2023/24 Undergraduate Programme Catalogue

BA Philosophy

Total credits: 360

Entry requirements:

AAB at A-level or equivalent

School/Unit responsible for the parenting of students and programme:

School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science

Examination board through which the programme will be considered:

School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science

Relevant QAA Subject Benchmark Groups:

QAA Philosophy Benchmark Statement

Programme specification:

The information on this page is accurate for students entering the programme in 2022/2023 or before. For students entering the programme from September 2023 or after, you can find the details of your programme: BA Philosophy (For students entering from September 2023 onwards)

Genuine research-led teaching is at the heart of our programme at all levels, including themed modules at the introductory level, a flagship research-led research skills module at the gateway level, and specialist research modules at the specialist level. Students will not only gain exposure to the world-leading Philosophy research being done in our School but will also have ongoing opportunities to see how this research applies to important real-world issues.

The key intent of the course is to provide students with knowledge of philosophical debates, thinkers and ideas, to develop their skills in academic research, and to provide students with personal and professional skills that can be easily transferred to employment contexts.

This programme is full time and in person. It does not include any distance learning elements.


Your course

The first year on the course combines a selection of core modules with an exciting range of optional modules. The core modules introduce students to key thinkers and areas of philosophy – for example, theories of knowledge, morality, political philosophy, historical philosophy and formal methods of argument. The role of the ‘taster’ options taken alongside the core modules is to give students a sense of what these different philosophical areas look like when applied to specific philosophical themes and questions – of religion, for instance, or the mind. Both the core and the optional modules will help students get a sense of which areas of the course they might like to specialise in at the higher levels.

In the second-year students combine their choices from a wide range of optional modules with our year-long flagship module in research methodology. This core 40 credit module is designed to equip students with valuable research skills, gain exposure to cutting edge research in our discipline, and build a sense of community with others on their course.

In the final year students put their research skills into practice by taking an independent research project on a topic of their choice. Students combine this core 40 credit project with a shortlist of rotating specialist research modules that showcase the work being done by our staff in the school.

The programme has an optional international variant, which includes a study abroad year at Level 3, and an industrial variant, which includes a work placement year at Level 3.

At all levels students will be able to combine philosophy modules with Discovery modules from other subjects in the university.


Your future

Students will have the opportunity to gain important transferrable skills at all levels of the programme. This includes the personal skills involved in successfully engaging with learning and assessment activities, development of written and oral communication skills, and organisational skills involved in managing workloads. Their path through the programme will also provide opportunities to develop an awareness of how cultural or historical context influences scholarship in Philosophy and issues in contemporary society. These skills will help our students either transition into an employment environment after leaving us, or into further education if that is the route they choose.


Our world

Throughout the programme students will have the opportunity to develop their awareness and understanding of how debates and ideas in Philosophy apply to the wider world. This is facilitated both by modules on real-world issues, but also more generally in the application of abstract Philosophical ideas to real-world examples in teaching sessions and assessments. By the time they leave us, students will have had the opportunity to gain an informed sensitivity to real-world issues, their positionality with respect to those issues, and their place in the wider world.

Year1 - View timetable

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]

Candidates must study 120 credits which may include up to 20 credits of Discovery modules.

Candidates must pass at least 100 credits to progress to the next year of the programme.

Compulsory modules:

Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

Optional modules:

Basket 1: Candidates will be required to study 20 credits from the following optional modules and from Discovery:

 Candidates may study 10 credits of S1 Discovery modules

Basket 2: Candidates will be required to study 20 credits from the following optional modules and from Discovery: 

Candidates may study 10 credits of S2 Discovery modules

Discovery modules:

Year2 - View timetable

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]

Students must study 120 credits in total (a mixture of compulsory and optional or discovery modules). To pass the year they must pass 100 credits including all modules flagged as PFP.

Optional modules:

Candidates are required to take at least 20 credits from the following list of modules in Theoretical Philosophy:

Candidates must ensure that they take between 80 and 120 credits of Philosophy at this level. Their remaining credits can be taken either from other Theoretical Philosophy modules, above, or from the list of optional modules, below, or from a mixture of both lists.
Candidates taking MUSS 2520 must have studied either MUSS 2529 or PHIL1121.

PHIL2600 and PHIL2611 are mutually exclusive.

Discovery modules:

Candidates may study up to 40 credits of Discovery Modules over Levels 2 and 3 combined.
Up to 20 credits of these per level may be taken at the level below, but these will not count towards the 100 credits needed at each level to pass for progression/award.

Candidates may also choose to study one of the following optional modules.

Year3 - View timetable

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]

Students must study 120 credits in total (a mixture of compulsory and optional or discovery modules). To pass the year they must pass 100 credits including all modules flagged as ‘PFP’.

Optional modules:

Candidates must take ONE of the following modules:

Candidates may study up to 80 credits from the following optional modules:

Discovery modules:

Candidates may study up to 40 credits of Discovery Modules over Levels 2 and 3 combined.
Up to 20 credits of these per level may be taken at the level below, but these will not count towards the 100 credits needed at each level to pass for progression/award.

Last updated: 24/08/2023 15:44:13

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