Philosophy MPhilStud

Overview

We offer three Masters in Philosophical Studies: MPhilStud in Philosophy; MPhilStud in Ancient Philosophy and MPhilStud in Philosophy of Psychology. The Philosophy Department at King’s is one of the largest research departments in the field in the UK. We offer close personal supervision to students in a wide variety of research areas, with particular strengths in the history of philosophy (analytic and continental, Greek and Roman, Medieval, Early Modern, 18th, 19th, and 20th century); philosophy of mind, action and psychology; epistemology; metaphysics; philosophy of science, especially philosophy of physics and philosophy of medicine; ethics; political philosophy; philosophy of art; logic; and philosophy of language and logic.

Course detail

The Master of Philosophical Studies (MPhilStud) is a research master’s degree, aimed at students who have an undergraduate degree (typically 1st class) in which philosophy was at least a major component and who want to begin further research in the subject. The programme covers two academic years for full-time students. Part-time students spend four years completing the MPhilStud. Students choose three subject options to study and they are assessed by two essays of 5,000 words for each of these subjects (six essays in total). Students also write a thesis of up to 30,000 words. During their time on the MPhilStud, students receive regular one-on-one supervisions with members of staff on their subject options as well as their thesis. The general MPhilStud has a wide range of topics to choose from, one of which must be historical (relating to a specific philosopher or school of philosophy). There are also specialised MPhilStuds in Ancient Philosophy and in Philosophy of Psychology. These have a similar structure to the general MPhilStud but require some specific topic choices. Students who wish to move from the MPhilStud to the PhD programme normally do so at the end of their MPhilStud course. At the point of transition, they will be asked whether the PhD project they propose to work on is a continuation of their MPhilStud thesis project. If it is then they will be registered for a further two years. If the PhD project is not a continuation of the MPhilStud project then the student will be registered for a further three years as a PhD student. However, such a student will be admitted only provisionally to the PhD programme and will have to upgrade to full PhD status after their first year.

A Bachelor's degree with 1st class honours in which philosophy was the major component. Particularly strong candidates with a high 2:1 (above 65%), or equivalent classification, may also be considered. Applicants who are currently undertaking a Master's degree may be expected to achieve a Distinction. Strong candidates who do not strictly meet the published requirements may be admitted at the discretion of the department of Philosophy.