Philosophy

About

The Taught Phd 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.

This is a research degree in which students write a long dissertation of up to 100,000 words under the supervision of at least two members of faculty. Students can complete the degree over three (full time) or six (part time) years. The research expertise of our faculty means that we can offer supervision for research projects in almost any area of philosophy. 

Our postgraduate programmes aim to provide you with the opportunity to engage in depth in philosophical work. A distinctive feature of postgraduate work in philosophy at Durham is the way all postgraduate courses involve a high level of individual contact between tutor or supervisor and student. On taught courses, our aim is to provide you with an opportunity to develop your knowledge, skills and understanding of research in philosophy, and to prepare those who aim to do further study for more advanced research for the PhD. With research degrees, our aim is to provide a supportive and stimulating environment in which you can engage in research, guided by your supervisor and motivated by philosophical contact with other graduates in seminars and meetings.

Content

We have a strong research record in many branches of philosophy. Research degrees in the Department of Philosophy are supervised by a member of staff who specialises in the topic. If you are interested in applying for the MA by Thesis or PhD, please request a prospectus from the Postgraduate Secretary. Our departmental staff list and list of current students will give you an idea of topics and potential supervisors.

The department provides its research students with comprehensive training, designed to support their research and professional development, which is integrated into its broader research environment. Students are assigned to aresearch cluster and co-supervised by at least two staff members. They participate in research group workshops, giving presentations on their ongoing research and receiving detailed feedback and advice from academic staff with relevant expertise. They also present their work at conferences in the UK and abroad, with financial support from the department. This environment ensures that our PhD graduates are well placed for academic employment, and ourplacement record is correspondingly strong, with many of our PhD students going on to lectureships and postdoctoral fellowships in the UK and abroad. 

We have expertise across a broad range of philosophical areas:

• Aesthetics: Prof. Andrew Hamilton

The Aesthetics research cluster meets regularly to discuss the work of its staff and current PhD students. The latter especially is an excellent opportunity for students to receive feedback on their research and keep up to date with each others' work. 

The research cluster is also a focal point for the development of conferences and research projects. Most recently, Elisabeth Schellekens has been awarded an AHRC Research Network grant for a project centred on "The Aesthetics and Ethics of Archaeology" (2013-14). Other recent activities include the conference organized by Andy Hamilton (with Nick Zangwill) on Roger Scruton's philosophical aesthetics, which will result in a collection of essays to be published shortly with (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012). Also, Andy Hamilton and Elisabeth Schellekens were awarded a Beacon Fellowship in 2009-10 called "Art Matters" which examined the reception of contemporary arts in the general public. Elisabeth Schellekens is the Editor (with John Hyman, Oxford) of the British Journal of Aesthetics. 

The fact that there are three memebrs of staff with Aesthetics as one of their primary areas of research shows the strength and depth of the Department's expertise in this area and ability to supervise graduate students working across as broad as possible a spectrum in this field. We welcome new PhD students in any area of Aesthetics and the Philosophy of art.

• Environmental Philosophy: Dr. Simon James & Dr Wendy Parker

• Ethics: Prof. Geoffrey Scarre, Dr. Simon James, Prof. Alison Wylie, Dr Benedict Smith & Dr Andreas Pantazatos

The ethics research cluster meets at least once a year to discuss the work of its posgraduate researchers. This is an excellent opportunity for junior researchers to talk about their work and receive feedback from a number of specialists in their field. Members of this group are involved in a diverse range of activities. Sylvie Gambaudo has co-founded the Gender and Sexuality Research Group - an interdisciplinary network - and Geoffrey Scarre is the co-founder of another interdisciplinary group, the Centre for the Ethics of Cultural Heritage. Most recently, Elisabeth Schellekens has been awarded an AHRC Research Network grant for a project centred on "The Aesthetics and Ethics of Archaeology" (2013-14).

