Philosophy and Czech
Philosophy and Czech with Slovak is one of the most intellectually demanding and culturally specific degree combinations available in British higher education. Philosophy at Oxford engages you with the deep questions of metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics and philosophy of mind through one of the most rigorous traditions of analytic philosophy in the world. Czech and Slovak bring you into contact with two closely related Slavic languages and the rich cultural, literary and intellectual histories of Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia, regions that played extraordinary roles in the political transformations of the twentieth century, from the Habsburg Empire and the founding of Czechoslovakia through the Nazi occupation and communist rule to the Velvet Revolution and the peaceful dissolution into two republics in 1993.
At the University of Oxford, this four-year full-time programme is taught within the Faculty of Philosophy and the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages. Oxford is one of a tiny number of universities in the UK with the specialist capacity to offer Czech and Slovak at degree level, making this combination genuinely rare. The typical entry tariff for this programme is around 200 UCAS tariff points, among the highest in UK higher education.
You will develop high-level proficiency in Czech, with an introduction to Slovak, alongside deep engagement with philosophical texts and argument. The Czech and Slovak component typically covers literature, cultural history, the political history of Central Europe, and substantial language practice. The philosophy component covers the core areas of Oxford's curriculum, with particular strength in logic, metaphysics and the philosophy of mind and language.
Graduates of this combination are exceptionally rare and therefore exceptionally distinctive in the labour market. Career paths include academic research in philosophy or Slavic languages and cultures, diplomacy and foreign service with Czech and Slovak postings, intelligence and security services, translation, Central European journalism and policy, business roles in Central Europe, and cultural organisations with Czech or Slovak connections. Postgraduate study in philosophy, Czech and Slovak studies, Central European history or translation is the natural continuation for those who wish to develop either strand of the degree.