The MLitt in Logic and Metaphysics is a one year taught postgraduate programme run by the St Andrews and Stirling Graduate Programme in Philosophy (SASP), taught by staff from both the University of St Andrews and the University of Stirling. It focuses on topics within metaphysics and logic; with classes covering logic and advanced logic, formal approaches to natural languages and contemporary and historical debates in metaphysics.
Students have the opportunity to study topics through lectures, tutorials and reading groups. Modules are taught in small groups, normally consisting of four to ten students. All postgraduate taught students in the Department participating in the compulsory Current Issues modules. In 2017-2018, there were approximately 40 postgraduate taught students in the Department.
The programme consists of six taught modules taken over two semesters (each assessed by coursework) and a 15,000-word dissertation in an area of your choice.
Every MLitt student is assigned an adviser at the beginning of the year. Your adviser will provide you with individual guidance on essay planning and writing, academic conduct, and advice on how best to apply for a PhD place.
The MLitt in Logic and Metaphysics can also be taken as a part-time programme. Students will be expected to take three modules per year over two years, working on the dissertation over two summers. For more information about part time study, please contact the SASP secretary by emailing [email protected].
The modules in this programme have varying methods of delivery and assessment. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue which is for the 2017–2018 academic year; some elements may be subject to change for 2018 entry.
This Masters is especially designed for students who don't already have a Philosophy degree. It will provide you with an in-depth knowledge of analytic philosophy, including such core areas as metaphysics, ethics, social and political philosophy, the history of philosophy, philosophy of the mind and philosophy of mathematics and language. The MLitt is also exceptional in providing a fast-track route into a PhD in Philosophy.
The Philosophy MLitt has three components:
1. Introduction to Analytic Philosophy (40 credits)
2. A choice of four of the following courses (20 credits each):
3. A dissertation on a topic of your choice guided by individual support from an expert supervisor (60 credits).
Philosophy students at Glasgow receive rigorous and personalised training in problem solving skills, writing skills, presentation and research skills.
All these skills are widely applicable and recognised to be exceptionally valuable in a wide range of careers, including journalism, teaching, the Civil Service, local government, business, publishing, law, and the arts.
You will also be well equipped to carry onto a further degree in philosophy such as the PhD.
Our Philosophy MSc offers you the opportunity to work closely with our staff in courses based upon their own expertise and current research. It will introduce you to the cutting edge of recent developments in analytic philosophy, from the practical and applied, to the most theoretical end of the subject.
The degree consists of a choice of a choice of four semester-length courses across a range of philosophical topics, all driven by the cutting edge research of our professors and lecturers. There is also a 10-15000 word dissertation to be completed on a topic of your choice, supported by an expert supervisor over the summer.
We always offer the following courses:
Students may either choose two topics and complete both semester-length courses in that topic (e.g. Metaphysics A and B and Philosophy of Language A and B) or choose semester-length courses in several topics (e.g. Ethics A and B, Philosophy of Mind A and Political Philosophy B).
New courses are planned for 2016-17 (subject to approval) in the following topics:
History of Analytic Philosophy including Wittgenstein and Quine A (semester 1) and B (semester 2).
Philosophy students at Glasgow receive rigorous and personalised training in problem solving skills, writing skills, presentation and research skills.
All these skills are widely applicable and recognised to be exceptionally valuable in a wide range of careers, including journalism, teaching, the Civil Service, local government, business, publishing, law, and the arts.
This degree also provides an exceptional foundation for philosophical research at the doctoral level.
This general course explores key ideas in philosophy. You’ll develop your philosophical knowledge and understanding to a higher level. Our MA is designed to prepare students who wish to continue to a PhD as many do.
We also welcome anyone who just wants to learn more about philosophy, even if your first degree is in another subject.
A masters from Sheffield will set you apart and is excellent preparation for a PhD at any leading university or for a wide range of careers, including teaching, law, publishing, civil service, charities, and NGOs, among others. Our postgraduate students have gone on to academic posts at Aberdeen, UC Berkeley, Birkbeck, Cambridge, Essex, Keele, Kent, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Manitoba, Newcastle, Nottingham, the Open University, Oxford, Sheffield, Stirling and Zurich.
Our style of teaching encourages originality and independence of mind. You will learn how to express complex ideas clearly, and how to argue persuasively for those ideas. You’ll also learn to understand other points of view. Our graduates have the confidence and the focus to tackle big projects, and they know how to carry out their own research.
We also offer more specific training. For example, many of the modules on the MA Political Theory are relevant to careers in politics, public service and NGOs.
You’ll be part of a large group of students from all over the world. You’ll socialise together, share ideas and inspire each other.