• History and philosophy of science and medicine (including the social sciences and economics): Prof. Nancy Cartwright, Prof. Julian Reiss, Prof. Alison Wylie, Dr. Wendy Parker, Dr. Peter Vickers, Dr. Matthew Eddy, Dr Robin Hendry & Prof. Holger Maehle

The Science, Medicine and Society cluster is the focus of a number of research activities. Firstly, its staff members co-ordinate an M.A. in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine. As such, many of the members of the group are postgraduates who have completed the M.A. and continued their research within this group. The cluster, which is one of only a few of its kind in the UK, provides exciting opportunities for dialogue between philosophers and historians with a range of interests in science and medicine. Many of the group's members contribute to the Centre for Humanities Engaging Science and Society (CHESS) and the Centre for the History of Medicine and Disease (CHMD). Members of the group have been involved in a number of major Wellcome Trust projects, led by Holger Maehle. These include projects on 'Knowledge, Ethics and Representation' and 'Medical Ethics In Imperial Germany'. The former resulted in the special issue of Medical History on 'Sexology, Medical Ethics and Occultism', and the latter resulted in the book Doctors, Honour and the Law. Members of the group often engage in public outreach activities: for example, in 2009-10 David Knight (with Matthew Eddy and Robin Hendry) organised a series of public lectures entitled 'Reflections on Water', bringing together eminent scientists, historians, theologians and philosophers. In 2009 Matthew Eddy obtained Royal Society funding to organise a major conference 'Prehistoric Minds: Darwinism, Culture and Human Origins during the 19th Century', which led directly to a special edition ofNotes and Records of the Royal Society in 2011. In further collaboration with the Royal Society, Matthew Eddy organised a Royal Society exhibition, ‘Visualising Matter: the Graphic Teaching Tools of Chemistry in the Age of Revolution' (July/August 2011).

In 2012 Peter Vickers and Robin Hendry both won AHRC 'Science in Culture' exploratory awards for projects entitled 'Evaluating Scientific Realism' and 'Structure in Chemistry', respectively. In 2013 Holger Maehle won a Leverhulme Trust grant for a new project on medical confidentiality and Peter Vickers has recently won an AHRC award for a project entitled 'Contemporary Scientific Realism and the Challenge from the History of Science'. Recently, Robin Hendry secured funding with the Templeton Foundation for the 'Durham Emergence Project' - a major 2013-16 project on the concept of 'ontological emergence' in collaboration with the MLM group and members of the Durham Physics Department.

• History of philosophy: Dr. Matthew Eddy, Prof. Andrew Hamilton

• Metaphysics: Dr. Sophie Gibb & Dr. Matthew Tugby

• Phenomenology and continental philosophy: Dr Benedict Smith, Dr. Sylvie Gambaudo & Dr. Simon James

The Applied Phenomenology research cluster provides a forum where postgraduate researchers can discuss their work and receive constructive criticism from a number of specialists in their field.  It is also a focal point for the development of research projects and conferences.  Members of the research group have worked on a number of major national and international projects during the last few years. These include Emotions and Feelings in Psychiatric Illness (AHRC), Emotional Experience in Depression: A Philosophical Study (AHRC/DFG), The Varieties of Moral Experience (British Academy), and Hearing the Voice (Wellcome).

• Philosophy of mind and action: Dr. Sophie Gibb, Dr Clare Mac Cumhaill

• Mind, Language and Metaphysics

The Mind, Language and Metaphysics research cluster is the largest group in the department and obviously covers a broad range of key philosophical disciplines. The scope of the group means that postgraduates, when presenting their work, are exposed to a wide range of philosophical theory and feedback. The group has been home to a number of major projects over the last few years: The New Ontology of the Mental Causation Debate was a two year research project, headed by Sophie Gibb and E.J. Lowe, which has just come to a close; Un-Cartesian Linguistics was a project running 2009-2012 headed by Wolfram Hinzen, involving many of the postgraduates in the department working on the philosophy of language. Members of the group are also playing a major role in theDurham Emergence Project, a major Templeton funded project running 2013-16. In addition, members of the group often organise one-off events involving major international figures: in 2013 alone such events included Information Systems and the Four-Category Ontology, Concept Acquisition and the Role of Language, and Consciousness and Attention.

• Philosophy of psychology and psychiatry: Prof. Andrew Hamilton

• Feminist philosophy: Dr Sylvie Gambaudo and Prof. Alison Wylie

Entry requirements

• MA: BA in Philosophy or suitably related discipline, upper second class or equivalent 
• PhD: MA in Philosophy or suitably related discipline

We welcome applications from holders of international qualifications. For advice on the equivalency of international qualifications, please contact International Office on international.office@durham.ac.uk.

