The degree focuses on issues at the interface of Philosophy of Language, Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Psychology, Formal and Computational Linguistics, and Logic. It offers a choice of modules in these areas, in conjunction with two core modules in the Theory of Grammar, and the Theory of Meaning. Students write a dissertation over the summer.
KEY BENEFITS
- Gives students a unique overview of current developments in cognitive science related to language.
- Provides rigorous introduction to major themes in syntax and semantics.
- Offers an interdisciplinary view of problems in natural language that is not generally available in other MA taught programmes.
- Provides a firm basis for PhD research in philosophy of language, linguistics or cognitive science, and training for applied work in natural language technology.
KEY FACTS
Student destinations
Graduates of the programme will be able to pursue advanced research in one of the component disciplines of the programme (Philosophy, Linguistics, Cognitive Science). They can also decide to work in the rapidly expanding natural language technology industry.
Programme leader/s
Professor Shalom Lappin and Dr Wilfried Meyer-Viol
Awarding Institution
King's College London
Credit value (UK/ECTS equivalent)
UK 180/ECTS 90
Duration
One year FT, two years PT, September to September.
Location
Strand Campus.
Year of entry 2013
Offered by
School of Arts and Humanities
Department of Philosophy
Closing date
31 July 2013 (though funding deadlines may be earlier).
Intake
No set number.
Fees
PT Home: £3950 (2013)
PT Overseas: £8125 (2013)
FT Home: £7900 (2013)
FT Overseas: £16250 (2013)
CONTACTS
Contact information
Postgraduate Officer, Centre for Arts & Sciences Admissions (CASA)
tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 2765 / 2232 / 7232
fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 7200
Email
Website
PURPOSE
The MA is aimed at students interested in pursuing graduate studies in the intersection of Linguistics, Philosophy of Language, Logic, Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science.
DESCRIPTION
The degree focuses on issues at the interface of Philosophy of Language, Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Psychology, Formal and Computational Linguistics, and Logic. It offers a choice of modules in these areas, in conjunction with two core modules in the Theory of Grammar, and the Theory of Meaning.
This is a unique interdisciplinary programme that gives students an introduction to leading work in Philosophy of Language and Mind, Linguistics, and Cognitive Science. The programme will provide an excellent basis for PhD research in these areas.
Applications are particularly invited from students with prior backgrounds in any of these fields, who now wish to build upon that foundation by branching out more widely into the others (although applicants from any other background will also be considered).
It is possible to do the degree on a part-time basis.
STRUCTURE OVERVIEW
Core programme content
Core Modules (required course content)
- Theory of Grammar (20 credits, semester I)
- Theory of Meaning (20 credits, semester II)
- Dissertation (60 credits, summer).
Indicative non-core content
Four modules (80 credits) from the following list of one-semester, 20-credit modules
- Philosophy of Science
- Philosophy of Language
- Philosophy of Psychology I
- Philosophy of Psychology II
- Philosophy of Mind I
- Philosophy of Mind II
- Modal Logic (note: presupposes some competence in basic symbolic logic)
- Set Theory (note: presupposes some competence in basic symbolic logic).
In exceptional circumstances, a module not on the above list of options can be substituted for one of these modules with the approval of the convenor. Other modules offered by the Department of Philosophy can be viewed on the department's webpages.
FORMAT AND ASSESSMENT
Mostly taught through lectures and seminars. The degree is assessed by sat examinations, essay-based coursework, and a dissertation.
MODULES
More information on typical programme modules.
NB it cannot be guaranteed that all modules are offered in any particular academic year.