The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) ranks us 2nd in the UK for the quality of our published work. We have expertise in almost every area of the subject, particularly philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophical logic, philosophy of psychology, history of philosophy, political philosophy, metaethics and feminist philosophy. The department is also home to The Hang Seng Centre for Cognitive Studies and a number of major research projects.
If you qualify, you may be able to get financial support through the University’s studentships and fee waivers, and the AHRC Block Grant Partnership.
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/philosophy/prospectivepostgraduates/funding
Research seminars in:
In addition, a range of lecture-based modules.
You’ll learn through lectures, seminars and tutorials. You’ll write a long essay for each module and a dissertation.
If you’re going on to a PhD you may choose to write a PhD proposal.
Are you interested in the field of Philosophy? Do you want the opportunity to study the subject at a postgraduate level and pursue areas which interest you the most?
On our MA Philosophy programme you will be able to choose from a variety of modules covering key areas in Philosophy. These include: philosophy of mind and cognitive science; ethics, metaethics and global ethics; epistemology and metaphysics; philosophy of language; and philosophy of health and happiness. You will be taught by a vibrant community of philosophers, pursuing original research on a wide range of topics on which expert supervision is available. This programme can also be used as a route into PhD research.
You will take a core research skills module and then select five modules from a range of options offered by the Department of Philosophy.
Available modules within Philosophy typically include:
Assessment
Modules are assessed by written assignment. You will also complete a 15,000-word dissertation, with support from a supervisor.
As well as the taught modules you take on this programme, you are encouraged to participate in our weekly Postgraduate Seminar and in the regular meetings of PhilSoc, so you'll be able to gain insight from a range of academics and peers from across the department.
Support with academic writing
As a postgraduate student in the College of Arts and Law, you have access to the Academic Writing Advisory Service (AWAS) which aims to help your transition from undergraduate to taught Masters level, or back into academia after time away. The service offers guidance on writing assignments and dissertations for your MA/MSc programme with individual support from an academic writing advisor via tutorials, email and the provision of online materials.
International students can access support for English Language development and skills through the Birmingham International Academy (BIA).
Your degree will provide excellent preparation for employment and this will be further enhanced by a range of employability support services offered by the University.
The University's Careers Network provides advice and information specifically for postgraduates that will help you to develop an effective career and skills development strategy, and to make the most of your time with us at the University. The College of Arts and Law also has a dedicated careers and employability team to deliver tailored programmes of careers events and local support.
You will have opportunities to: meet employers face-to-face at on-campus recruitment fairs; attend employer presentations and skills workshops; receive individual guidance on your job applications, writing your CV and improving your interview technique; and access to comprehensive listings of hundreds of graduate jobs and work experience opportunities.
You will also be able to access our full range of careers support for up to two years after graduation.
Postgraduate employability: Philosophy
Birmingham's Philosophy postgraduates develop a range of skills that are highly desirable in the job market, including: articulacy; precise analytical thought; clarity; rigour in formulating complex problems; and the ability to analyse and construct sound arguments.
Due to the transferable nature of their skills, Philosophy postgraduates traditionally enter a wide range of employment areas, from teaching and lecturing to publishing. Employers that graduates have gone on to work for include: BBC; Friends of the Earth; Birmingham Children?s Hospital; Highways England; and University of Birmingham.
The Philosophy MA enables students to benefit from the acknowledged expertise of UCL's lively, close-knit intellectual community, and also access the stimulation and dynamism of London's wider philosophical community. The programme offers the flexibility for recent graduates in the subject to study chosen topics in greater depth.
The programme allows students to develop an advanced knowledge of problems in contemporary analytic philosophy, the history of philosophy and the study of value. It provides students with an understanding of a representative range of central philosophical debates and of the nature of philosophical problems, and encourages them to develop and defend their own viewpoint.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of two core modules (30 credits), six optional modules (90 credits) and a research dissertation (60 credits).
Core modules
These modules introduce students to graduate study in philosophy. Students will give short presentations on central topics and classic papers which form the basis of discussion.
Optional modules
Options may include the following:
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project in any area of philosophy taught and approved by the department, leading to in a dissertation of 12,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is taught through a combination of seminars, lectures, and supervisions. Students' performance is assessed through examinations, presentations, coursework, and the dissertation.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Philosophy MA
Applicants for this programme may be eligible for a number of funding opportunities, including UCL graduate scholarships.
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
Graduates of this programme have become successful lawyers, journalists, theatre directors and novelists among other careers. Those who perform sufficiently well on the MA can expect to pursue further research in philosophy in London or elsewhere.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Employability
The programme equips graduates with the skills to analyse complex ideas, develop independence of judgement and originality of thought, evaluate arguments rigorously, present views lucidly both orally and on paper, and question orthodox views. The programme provides an ideal basis for future academic study and many graduates proceed to research degrees in the UK and abroad.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
The department has strengths in philosophy of mind, language, political and moral philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology and the history of philosophy.
