The Department of Philosophy offers two MA programs in Philosophy: a two-year program and a one-year program.

Holders of at least a four-year degree in philosophy may apply for both the two-year and one-year MA programs. Holders of a three-year bachelor’s degree in philosophy should, as a rule, apply for the two-year MA program rather than the one-year program. This also prevents potential degree recognition problems when applying for doctoral study in continental Europe or on the continental European job market. Occasional exemptions from this rule are granted. Holders of degrees only in subjects other than philosophy are advised to apply for the two-year MA program.

The two-year program covers most of the major areas of philosophy, mainly from an analytic perspective, including the major periods in the history of philosophy. The one-year program is suitable for students who already have a general grounding in the history of philosophy and the major subject areas, and wish to deepen their acquaintance with particular fields and develop their analytic skills as a preparation for doctoral training or other professional careers.

Philosophy students studying in either the two-year or the one-year MA program may optionally participate in one of the three specializations that earn an additional US non-degree Advanced Certificate. These are the Advanced Certificate in Religious Studies, coordinated by the Center for Religious Studies; Advanced Certificate in Political Thought, coordinated by the Center for Historical Studies; and Advanced Certificate in Ethics and Political Philosophy, jointly offered by the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Political Science. Please see further details under Advanced Certificates.

Program Objectives and Courses Regularly on Offer

Our MA programs aim to enable students to proceed to doctoral training in any leading department around the world. Our graduates will also be very well qualified, as far as the subject is concerned, to teach philosophy in the final years of secondary school. In addition, a holder of one of our philosophy MA degrees will have the kind of training in thinking analytically and systematically which is of great value in all responsible administrative and managerial positions.

Regularly offered mandatory courses include courses in Logic, Epistemology, Philosophy of Language, Metaphysics, Ethics, Ancient Philosophy, Early Modern Philosophy, and Continental Philosophy.

In addition, we offer mandatory courses that help students in developing their skills in writing, argumentation, and research. These are the Academic Writing Seminar, the Departmental Colloquium, and the MA Thesis Seminar. The MA thesis supervision process is in addition to the MA Thesis Seminar and based on an intensive one-to-one faculty-student interaction and spread out over almost the complete final MA program year.

Regularly offered elective courses include courses in the Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Religion, Empiricism, Rationalism, Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Aesthetics, Philosophy of Science, Social Philosophy, and Political Philosophy. Other courses follow the faculty’s research interests.

For details on the respective program structure, see the MA regulations.