Philosophy

Philosophy is the discipline that uses reason and argument to address the most fundamental questions about reality, knowledge, ethics, and the nature of mind and human experience. It asks what we can know and how we know it, what exists and what the ultimate nature of reality is, how we should live and treat others, and what it means to be a conscious thinking creature. Unlike most academic subjects, philosophy does not have a fixed body of facts to be learned but rather a set of methods and questions to be engaged with, and the skills it develops, rigorous thinking, clear argument, and the ability to engage seriously with difficult and contested questions, are among the most transferable that a university education can provide.

At the University of Nottingham, this four-year programme gives you a thorough academic foundation before engaging with the full range of the discipline. Nottingham has a strong philosophy department with active research across many areas, and the programme benefits from that intellectual environment. You will study ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, political philosophy, the philosophy of mind, and the history of philosophy from ancient Greece to the present, developing your own philosophical thinking through sustained engagement with texts, arguments, and problems.

The typical entry tariff is 120 UCAS points.

Philosophy graduates are among the most versatile of all degree holders. The civil service, law (with further training), journalism, management consultancy, the charitable sector, public policy, and academic research are all common career paths. The ability to construct and evaluate complex arguments, to think clearly under pressure, and to engage with ambiguity and uncertainty without retreating to easy answers is genuinely rare and consistently valued by demanding employers.

Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in philosophy, law, politics, or related disciplines.