History and Philosophy of Science

History and philosophy of science is a discipline that steps back from the practice of science to ask deeper questions about its nature, development, and significance. How have scientific theories changed over time, and what drives those changes? What makes an explanation scientific rather than merely plausible?

How do social, political, and cultural forces shape what scientists investigate and what counts as knowledge? These are not abstract puzzles but questions with real consequences for how we understand medicine, technology, climate science, and public trust in expertise.

At University College London, this three-year full-time programme draws on two rich intellectual traditions. The historical strand traces how scientific ideas emerged and were contested, from the scientific revolution through the development of evolutionary theory, quantum mechanics, and molecular biology to the present day. The philosophical strand equips you with the analytical tools to examine the logical structure of theories, the nature of evidence, the problem of scientific realism, and the ethics of research.

You will read primary sources alongside secondary scholarship, write rigorously argued essays, and develop the capacity to hold complex ideas in relation to one another. UCL is one of the world's leading research universities, and the programme benefits from close proximity to historians, philosophers, and scientists of international standing. Entry typically requires a tariff of around 168 points.

Graduates of history and philosophy of science programmes are valued for their ability to think clearly and write well about difficult subjects, which makes them attractive to employers across research, policy, journalism, publishing, education, and law. Careers in science communication, museum curation, healthcare ethics, regulatory policy, and technology governance are all realistic destinations. Many graduates pursue postgraduate study, either deepening their work in the history or philosophy of science or using the analytical training the degree provides as a foundation for law, public policy, or academic research in a related field.