We welcome applications from overseas students. Because instruction is in English, you will need to be proficient in written and spoken English. From a Departmental perspective we look for our applicants to have achieved an overall band score of at least 7.0 in the IELTS test (with no element below 6.5) or another acceptable English Language 

Financial support

There are many sources of financial assistance for postgraduate study. The following is just a selection of the opportunities available. If you would like to discuss financial support, its availability and your eligibility please do not hesitate to contact us at philosophy.pgsec@durham.ac.uk.

Funding for PhD study

Durham University offers a number of PhD awards for outstanding students, including

Durham Doctoral Studentships 

Benefits

Durham Doctoral Awards are tenable for three years full-time or five years part-time, 
and offer the following financial support package: 
1. an annual maintenance allowance at Research Council rates (currently £14,057 full-time) 
2. fees at overseas rate (currently £14,900 full-time). In addition, departments may be able to offer paid teaching and/or research assistance opportunities.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for candidates with the following: 
1. a first-class or very good 2:1 undergraduate degree ; 
2. an MA (completed or in progress) in a relevant subject area at distinction or near-distinction level; 
3. an outstanding academic record and research potential; 
4. a high-quality research project that can be completed within 3 years; 
5. a clear and credible link between the proposed research and the expertise of the supervisory team; 
6. a clear understanding of how the project fits with the research environments in which it will be carried out (you may wish to comment here on the relevance of the department, centre, institute).

How to Apply

To apply for Durham Doctoral Studentship, you will need to complete Durham University’s on-line application form (https://www.dur.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/), and to state that you wish to be considered for Durham Doctoral Studentship when the form asks you to indicate how you intend to fund your studies.If you have already submitted an application, please contact your prospective department and inform them that you wish to be considered for DDS funding.

All applicants applying for a studentship award need to include within the relevant section of the online application form a summary of the research project they plan to conduct. The proposal should not exceed 750 words in length (excluding bibliography) and must set out the following:

• The research questions or problems that the research will address.

• The research context, i.e. the past and current research and scholarship in the field.

• Bearing in mind the research context, the contribution to knowledge and understanding the project will make to the field, and a clear statement of the intellectual significance of the proposed research.

• The approach / methodology that will be employed, and an explanation of why it is the most appropriate approach for addressing the research questions/problems.

• The resources and facilities that will be used during the research project, where are they located, and how will they be accessed.

AHRC Northern Bridge Studentships 

Northern Bridge offers over fifty fully-funded doctoral studentships to outstanding applicants across the full range of arts and humanities subjects, including Creative Practice disciplines.

We provide a comprehensive and attractive package of financial support over the duration of study, which incorporates:

• payment of tuition fees;
• a maintenance award at the UK Research Councils’ national rate (currently £14,057 per annum);
• a research training support grant (RTSG) to fund the costs of study abroad, conference attendance and fieldwork;
• financial support to participate in the annual Northern Bridge Autumn Conference, Winter School and Summer School, which include specialist training as well as events focussing on career development and enhancing your employability;
• financial support for placements, international study visits and the acquisition of the skills necessary for you to complete your PhD to the highest standards.

Subject Areas

Northern Bridge invites applications in the following subject areas, and strongly encourages interdisciplinary projects encompassing two or more of these:

• Archaeology
• Classics
• Creative Writing
• Cultural Geography
• Cultural Studies
• Drama and Theatre Studies
• English Language and Literature
• Ethnography and Anthropology*
• Film History, Theory and Criticism
• French Studies
• German Studies
• Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
• History
• Interpreting and Translation
• Italian Studies
• Law and Legal Studies*
• Linguistics
• Media and Communication Studies
• Museum Studies
• Music
• Philosophy
• Political Science and International Studies (Diplomacy & International Relations)*
• Russian Studies
• Theology, Divinity and Religion
• Visual Arts, encompassing Art Theory & Aesthetics, and theoretical, historical, critical and practice-based approaches to the following: Fine Art; Digital Arts; Photography; Community Art; Installation Art; Sound Art; Film-/ Time-Based Art; and Architecture

Postgraduate research facilities

Durham University Library has excellent holdings of books and journals in philosophy, and the history of science and medicine, and access to a wide range of electronic resources. There are dedicated postgraduate rooms with IT facilities in the Department, a Common Room to foster informal interaction between staff and postgraduate students, and a substantial collection of books and journals in the Departmental Library. The Faculty Postgraduate Centre, located nearby, provides generous space for private study and IT facilities. Each full-time research student is a member of a College of the University, which provides pastoral support, and further IT facilities.