Newcastle University

Philosophical Studies: Knowledge and Human Interests BA Honours
UCAS Code: V000 (3 Years)

• Course Overview
• Modules
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This degree explores philosophical questions like the nature of existence, mind and body, knowledge, goodness and beauty. A degree in philosophy will open up new ways of thinking. It teaches you how to question, to analyse, and how to balance multiple (and often opposing) points of view. These are skills that are much in demand in a wide range of careers.

We make the most of our links with other subjects, drawing on the University’s expertise in areas such as:

• classics
• history
• politics
• sociology
• art history
• modern languages

This not only adds to the richness of the debate but also provides a flexible degree where you are encouraged to relate your own philosophical ideas to areas of particular interest. Learning in Philosophical Studies is an active process, centring on your own reading and inspired by lectures and discussions in seminars and tutorials.

Quality and ranking

Philosophy at Newcastle is ranked in the top 10 universities in the UK in The Times/Sunday Times University Guide 2014. We have also achieved a 93% overall satisfaction score in the 2013 National Student Survey.

Teaching and assessment

Learning in Philosophical Studies is an active process, centring on your own reading and inspired by lectures and discussion in seminars and tutorials. Project work is an important part of the degree and you will undertake a project at each Stage. This allows you to study in more depth a particular topic relevant to the ideas being studied. Your project report will be a document full of pictorial and contextual evidence of the skills and knowledge that you have acquired during your degree. 

Your work in each module is assessed through course work and you are expected to produce around five pieces of written work each term. Teaching and assessment methods may vary from module to module; more information can be found in our individual module listings.

Flexible degree structure

We have built a high degree of flexibility into the course, giving you the freedom to follow areas of particular interest.

A third of your modules are optional at each Stage. These are available from the wide range of art, language, social sciences or science options offered at the University.

This flexibility is coupled with a thorough grounding in philosophical traditions. You start with the study of Plato and Aristotle and their views of the cosmos. You also cover early Christian thinkers such as St Augustine.

Your exploration of European philosophical traditions continues with the Age of Reason and the study of Descartes, Galileo and Newton.

We then move on to the Enlightenment, the movement towards the liberation of humans by the application of independent thought thanks to the ideas of people like Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau and Goethe.

In second and third year, your studies move forward in history to focus on contemporary thinkers such as Kant, Nietzsche, Freud, Heidegger, Adorno and Foucault.

Project work

Project work is an important part of the degree and you will undertake a project at each Stage. This allows you to study in more depth a particular topic relevant to the ideas being studied.

In the course of researching project and essay material, we encourage you to build up a range of skills such as:

• data collection and processing technique, including database handling
• research techniques
• computing skills
• presentation skills
• personal development and management

Your project report will be a document full of pictorial and contextual evidence of the skills and knowledge that you have acquired during your degree.

Study abroad

UK and EU students have the opportunity to broaden their academic experience by taking part in a study exchange abroad.