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Philosophy

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B

General Studies and Critical Thinking are not accepted.

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15

Pass the Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at level 3, distinction in 30 credits at Level 3 and 15 credits at Merit.

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

D3,M1,M2

Extended Project

A

If you have already achieved your EPQ at grade A you will automatically be offered one grade lower in a non-mandatory A level subject. If you are still studying for your EPQ you will receive the standard course offer, with a condition of one grade lower in a non-mandatory A level subject if you achieve an A grade in your EPQ.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE requirements - English grade C (numeric grade 4)

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

34

RQF Level 3 BTEC National Diploma DD plus 1 A Level grade A.

RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Certificate D plus 2 A Levels grades AB

RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Diploma DDD

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,A

including Scottish Highers AAABB.

Scottish Higher

A,A,A,B,B

This qualification is only acceptable when combined with Advanced Higher grades AA and above.

Accepted alongside A-Levels

UCAS Tariff

112-153

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Philosophy

Philosophy can be transformative. You can do it for its own sake as well as for its ability to shape lives, institutions, and society.

You might be full of curiosity and wonder, anger and injustice, confusion or a desire to make sense of yourself and the world. Philosophy covers all these bases. And more.

The first year introduces you to the essentials of ethics, reasoning and logic while also expanding your sense of what philosophy can do. You explore Western philosophies from ancient Greece onwards as well as world traditions. We’ll also teach you how to apply philosophy to contemporary issues.

In later years you're free to choose from our unusually wide range of optional topics. You can:
- explore crime and justice, race and gender, politics and religion

- examine emerging areas like environmental and social philosophy

- investigate global philosophical traditions - Western, Indian and Chinese

- take our new modules on sex, illness, recreation, and mental health

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 apply your new philosophical skills to a range of careers.

**You don't need to have formally studied philosophy before to do this degree.**

**Combine with another subject**
You may also combine it with Politics and Economics, Religion and Ethics, Theology, Economics, Psychology, Classical Civilisation, English, Music, French and Physics in our joint honours programme, or study alongside multiple disciplines in our Liberal Arts BA.

**Foundation Year**
This course is also available with a Foundation Year - aimed at developing potential and diversifying our recruitment.

Modules

You will take 120 credits of modules each year.

In year one you receive a university-level introduction through two core modules focusing on mind, knowledge, ethics, reasoning, and logic. You will also have a choice of optional philosophy modules through which to  explore established philosophical thinking and how philosophy can operate in contemporary societies. You may also choose up to 40 credits of modules in other subjects, providing you with an opportunity to approach a philosophy topic from another angle or explore an unrelated passion, including a language.

In year two there there are no compulsory modules – you get a totally free choice. With your choice in philosophy modules you will build on material studied in year one or discover new traditions and disciplines. You can also develop your CV with our Work Placement module. You may also choose up to 40 credits in other subjects, including starting or continuing a language.

In year three, you continue with your free choice of a wide variety of modules. The dissertation module allows you write a longer piece of work on a topic of your own choosing, supported by a member of staff.

In addition to the Work Placement module, career skills and volunteering opportunities are available via the Nottingham Advantage Award. You may also spend time overseas through the University of Nottingham Study Abroad programme.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£21,500
per year
International
£21,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University Park Campus

Department:

Department of Philosophy

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

82%
Philosophy

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Philosophy

Teaching and learning

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
59%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

74%
Library resources
83%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
55%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
37%
Male students
63%
Female students
93%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Philosophy

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£19,198
med
Average annual salary
97%
high
Employed or in further education
45%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

20%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
9%
Public services and other associate professionals
8%
Teaching and educational professionals

Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Philosophy

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£19k

£19k

£26k

£26k

£30k

£30k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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Lower entry requirements
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Nearby University
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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here