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BA in Philosophy

This degree will enable you to wrestle with absolutely fundamental questions about the nature of existence, minds, objects, language, logic, space and time. You will not only learn about philosophical topics, but you’ll also develop the skills required to engage actively with those topics, in a vibrant and supportive academic community.

Programme content

We emphasise the study of Philosophy’s core traditions (e.g. in the works of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume and Kant) as a background to understanding and critically interrogating more recent philosophical questions and concerns. In your second and third years, we give you the freedom to choose your own path through the subject, selecting from an exceptionally broad range of module topics, these currently include Hegel, Nietzsche, Sartre, Russell, Ethics of Sociability, Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems, Aesthetics, Feminism, Meaning, and Mind. Throughout your degree you will also have the opportunity to take modules from outside of the department, tailoring your degree to what interests you.

Our students benefit from expert guidance from staff in developing strong analytical and critical skills alongside the ability to integrate large bodies of information involving multiple perspectives.

A wide variety of employers value the core abilities of philosophers to explain ideas clearly and to argue persuasively orally and in writing. In your first year, you'll gain a solid grounding in the art of philosophy and its history, and familiarity with an unusually broad range of philosophical questions. You'll also develop proficiency in the close reading of complex texts and the preparation of well-crafted prose. Throughout your time with us, we'll support you in improving your philosophical abilities and your knowledge of the subject.

In your second and third year we'll help you to deepen your philosophical knowledge and skills through a wide range of more specialised option modules.Through engaging in depth with specific topics and thinkers, you'll learn how to closely read and analyse philosophical and other literatre, and to think and write clearly.

Our academics produce world-leading research in both analytic and continental philosophy, as well as in interdisciplinary work involving psychology, mathematics, and literature. Because we are involved in teaching at all levels, you are learning from individuals at the forefront of their fields from day one.

Course Structure/Modules

In your first year, your modules will include the following core modules:

You'll also select optional modules comprising 30 CATS.

Some recommended choices from the Philosophy department are listed below. However, you may select modules from other departments if you wish.

In your second year you will study the following modules:

In your final year, there are no core modules. You choose optional modules totalling 120 CATS. At least 90 CATS should come from our optional philosophy modules. The remaining 30 CATS may come from other departments if you wish.

View our list of optional philosophy modules available in 2017/18 academic year (which is indicative of the type of list available in future years)

Further Information

 

 

 

 

 

 


The student experience

“Warwick has been a fantastic place to study a broad range of philosophical disciplines. The Philosophy department is brilliant, as it offers such diverse modules. In my first year, the focus of the course was to study the foundations of Philosophy that would be used in the honours level modules. This included Ancient Philosophy, Logic I (which has been surprising useful!), Descartes and Mill, Issues in Philosophy and many more. In second year, very few of my modules were compulsory, and by third year I had full control of my options; this meant I could shape my degree however I wanted.

Some students choose to follow a specialised pathway throughout their course, others, like myself, have followed a wide variety of modules. Many students even opt to take a few modules from external departments. The freedom to structure your degree based on your interests, is something that I really love about the department here.”

- Cat Padbury, BA Philosophy