Philosophy (Research)

The University of Buckingham is:

• Home of the two-year degree, the University of Buckingham, based in the South East of England, is ranked 6th for Student Satisfaction in the UK (National Student Survey, 2020).

• We are proudly independent and not-for-profit, and offer courses in Allied Health, Business, Computing, Education, Humanities, Law, Medicine, Psychology and Security and Intelligence. We are one of the few universities in the UK that offer September and January start dates for almost all of our courses.

• Based in Buckingham on a riverside campus, we are only 20 minutes’ from Milton Keynes central station and a short drive from Bicester, Aylesbury, Banbury and Northampton. There is free parking on-site and we are within easy reach of London and Oxford.

• Our award-winning small class tutorials ensure every student is known by name and supported throughout their studies, including by dedicated personal tutors.

• As pioneers of the two-year degree, we offer a condensed version of the traditional three-year degree, meaning you can gain a full honours degree and complete your studies a whole year earlier. Alternatively, you can complete both your undergraduate and master’s degree with us in just three years: saving you time and money.

This MA programme was established by the late Professor Sir Roger Scruton, the inaugural Professor of Philosophy at The University of Buckingham, and reflects his values and the subjects which he illuminated in his extensive writings. The focus is on philosophical questions that have a direct bearing on our understanding of and participation in the contemporary world, not the abstractions – usually expressed in impenetrable language – to which much modern philosophical writing has succumbed.

The Master’s degree can be taken either full-time and completed in a single academic year, or taken part-time and extended over two years. Although original research it the prime focus of the programme, there is also a strongly collegial aspect to the course, as all research students meet regularly throughout the year for a series of early-evening seminars by some of the most distinguished philosophers working in contemporary Britain and beyond. The seminars are held in the Reform Club in Pall Mall, London, SW1, and provide an opportunity for students to meet and debate with the visiting speaker. Each seminar is followed by a working dinner at which discussion continues. (The full seminar programme is given below.)

True to its Scrutonian origins, this MA in Philosophy will explore questions which have direct bearing on the most pressing issues in politics and contemporary society. Throughout his career Scruton was deeply invested in the political implications of fundamental disputes in philosophy. Likewise, central to Scruton’s vision in designing the programme was his conviction that the best way to learn philosophy is by doing philosophy, i.e. engaging in philosophical discussion of issues that are important for understanding the world and the human being’s place within that world. The MA seminars will combine these two principles by opening to discussion some of the central issues of world and national politics in the context of some of the most fundamental questions in philosophy.

Students will examine the intellectual origins of a variety of political traditions – libertarian, social democratic, conservative, socialist among others – and acquire a grounding in the deep philosophical issues that underlie political discourse today.

There are no timed examinations involved. Instead, the student works towards the completion of a dissertation of not less than 20,000 words and not more than 25,000 words. The submission of this as a completed text constitutes the sole mode of examination.