Module code: 7AAN2091
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:
Semester 1 (autumn)
Teaching pattern: one weekly one-hour lecture and one weekly one-hour seminar
Assessment:
written examination/s; coursework;
Formative assessment: one x 3,000-word essay, due by end of semester or as otherwise instructed
Summative assessment: one x two-hour end of year examination
The course will provide an overview of theories of formal syntax, considered from the perspective of logic, linguistics, and philosophy of language. It will introduce students to the formulation of a grammar as a formal system of rules and constraints. It will give students essential background in formal language theory, current grammar formalisms, and the computational properties of different theories of grammar. The course will provide an introduction to formal syntax, considered from the perspective of logic, linguistics, and philosophy of language. It will introduce students to the formulation of a grammar as a formal system of rules and constraints.
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/philosophy/modules/level7/7aan2091.aspx
Module code: 7AAN2092
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:
Semester 2 (spring)
Teaching pattern: one weekly one-hour lecture and one weekly one -hour seminar
Assessment:
written examination/s; coursework;
Formative assessment: 1 x 3,000-word essay. Summative assessment: 1 x 2-hour end of year examination.
The course will provide an overview of theories of formal semantics, focussing on the application of proof theory and model theory to the representation of meaning in natural language. Students will receive essential background in the methods and theoretical perspectives that provide the basis for contemporary linguistic semantics. This module will look at the central philosophical questions that formal semantic methods raise in the interpretation of natural language expressions. For instance, it will cover the use of proof and model theoretic techniques for representing the meanings of sentences in a natural language; the relationship between syntax and semantics in the theory of formal grammar; and the application of generalized quantifier theory to the analysis of noun phrases in natural language.
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/philosophy/modules/level7/7aan2092.aspx
Teaching staff: Dr Maria Alvarez
Module code: 7AAN2062
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:
Semester 2 (spring)
Teaching pattern: one weekly one-hour lecture and one weekly one-hour seminar
Assessment:
coursework
Formative assessment: 1 x 2,000–3,000-word essay; Summative assessment: 1 x 4,000-word essay.
This module will be specifically concerned with topics in the Philosophy of Action. Possible topics may include the nature of actions and omissions in general, and more specifically of intentional actions and omissions; reasons for action, intentions, and the explanation of action; the mind-body problem or more generally the relationship between the physical and the mental; the nature of consciousness; the relevance of empirical results for the Philosophy of Mind
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/philosophy/modules/level7/7aan2062.aspx
Teaching staff: Dr Nick Shea
Module code: 7AAN2066
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:
Semester 1 (autumn)
Teaching pattern: one weekly one-hour lecture and one weekly one-hour seminar
Assessment:
coursework
Formative assessment: 1 x 2,000–3,000-word essay; Summative assessment: 1 x 4,000-word essay.
Philosophical issues about the nature of representational content have become pressing in recent years with the rise of cognitive neuroscience, which appears to go further and locates representations in concrete processes in the brain. This course will explain the foundational principles underlying these psychological sciences and examine the central philosophical questions they raise about what representations are and how information-processing explanations work.
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/philosophy/modules/level7/7aan2066.aspx
Teaching staff: Dr Matteo Mameli
Module code: 7AAN2067
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:
Semester 2 (spring)
Teaching pattern: one weekly one-hour lecture and one weekly one-hour seminar
Assessment:
coursework
Formative assessment: 1 x 2,000–3,000-word essay; Summative assessment: 1 x 4,000-word essay.
This year’s course will focus on some of the questions listed below:What is the nature of subjectivity and of the freedom that characterizes it? How does one “constitute oneself as an ethical subject”? Is the self a “center of narrative gravity”? In what sense, if any, does the self have a narrative structure? How are self-conceptions, conceptions of the self and conceptions of types of people related to behaviours, experiences and relationships? How are they affected by cognitive and emotional constraints, by discursive practices, by institutions and cultural processes? What are, in this context, the possibilities for change and for action? What is the “specter of creeping exculpation” and how can we avoid it? What are the implications for psychology and for the human sciences in general?
