From day 1 we will encourage you to become a philosopher in your own right. You will engage with the thoughts of great thinkers, from Plato to Kant, and examine current developments in areas such as the philosophy of mind and language, to culture, gender and sexuality.
Our small, interactive classes will teach you to debate and discuss your ideas with confidence and develop your own opinions about what it means to be a philosopher.
Study modules
As courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the module list you choose from may vary from that shown here.
Year 1
Compulsory
- Introduction to Ethics
- Theory of Knowledge
- Introduction to Philosophy*
- Reason and Argument*
*For combined honours students only these modules are compulsory
Optional modules
- Global Philosophy in Religions
- Human Nature
- Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion
Year 2
Compulsory
- Ancient Greek Philosophy*
- Early Modern Philosophy*
*Combined honours students only need to take one of these modules as compulsory
Optional modules
- Continental Philosophy of Religion
- Culture, Gender and Sexuality
- Evolution and the Mind
- Hellenistic Philosophy
- Philosophy of Language
- Philosophy of Science
- Work and Community Related Learning
Year 3
- Dissertation in Philosophy (compulsory for single honours)
- Experimental Philosophy
- Foundations of German Idealism
- Freedom, Justice and Politics
- Independent Study in Philosophy
- Interdisciplinary Dissertation (only available to combined honours students)
- Medieval Philosophy
- Metaethics
- Philosophy of Mind
- Philosophy of Education
- Special Topics in Metaphysics
- Thinking in Dark Times
Modules in detail » Module diagrams »
Work placements
You will have the opportunity to undertake a work and community-related learning module as part of your degree. This module lets you pick your own work placement and write a reflective journal of 3000 words based on the experience. You can even use your existing job as a basis for a study topic. For example if you work part-time in a care home, you could write a project on memory loss in Alzheimer's patients, or look at issues of power and authority in the workplace.
We also offer you the chance to take part in the ‘philosophy with schools’ programme. This voluntary programme offers you specialist training before embarking on a placement in a local school, teaching philosophy to children as an enriching educational activity.
Find out more about work placement opportunities in the School of History, Philosophy and Culture.
The work and community-related module is optional and if students choose to undertake a placement in a school then it is organised by the placement staff within the University. Students can also choose to undertake a different work and community related placement, however the student would be responsible for organising it themselves.
Travel and associated costs of all work placements are the responsibility of the student, therefore it is advised that they organise placements bearing this in mind. Oxfordshire based placements are accessible via public transport and can often be accessed by the Brookes Bus service, whilst placements in London will incur higher travel costs. It is encouraged that students explore opportunities for their placement provider to cover travel costs if they opt for a placement which is not local.
Study abroad
You may be able to go on a European or international study
exchange while you are at Brookes. Exchanges take place in the second year and
most recently students have studied in Australia, Canada, Finland and the USA.
Studying abroad provides an amazing opportunity to add value
to your studies by:
- increasing your employability within an international market
- boosting your language skills
- building your confidence in adapting to new situations
- improving your knowledge of different cultures.
- While on exchange you will gain credits which count towards
your degree.
We have more than 100 partner universities around the world. Whilst on your year abroad tuition fees are paid as they would be if you remained in the UK, either to Oxford Brookes via your student loan or directly to Oxford Brookes according to your preference.
You will be responsible for all other costs such as accommodation, purchasing your airfares, travel and health insurance and any requisite visas. Funding is available through the Erasmus scheme, and also via some
international programmes such as the Santander Student Awards.
There is also a European work placement programme which
gives you the chance to work abroad as part of your studies.For more information, visit our pages on studying
abroad and exchanges.
Free language courses for students - the Open Module
Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Please note that the free language courses are not available if you are:
- studying at a Brookes partner college
- studying on any of our teacher education courses or postgraduate education courses.
Attendance pattern
You will have eight hours of lectures and seminars per week throughout semester time. This is supported by a range of events and activities (some organised by staff, others by students) to enhance your learning experience and ensure that you have a wide range of opportunities to perfect the skills that enable you to make the most of the course.
Additional costs
We do not expect students to purchase any compulsory course books, as they are all available in the library. If students wish to purchase additional books to supplement their reading this is at their own discretion.
Programme changes
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published
on the website. For more information, please visit our
Changes to programmes
page.