at a university that has long been associated with some of the field’s most important thinkers, such as David Hume.
This programme provides an intensive grounding in philosophy, its methodology and techniques of research. It is the ideal programme to lead on to further research and study in philosophy as part of a PhD programme. We will provide a broad advanced education in philosophy or a chance to specialise in any of our key areas:
ancient philosophy early modern philosophy epistemology ethics mind and cognition
Programme structure
This programme comprises two semesters of taught courses (six in total) followed by a dissertation, which you will write at the end of the second semester and over the summer.
Most courses in the philosophy department are taught in small seminar groups that meet weekly. Assessment is by essays and a dissertation of between 8,000 and 10,000 words.
At the dissertation stage, you will be assigned a supervisor with whom you meet to plan your reading and discuss your work.
Compulsory courses:
Introduction to Philosophical Method (for students without a strong philosophy background) Advanced Philosophical Method
If you choose to follow a specialisation, the courses you choose will relate to that route. Options may include:
Advanced Topics in Mind, Language and Embodied Cognition Ancient Theories of Existence Bounded Rationality British Enlightenment Philosophy Epistemology 1 Free Will and Moral Responsibility Introduction to Philosophical Method Introduction to Mind, Language and Embodied Cognition Meta-Ethics Philosophy and the Environment
Career opportunities
This is the ideal programme for deepening your involvement in philosophy, giving you a grounding in postgraduate work or developing an academic career in philosophy.
The study of philosophy helps develop general intellectual abilities and enhance analytical, critical, interpretive and problem-solving abilities.
This programme brings you into a postgraduate community with a very high academic job-placement record.
Visit the
Philosophy (MSc)
page on the University of Edinburgh website for more details!
Entry Requirements
A UK 2:1 degree, or its international equivalent.
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Recipient: University of Edinburgh
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