MSt in Ancient Philosophy

About the course

The MSt in Ancient Philosophy is a one-year, full-time taught graduate course offering graduate training in ancient philosophy of high quality, and aims to provide a foundation on which you can go on to pursue doctoral work in the area. This course is not available in part-time mode of study and is not offered via distance learning.

Teaching and learning on the MSt in Ancient Philosophy normally consists of individual supervisions with members of the faculty during term-time, classes and lectures, and ongoing independent research.

Course outcomes

Upon completion of the course, you should have.

• pursued a course requiring a high standard in each of the three examined elements (a thesis and two subject options);
• selected at least two areas of ancient philosophy and studied them through individual supervisions with an expert supervisor and either by lectures (offered by an expert or experts in the relevant field) or by classes (convened by an expert or experts in the relevant field) at which students give presentations;
• written a thesis under the guidance of an expert supervisor;
• had the opportunity to attain some knowledge of Ancient Greek, or consolidate and increase existing knowledge;
• had many opportunities to hear and give talks in philosophy, by attending an annual Graduate Philosophy Conference, talks by invited speakers, philosophy societies, and discussion groups; and
• been a member of a college graduate community, associating with graduates from many countries, cultures, and academic disciplines.

Assessment

In addition to writing your thesis, you will be assessed through written work. The first subject option will be assessed by one 5,000-word essay on a topic chosen by you and approved by the course co-ordinator.

Assessment of the second subject option is by two 5,000-word essays on topics linked to the area covered in the two classes you have taken. You may choose to write both essays on topics linked to one class or to write one essay on a topic linked to the first class and the other essay on a topic linked to the second, but overlap in subject material between the essays should be avoided.

Graduate destinations

MSt in Ancient Philosophy graduates often progress to doctoral programmes, either at the faculty itself or elsewhere. Some, however, have pursued non-philosophical academic careers, or careers outside academia, including banking, information technology, law, management consultancy, teaching and public service. The graduate destinations of the eight most recent cohorts of students are available on the MSt alumni webpages.

The faculty aims to assist students and graduates in securing academic jobs. The faculty appoints a Placement Officer who, in conjunction with the Graduate Studies Assistant, runs the faculty’s placement scheme. The Placement Officer also helps job applicants with the preparation of their CVs, provides advice about the presentation of material in an application dossier and arranges practice interviews.

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the equivalent of the following UK qualifications or their equivalent: a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in philosophy, classics or a closely-related discipline. However, entrance is very competitive and most successful applicants have a first-class degree or the equivalent. For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.6 out of 4.0. However, most successful applicants have a GPA of 3.7.