(MA) Master of Arts
Philosophy
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Masters
Full-time or part-time
Philosophy
MA V50012
17/04/2012
Details
Professional accreditation
None
Admission criteria
A degree with an overall 2:1.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
IELTS 7.0 overall with a minimum component score of 5.5
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
None
External examiners
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
To provide students with a background in philosophy, as well as those with a variety of other backgrounds in humanities and social sciences, with a rigorous grounding in some of the principal thinkers and currents in European philosophy, from Kant to the present.
To offer the opportunity, for students who wish to do so, to study developments in critical social theory.
To offer the opportunity, for students who wish to do so, to explore the dialogue between philosophy and psychoanalysis, which has been a prominent feature of European philosophy over the last century.
To develop students capacities for independent thought and critical reflection.
To develop in students the research skills appropriate to the advanced study of philosophy, in particular through the writing of the MA Dissertation, thus providing them with the basis for further progression to a doctoral degree (subject to a pass at a minimum of 60 on the dissertation).
The outcomes listed below represent the minimum which might be expected of a masters level student.
It is the intention of the School that the majority of students on the MA will achieve significantly more.
Details of the standards expected for MA work at pass level and at distinction level can be found in the Graduate Handbook produced annually by the School of Philosophy and Art History.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: Knowledge of some of the principal thinkers and themes in European philosophy since Kant.
A2: Knowledge of some of the principal methods employed by European philosophers since Kant (e.g., transcendental deduction, phenomenological description, genealogy, hermeneutics, moral constructivism, linguistic and conceptual analysis).
A3: Ability to engage critically with the main texts and the secondary literature pertaining to them.
A4: Ability to form and present original views on, and interpretations of, issues arising within the various currents of philosophy.
Learning methods
Outcomes A1-A4 are acquired through attendance and participation in the chosen modules.
Reading is carefully selected in advance for each session, and students are expected to have assimilated the appropriate passages prior to coming to class.
The lecture is followed by a one hour discussion, during which students are given the opportunity to ask and answer questions, voice theoretical concerns, raise additional issues.
Students are asked to give short non-assessed presentations, followed by discussions.
This provides the opportunity for an informal assessment of their oral and argumentative skills.
Outcomes A1-A4 are also fostered by means of the Departmental seminars, during which speakers - sometime world-known specialists - give presentations followed by open discussions.
The Department also organises a yearly mini-course, during which a specialist of international renown is asked to teach a series of classes on a specific topic.
Students also prepare a dissertation on a topic of their choice which is individually supervised.
Assessment methods
Outcomes A1-A4 are formally assessed by means of written coursework.
Formal assessment is also carried out through the marking of the final dissertation, independently marked by two examiners, neither of which is the student's supervisor.
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: Ability to identify and evaluate complex arguments and to present one's own evaluation of them.
B2: Ability to use and criticise specialised philosophical terminology.
B3: Ability to identify underlying issues in philosophical texts, debates and arguments, and to highlight deficiencies such as unquestioned assumptions, superficial analogies and unsubstantiated claims.
B4: Ability to summarise complex and demanding texts, often written at historical distance, and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the views they propose.
B5: Ability to demonstrate self direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and in commenting on complex information.
B6: Ability to plan and conduct (under the guidance of a supervisor) a piece of independent research, and to present it in a clear, coherent and argumentative manner.
Learning methods
Skills B1-B3 are developed in all modules by means of teaching, discussion and assigned oral presentations on topics chosen by the students.
These skills are also developed during the classes and seminar, where students receive feedback on their presentations and are strongly encouraged to partake in discussion.
Skills B4-B6 are developed through essay writing, and mostly through the exercise of selecting and pursuing a dissertation topic.
These skills are also fostered by supervisory sessions during the preparation of dissertations.
Assessment methods
Skills B1-B3 are assessed by means of coursework written during the year by the students.
Skills B4-B6 are formally assessed through the marking of coursework and of the dissertation.
C: Practical skills
C1: Ability for students to express themselves in a clear, argumentative and rigorous way.
C2: Ability to abstract and synthesize relevant information from a range of sources, using books, journal articles and library and internet resources.
C3: Ability to select their own topic and structure a substantial piece of independent study (the dissertation).
Learning methods
Skills C1 and C2 are developed by means of active participation in the seminars.
Personal supervision is also available to students in order to develop their own topic for each of the essays they have to write.
Considerable autonomy is encouraged in researching essays, the staff member aiming to assist in the formulation of research questions and in developing a strategy for answering them.
All students are encouraged to attend the departmental seminars, and to participate in debate on the topic presented.
Re: skill C3, during the spring term students select their prospective dissertation topic and meet regularly with their chosen supervisor.
Additionally, there are detailed guidelines on the writing of MA dissertations in the departmental handbook to supplement guidance given by the supervisor.
All three skills are informally assessed through class based work and discussion.
Assessment methods
Skills C1 and C2 are assessed by means of coursework marking.
Skill C3 is assessed by the dissertation, which is double-marked.
D: Key skills
D1: Ability to write clearly and to communicate one's ideas to an audience.
D2: Use of relevant information technology to research and present written work (including searchable databases such as library catalogues, internet sources, the Philosopher's Index, etc.).
D3: Not applicable.
D4: At the end of the module, students should have become able to:
-identify the problems to be solved;
-articulate critically the assumptions underlying or connected with the problem;
-compare and contrast differing and often contradictory solutions to the problem;
-provide arguments in evidence and defence of one's solution to the problem.
D5: Not applicable.
D6: Students should have become able to:
-organise their work within deadlines;
-select and organise their reading in relation to specific topics;
-reflect on their own learning and performance and make constructive use of feedback;
-learn independently.
Learning methods
Skills D1 and D4: all modules require students to participate actively in discussion.
They also require students to work independently on essays as well as on their dissertation.
These have to be structured in an argumentative manner, and the arguments have to be supported by appropriate quotes or examples.
Students also learn to express their views concisely and clearly when discussing the topics of their choice with their lecturers, and during supervisory sessions for the structuring and writing of the dissertation.
Skill D2 is developed by students themselves while they do the preparatory work for their essays and dissertation.
They are encouraged to use library searches and internet philosophy resources.
Skills D6 are developed by students during the course, by means of the research they do for the writing of their essays and dissertation.
Special emphasis is placed on feedback in the detailed comment sheets that accompany each marked essay
Assessment methods
All skills are assessed through continuous coursework, and by the marking of the dissertation by two independent examiners, neither of whom is the student's supervisor.