Our syllabus is unusually diverse. You’ll study all the cores areas of Western philosophy as well as the Asian philosophical traditions. Our modules address ethics, 'social, feminist, and political philosophy, the philosophies of mind and personal identity, metaphysics and epistemology, feminist philosophy, and the philosophies of art, religion, science, sex, and criminal law. Alongside these, we have modules in philosophical methodology, teaching you how to reason, argue, and write for different types of audience. So as well as teaching you philosophy, we train you to philosophise.
Lecture classes tend to be informal, with different teachers using different styles appropriate to the topic at hand. Seminars allow for sustained small-group discussion, where you can explore ideas and test your skills. Alongside this more formal classroom-based teaching, we have drop-in hours, podcasts, and other styles of teaching.
If you are a single honours student, you take compulsory and optional modules in your first year. In your second and third years, you have free choice on the modules you take – so follow your interests! You can also take subsidiary modules from other departments! Our joint honours courses are divided between the two or three subjects.
Assessment
Assessment is by a mixture of exams and coursework, with the option to take presentations in some modules. Your first year marks do not count towards your final degree classification, and third-year marks are given more weight in the final degree assessment.