Introduction to the continental philosophy graduate programme

The Department of Philosophy offers an innovative and flexible programme of study leading to the Master of Arts degree. Masters level postgraduate study here takes place within the 'Negotiated Study' framework (see below).

In addition, the Department also offers supervision for the degrees of MPhil and PhD in Modern Continental Philosophy in the areas of research specialism of staff. The Department also contributes to the rare opportunity to study for a PhD in Fine Art and Philosophy. Please see: Research Degrees.

The Master of Arts programme is designed to bring participants to a rich understanding of some of the most exciting figures and topics in recent European thought. The MA provides an excellent grounding in the dominant themes of modern Continental philosophy - e.g. time, subjectivity and inter-subjectivity, ethics and otherness, hermeneutics, differential ontologies, sexual difference, and deconstruction. At the same time, the programme allows abundant flexibility in both the taught courses and independent research, allowing students to pursue their own interests, including inter-disciplinary work across the Humanities subjects and beyond. Ours is primarily intended to be a research MA programme, designed for students who have a strong (though not necessarily fixed) sense of their own philosophical interests and what the topic of their dissertation is likely to be. Designed to consolidate and enhance students' knowledge of modern philosophy, the MA provides an excellent foundation for doctoral (Ph.D.) work in philosophy.

The Master of Arts by Negotiated Study framework

Our Masters programme is offered under the umbrella of the 'Master of Arts by Negotiated Study' (MANS). This is essentially a modularised (i.e. broken up into indivdually credit-rated units) Masters by research. This means that we expect you to have ideas for an overall research project at the time of application. Then, once you are accepted, you will first refine this project, and break it down into managable elements. Your MA then consists completing each of these elements, leading up to the completion of a a final project.

This framework allows students in philosophy to (i) customise their course of study to an unprecedented extent, perhaps focusing on a particular philosophical theme in preparation for a PhD project, or pursuing an interdisciplinary line of inquiry (for example, the relation of philosophy and art, or literature, film, social theory, etc.); (ii) choose a unique degree title; (iii) study in part-time or full-time modes, and to easily change between them as circumstances dictate.

Here's how it works: A Masters degree comprises 180 credits, equivalent to three semesters of full-time study. This is a busy 12 months, or up to several years in part-time mode. On the philosophy programme within the MANS framework, these credits are divided into three overlapping stages.

• First, a set of research methods courses (we call them 'modules'): Approaches to Flexible Learning and Research Methods Seminar. These two total 30 credits; they would normally be among the first modules you take. These modules make considerable use of distance learning so your schedule is kept as flexible as possible.
  
  
• Second, a set of three modules the content of which is negotiated. These modules total 90 credits, and represent the 'elements' of your overall project, that should lead up to the final dissertation. 'Negotiated' means that the content and assessed outcomes are determined by agreement between you and the University. The content could include any of the several weekly classes we run each semester (or which can be found in other Departments), or it could include other events such as a reading group, a conference/ speaker here or elsewhere, or a research visit to an archive. Likewise, the outcome of these modules is negotiated. The outcome must fit in with and further both your philosophical development, and the on-going research for your final project. The 'default' outcome is a philosophical essay of approximately 6-7000 words. However, depending upon the needs of your overall project, it could also be a sustained critical literature review, writing and delivering a conference paper, producing and documenting works of fine art, conducting an interview with a prominent philosopher, a work-placement, or any number of other possibilities.
  
  
• Third, a dissertation, on a subject of your choice, that follows on from your earlier work. The dissertation is a single, sustained research project designed to demonstrate your new command of philosophical thought. It is rated at 60 credits, and is normally a piece of work approximately 14 to 18 thousand words in length.

You could graduate with a degree that means something and stands out from the crowd. For example, Master of Arts in Philosophy and European Social Theory, Philosophy and Fine Art Photography, Ethics and Critical Philosophy, or Hermeneutics and Literature, etc.

However, given this greater degree of choice, we need to ensure the overall academic coherence of your choices. To this end, as mentioned above, you are asked to have thought about your plans as part of your application process. Your individual Masters programme will require negotiation between you and the course committee. This negotiation takes the form of a 'learning contract' that details, plans and justifies the coherence of your overall programme. The drafting of this learning contract is the main requirement of the Approaches to Flexible Learning module. However, the contract is not rigid: if a new and exciting learning opportunity arises, or if on the basis of background work your sense of the final project needs to change, you can 'renegotiate' the contract in order to keep the intellectual coherence of your plans up to date.

An Example

This example is based upon the work our students have done over the past few years.

Suppose you wanted to pursue the following theme: The concept of critique in recent continental european thought. You planned this investigation in the Approaches module. In Research Methods you performed a background study of the polysemy of the concept of 'critique'. Then, you wrote sustained essays on:

Nietzsche as a critical philosopher
Heidegger's Kant and the hermeneutics of understanding
The notion of the a priori in recent French materialism

Your dissertation was: 'Foucault and the Historical Constitution of Knowledge'

Finally, you agreed with the University that you would be awarded the degree of Master of Arts in Recent European Critical Philosophy.

What We Offer

Here is a brief record of the kinds of study opportunities available in the Department in the coming and in previous years. As a postgraduate you would be encouraged to participate in these, and perhaps also use them as the 'content' of one of the negotiated components of your MA.

Postgraduate Academic Programme 09-10

Postgraduate Academic Programme 08-09

Postgraduate Academic Programme for 07-8

Postgraduate Academic Programme for 06-7

Postgraduate Academic Programme for 05-6

Postgraduate Academic Programme for 04-5