Philosophy

Description

The University of Essex is one of the UK's leading academic institutions, ranked ninth nationally for research excellence following the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

Our BA Philosophy provides a wide-ranging and flexible philosophy curriculum, embracing both analytical (or Anglo-American) and Continental (modern European) philosophical thought. It encourages you to identify the relevance of philosophy to other forms of enquiry (eg social, political, cultural, aesthetic) and its applicability to issues in public and moral life.

Philosophy draws attention to fundamental questions which involve reflecting on and interrogating assumptions, about ourselves and our world, that are often taken for granted, such as: Does God exist? Is material success all that counts in life? What is true happiness? What do I owe to others? What can I know? How free am I to decide my own fate?

It also develops a set of transferable skills which, as shown by various articles in The Times and The Guardian, employers have come to value highly. These include: critical skills, in particular the ability to analyse the logical structure of arguments in order to assess their validity; problem-solving skills which help to identify and understand the hidden assumptions of arguments; communication and negotiation skills - the study of philosophical debates and of conflicting arguments develops one's ability to understand all sides of a dispute objectively and without forming a premature opinion, and to express one's own position in a way which is clearly understandable by all parties; teamwork skills - philosophy is essentially a cooperative endeavour in which all parties involved work towards achieving a better comprehension of the problems at hand and seek a solution which all will accept.

The skills one acquires in the study of philosophy help to achieve a variety of goals and perhaps more significantly, the study of philosophy helps one to reflect on those goals themselves throughout the years to come.

Detailed Course Facts

• GBP 9000 Year (EEA)
• GBP 11950 Year (Non-EEA)

• English

Course Content

Our courses are characterised by choice and flexibility. Studying at Essex is about discovering yourself, so your course combines compulsory ('core') and optional modules to ensure you gain key knowledge in the discipline while having as much freedom as possible to explore your own interests. Our modules change from year to year in response to new developments and innovation, but our module directory can show you which modules are available to our current students.
Example structure
Because of our interdisciplinary approach, many of our courses offer a wide selection of available modules, often including options from departments other than your own. Your course content will therefore depend on your own unique interests, but the structure below gives an example of what’s available to you.
Year 1
Introduction to Philosophy (core)
Death, God and the Meaning of Life (optional)
The Enlightenment (optional)
Sex, Politics and Religion (optional)
Year 2
Conceptual Foundations of Modernity (core)
Ethics (optional)
Philosophy and Religion (optional)
Capitalism and its Critics (optional)
Philosophy and Film (optional)
Year 3
19th Century Continental Philosophy (optional)
20th Century Continental Philosophy (optional)
Contemporary Political Philosophy (optional)
Freud and the Philosophy of the Unconscious (optional)
Nietzsche (optional)
Philosophy of Mind (optional)

English Language Requirements

IELTS band : 6

To study at this university, you have to speak English. We advice you to

Requirements

A-levels: ABB-BBB
GCSE English: C
IB: 32-30 points (we consider IB certificates at the Higher Level on a case-by-case basis)
Achievement of the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 6 level three credits at distinction and the remainder at merit (or above) or achievement of the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 45 level three credits at merit (or above).
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall with minimum 5.5 in each component (or equivalent). Different requirements apply for second year entry.

Work Experience

No work experience is required.

Related Scholarships*

• Academic Excellence Scholarship

  "The Academic Excellence Scholarship can provide up to a 50 % reduction in tuition per semester. These scholarships will be renewed if the student maintains superior academic performance during each semester of their 3-year Bachelor programme. The scholarship will be directly applied to the student’s tuition fees."

• Access Bursary

  Bursary for UK students all subjects where the variable tuition fee rate is payable.

• Alumni Bursary

  Alumni Bursary for UK Undergraduate students

* The scholarships shown on this page are suggestions first and foremost. They could be offered by other organisations than University of Essex.

Funding

For up-to-date information on funding opportunities at Essex, please visit: www.essex.ac.uk/studentfinance.