Our students benefit significantly from our location in London, which is one of the international centres of philosophical activity. London is home of a number of renowned journals (Philosophy; Mind & Language; Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society) and hosts regular visiting speakers from across the world. Over 60 philosophers are active in London making it one of the largest and most varied philosophical communities in the world.
Newman’s MA in Contemporary Christian Theology will enable you to develop your interest in theology through an engagement with with some of the issues brought to light by our contemporary culture. You will have the choice of focusing your MA on Christian Theology, Christian Theology and Education, or Christian Theology and Ministry. The part-time programme is ideally suited to professionals working within the field of Theology, Religious Education or Christian Ministry and for those who want to deepen their understanding of the issues facing contemporary theology. Participation in this programme can help advance a career in leading Church schools, teaching Religious Education, or development in pastoral ministry and adult education.
The programme aims to open up new insights building from historical schools of thought to contemporary Christian theologies through an exploration of current issues, such as those surrounding the new bio-technologies, the relationship between science and theology, and eco-feminism. The programme is delivered through a blend of on-line learning and taught sessions. There are four weekend schools a year and ongoing on-line support.
• Constructing Theologies: Past and Future
• Theology and Contemporary Ethics
• Metaphysics and Postmodernity: Belief and the Future
• Method and Hermeneutics in Theology
• Theology and Education.
All students take the same modules and attend core lectures but where appropriate, seminars and tutorials allow you to focus your studies on one of the following areas:
Students pursuing their studies in Christian Theology have the opportunity to engage in considerable depth with contemporary movements in philosophical and systematic theology. The course will allow for detailed study of key texts and ideas, while addressing questions about the possibility and nature of theology.
The taught modules aim to open up new insights into the study of theology through an exploration of the issues that impact on Religious Studies and the leadership of Church schools. These include theologies underpinning education, ethical issues such as designer babies and environmental ethics, and philosophies of education.
Choosing to focus on ministry enables you to explore and extend your understanding of how current research in theology can enrich the work of Christian ministry and mission. This focus will encourage a development of the cognitive, imaginative and critical skills required to interpret texts and doctrines and will enhance the competence of clerical and lay Christians to apply the resources of faith to everyday life and ministry.
In addition to the core modules, you may choose one professionally related module from the MA in Professional Enquiry programme or choose to reflect theologically on a specific area of personal interest. An optional negotiated module provides the opportunity to address a research area of personal interest with tutor support. The writing of a dissertation, allows a further opportunity to develop personal research and completes the final stage of the MA. Students may complete two modules of study to gain a Postgraduate Certificate (typically one year of part-time study), or four modules to gain a Postgraduate Diploma.
The group size is small enough to allow good interaction between class members and easy access to the tutors. The course is delivered through a combination of on-line materials, and face-to-face taught sessions at Newman. University College-based sessions take place over an average of 6 days per year, timed to suit the needs of part-time students. In addition, students will make use of distance learning materials and will be encouraged to interact with each other and with tutors in on-line forums.
Theological research is fundamental to the mission of Newman University. The subject area welcomes applications from suitably qualified students who wish to pursue postgraduate research degrees (MPhil and PhD awarded by the University of Leicester) in the areas of Philosophy of Religion, Religious Education and Biblical Studies.
The MA in Philosophy provides a combination of taught core and option modules which aim to make you familiar with what is at the centre of contemporary debates. Additionally, in the first term, you will attend dissertation preparation seminars to enable you to write your dissertation proposal. Further support is given during the second and third terms and you will write your dissertation under the guidance of a supervisor. During your third term you and your peers will hold an in-house conference.
This MA will give you up-to-date knowledge of contemporary philosophy across a broad range of subjects and provides essential training for students considering going on to do a PhD.
The MA Seminar is designed to provide students with detailed knowledge of the core areas of Philosophy. The Seminar consists of four modules:
-Topics in Theoretical Philosophy
-Topics in Practical Philosophy
Plus two Option Modules - The option modules likely to be offered in 2018/19 include:
-Contemporary Issues in Bioethics
-Consciousness
-Contemporary Ethical Theory
-German Idealism: Moral, Legal and Political Philosophy
-MA Project Essay*
-Metaphysics of Mind
-Philosophy and Cognitive Diversity
-Philosophy of Film
-Philosophy of Psychology
-Philosophy of Art from Hume to Tolstoy
-Wittgenstein and Philosophy
The Postgraduate Research Skills Seminar is taught over two terms and is designed to provide students with a grounding in the skills necessary to contribute to contemporary philosophical debates. They attend at least one research seminar or colloquium every two weeks and maintain a reflective journal of their research experiences throughout the Autumn and Spring Terms. Tutorials are held every two weeks during which students discuss their responses to research events as recorded in their journals and provide mentoring and peer support.
