Philosophy (Including Foundation Year) BA (Hons)

Our four-year BA Philosophy (including foundation year), will be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entrance requirements for the three-year version of this course and you want a programme that increases your subject knowledge as well as improves your academic skills in order to support your academic performance. Our five-year version of this course enables you to study abroad during your fourth year of study.<br/><br/>This course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three or four years of study depending on whether you choose to study abroad for a year. During your Year Zero, you study three academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory academic skills module, with additional English language for non-English speakers.<br/><br/>After successful completion of Year Zero in our Essex Pathways Department, you progress to complete your course with our School of Philosophy and Art History.<br/><br/>At Essex, we take philosophy back to its roots in everyday existential, social and political problems. We embrace the relevance of philosophy to other forms of enquiry – political, cultural, legal, medical, aesthetic – and bring this to bear on urgent issues in public life, such as the controversial issues raised by mental health legislation or public policy regarding end of life care.<br/><br/>We cover a wide range of topics from the meaning of life to capitalism and its critics, from ancient philosophy to current trends in European thought; and we have particular strengths in the areas of:<br/><br/><br/>• Ethics<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Political philosophy<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Philosophy of religion<br/><br/><br/><br/>• European philosophy (including critical theory, phenomenology, and existentialism)<br/><br/><br/><br/>We are involved in many exciting and interdisciplinary research projects, and have active links with other areas including Political Science, Law, Sociology, Psychoanalysis, and Art History.