Philosophy (Taught)

Our flagship MSc Philosophy degree programme offers you an excellent opportunity to enhance your learning and join a large, vibrant and supportive postgraduate community.

This programme provides an intensive grounding in philosophy, its methodology and techniques of research. It is excellent preparation for those who intend to pursue a PhD, as well as those who wish to delve more deeply into philosophy at the postgraduate level before pursuing a non-academic career.

We provide a broad, advanced education in philosophy, covering all the core areas of contemporary analytic philosophy:

• epistemology

• metaphysics

• logic

• philosophy of mind and language

• philosophy of science

• ethics

• social/political philosophy

Beyond contemporary analytic philosophy, we also regularly offer courses in:

• Africana philosophy

• Islamic philosophy

• Japanese philosophy

• Buddhist philosophy

• history of ancient Greek

• modern European philosophy, including post-Kantian traditions such as existentialism and phenomenology

Key research areas

The programme provides the ideal foundation for future research in philosophy, and you have the option to keep your studies general or focus on a particular area.

Your MSc culminates in a research dissertation in a core research area, an original, publication-quality piece of research, undertaken in close collaboration with researchers in the relevant group.

The department has particular focus in the following areas:

• Meta-ethics and applied ethics

• Philosophy of mind and cognitive science

• Philosophy of race and gender

• History of philosophy, including ancient Greek and Islamic philosophy, early modern and late modern European philosophy

• Philosophy of science and epistemology

What will I learn?

One of the main advantages of the MSc in Philosophy is its flexibility. There is only one compulsory course for the degree (a proseminar in Semester 1), thus allowing you to develop a path that is tailored to your interests.

You can also take advantage of the highly interdisciplinary nature of research within philosophy and draw on teaching and research both elsewhere in the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences and within other relevant Schools.

Is this MSc for me?

This programme provides an opportunity for you to deepen your understanding of a wide range of topics in philosophy.

It provides an excellent preparation for further research and knowledge of philosophy, whether you choose to pursue this further in academic research or in a professional career.

Reputation, relevance and employability

Edinburgh has a proud and distinguished place in the history of philosophy and has long been associated with some of the field’s most important thinkers.

Our philosophy department, one of the largest in the world, is now home to academics leading research into a wide range of contemporary topics.

You will benefit from the breadth and strength of the interdisciplinary academic community at Edinburgh, having the opportunity to select option courses and attend research seminars across different disciplines.

Our students’ research projects are often published in academic or professional journals.

Our programme has an excellent reputation among employers and is known to prepare students well for further research opportunities. Many of our graduates have gone on to PhD training, and we have a high academic job placement record.