This module will start immediately and continue over the three terms. It is designed to facilitate applicants for AHRC PhD funding who need to have a thesis proposal worked up by the end of the calendar year. This will be particularly beneficial to those who will be pursuing a PhD in Philosophy.
This module is designed to enable students with specialised interests to pursue independently a topic of their own choosing. Students taking this module propose an independent study topic. The proposal will then be considered by the Board of Studies and, if accepted, the student will be assigned a suitable member of staff who will supervise the project. The Project Essay is compulsory for part-time students but can also be taken by full-time students as one of their two option modules.
This module is designed to provide students with the opportunity to practise disseminating their work, which is a distinctive and challenging feature of Philosophy as a discipline.
Students will organise and present a paper at a one-day ‘conference’, which will be attended by at least two members of staff.
As an application of the core knowledge, skills and experience gained in the previous stages of the course, the Dissertation enables students to produce a sustained piece of critical writing on a topic of their choosing. A member of staff with expertise in the relevant area will provide supervision.
This one-year programme (two years part-time) provides an ideal academic environment for those who would like to study the subject at a higher level in preparation for a PhD or as a basis for future employment. Significant numbers of former students go on to further study. The programme includes research training and allows you to write a substantial dissertation on a topic you wish to pursue at PhD level. Our staff members have expertise in a very wide range of areas, so there is considerable flexibility over choice of dissertation topic. Modules are taught via group seminars and one-to-one tutorials.
List A:
Candidates shall also study and be assessed in modules to the value of 90 credits from Lists B, C and D. The module titles below are those offered in previous academic years. Not all the modules will necessarily be available every year.
List B:
List C:
Candidates taking modules from List C must take both modules:
List D:
Candidates taking modules from List D must take both modules:
The Taught MA in Philosophy provides the opportunity for in-depth engagement with areas of philosophy in which the Durham department has internationally recognised expertise. In the process, students develop critical abilities and independent research skills that prepare them for further postgraduate study in Philosophy and for a wide range of careers where such skills are highly prized.
Students choose three optional ‘topic’ modules from a list of approximately seventeen. They are also required to take the ‘Philosophical Perspectives’ module and to complete a double-module dissertation. Topic modules are usually taught via seven two-hour seminars and up to four one-to-one tutorials. Seminars incorporate staff-led discussion of topics, student presentations and small group discussions, in the context of a friendly, supportive environment. Seminars serve to (i) familiarise students with topics, positions and debates, (ii) help them to navigate the relevant literature, (iii) refine their oral and written presentation skills and (iv) further develop their ability to independently formulate, criticise and defend philosophical positions. Students are expected to do approximately four hours of reading for each seminar. Students decide upon an essay topic, having received guidance from the module leader. At this point, they begin a more focused programme of reading and independent study, and also benefit from one-to-one supervisions with an expert in the relevant field. These supervisions provide more focused teaching, tailored to a student’s chosen essay topic. Supervisions further enable students to develop and refine their own philosophical positions, convey them clearly and support them with well constructed arguments.
The core modules of the programme are the ‘Philosophical Perspectives’ module and the double-module Dissertation. The former consists of seminars of 2 hours duration. These introduce students to different philosophical methodologies and to contrasting conceptions of what philosophy is. Critical refection upon the nature of philosophy, cultured through seminar discussions and subsequent reading, equips them with the ‘meta-philosophical’ skills required to write a ‘Philosophical Perspectives’ essay. Other seminars include training in library use, referencing, writing abstracts, structuring an MA-level essay and other research-related matters. They also include focused advice and discussion concerning dissertation proposals, which students are required to submit as part of this module.
Having completed the three topic modules and the ‘Philosophical Perspectives’ module, students start work on their Dissertations. They are offered six one-to-one tutorials of up to an hour each, with a supervisor who will be an expert in their chosen field. There is also a Dissertation Workshop during the summer, where students present work from their Dissertation and receive feedback from members of staff and from their peers. The supervisions and the workshop both help them to further refine skills acquired during the academic year (such as presenting and defending an argument in a clear, structured fashion) and to complete a substantial piece of high quality independent research. Through the workshop, they also engage with the work of other students in ways that are mutually informative.
In addition to this core teaching, students benefit from a range of activities, including a student-led ‘work-in-progress group’ and regular meetings of EIDOS, the department’s postgraduate philosophy society. They are welcomed as full participants in the department’s research culture, and are thus strongly encouraged to attend a range of other events, including weekly Research Seminars, and occasional Royal Institute of Philosophy Lectures, conferences, workshops and reading groups. The Programme Directors remains in regular contact with the students throughout the year and are always available to discuss any issues that might arise (personal or academic).
Taught Masters degrees in History, Art History, Philosophy and American Studies at Sussex, a top 20 University
