Philosophy

Philosophy trains you to argue persuasively and think deeply. You might be full of curiosity and wonder, anger and confusion, or a desire to make sense of yourself and the world. Philosophy covers all these bases and more.

At Nottingham, you’ll be introduced to the essentials of ethics, reasoning and logic while also expanding your sense of what philosophy can do. With our wide range of optional modules, you’ll be able to tailor your degree to the topics which interest you most, while also learning how to apply your knowledge in real world situations, developing your communication, project planning, and presentation skills.

Extensive module choice
The first year introduces you to the essentials of ethics, reasoning and logic while also expanding your sense of what philosophy can do.

You're then free to choose from our unusually wide range of optional topics. You can:

• explore crime and justice, race and gender, politics and theology

• examine emerging areas like environmental and social philosophy

• investigate global philosophical traditions - Western, Indian, Chinese and Africana

• take our distinctive modules on sex, illness, recreation, and mental health

Looking to your future
Philosophy trains you to argue persuasively and think deeply. Philosophy at Nottingham doesn't stop there. We also want you to live good lives and have good jobs. Our unique Communicating Philosophy module lets you work with professionals such as lawyers and journalists and see how you can apply your new philosophical skills to a range of careers. There's also plenty of opportunities to get practical work experience.

Engaged Arts
All students within the Faculty of Arts can select ‘Engaged Arts’ modules where you’ll approach real world challenges across contemporary themes such as sustainability or equity and justice. These modules have been newly designed to help you gain the skills and analytical abilities that employers are looking for.

Why choose this course?

• Tailor your degree to your interests – from global philosophical traditions to environmental philosophy to artificial intelligence, our wide range of optional modules lets you study the periods, themes and events which interest you most

• Research driven learning – engage with cutting-edge research and teachings from experts in the fields of philosophy

• Ask the big questions – explore the many ways in thinking about what it is to be human

• Career-ready skills - develop your presentation, organisation, teamwork and leadership skills for a wide range of professions

• Volunteering opportunities – gain valuable experience and share your passion for philosophy by taking part in our Philosophy in School volunteering project

• Learn a language alongside your degree – expand your horizons by learning a language alongside your studies with The Language Centre

• Work experience - Work with our dedicated Faculty of Arts Placements Team to assist with your employability skills development via a range of placements, internships and volunteering opportunities

• Explore real-world challenges across interdisciplinary themes with our ‘Engaged Arts’ optional modules

Some key statistics
Top 100 in the world for philosophy (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024)
Making the difficult easy – 97% of our students said we are good at explaining things (NSS 2024)

You can also access this course through a Foundation Year. This may be suitable if you have faced educational barriers and do not expect to meet the entry requirements for direct entry to a degree course. Please see the UCAS page for the relevant Foundation Year course for further information.