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/philosophy/modules/level7/7aan2067.aspx
Module code: 7AAN2059
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:
Semester 2 (spring)
Teaching pattern: one weekly one-hour lecture and one weekly one-hour seminar
Assessment:
written examination/s; coursework;
Formative assessment: 2 x 1,500–2,000-word essays; Summative assessment: 1 x 2-hour end of year examination
This module will introduce students to recent topics in the philosophy of language and discuss, among other things, which basic concepts (truth, use, relevance) are needed in understanding what we do with language. Possible topics include:Theories of the use of language in fiction and figurative languageThe debate between contextual and non-contextual theories of meaning.The theory of speech actsThe theoretical framework for studying meaning: use theories of meaning and truth-conditional theories of meaningThe distinction between semantics and pragmaticsThe sense and reference of names, definite descriptions (if any) and natural kind terms
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/philosophy/modules/level7/7aan2059.aspx
Teaching staff: Professor Bill Brewer
Module code: 7AAN2061
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:
Semester 1 (autumn)
Teaching pattern: one weekly one-hour lecture and one weekly one-hour seminar
Assessment:
coursework
Formative assessment: Two x 1,500-2,000-word essays, due by end of semester or as otherwise instructed
Summative assessment: One x two-hour end of year examination
The primary focus of this module will be issues in the metaphysics of mind: what is the relation between the bearers of mental and physical properties; what is the relation between mental and physical properties themselves; are various mental properties categorical or dispositional; do they supervene upon what is ‘internal’ to the subject? There will also be discussion of the nature and explanation of consciousness, the normativity of the mental, and the rational explanation of behaviour.
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/philosophy/modules/level7/7aan2061.aspx
Module code: 7AAN2075
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 20
Semester:
Semester 1 (autumn)
Teaching pattern: one weekly one-hour lecture and one weekly one-hour seminar
Assessment:
written examination/s; coursework;
Formative assessment: two x 1,500–2,000-word essays, due by end of semester or as otherwise instructed
Summative assessment: one x two-hour end of year examination
This course will focu s primarily on questions raised by twentieth century 'general' philosophy of science. Questions examined will include: What is science, and how do we differentiate science from pseudo-science? Do we choose theories rationally? Does science aim to tell us about the unobservable world, and, if it does, does it succeed? What do key scientific concepts, like explanation and natural law, mean? What is the relationship between the different levels of, or theories of, science?
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/philosophy/modules/level7/7aan2075.aspx
ACADEMIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
General entry advice
Minimum 2:1 undergraduate honours degree (or overseas equivalent) in Philosophy or any other field. Conversion students should show evidence of an interest in and aptitude for the subject.
APPLYING TO KING'S
To apply for graduate study at King's you will need to complete our graduate online application form. Applying online makes applying easier and quicker for you, and means we can receive your application faster and more securely.
King's does not normally accept paper copies of the graduate application form as applications must be made online. However, if you are unable to access the online graduate application form, please contact the relevant admissions/School Office at King's for advice.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
With your application form, you must include a sample of written work totalling approximately 3,000 words. We do not routinely interview applicants, but we may call you for interview; and you are very welcome to call the department to arrange a visit. We aim to process all complete applications within four to six weeks, although this may take longer over holiday periods.
PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPORTING INFORMATION
You should use your personal statement to discuss your intentions for the programme, and the route that has led you to it. Please also supply a writing sample of c.3,000 words with your application.
Further details can be found on the Department website
FUNDING
British and EU residents can apply for AHRC studentships. Some Graduate School and School of Arts & Humanities studentships and bursaries are also available. Up to £10,000 departmental studentships available annually.
For further information, see the Departmental Graduate Funding page:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/philosophy/study/funding/index.aspx
Related programme student profile
Philosophy MAKing's was a natural choice for me because of its unbeatable reputation, outstanding lecturers, and fantastic surrounding environment.
Although King's lecturers are very busy, they are willing to spend time with students offering invaluable advice about assignments, exam preparation, and dissertations. Rather than simply telling me what to do, my lecturers focused on teaching me the skills required for finding my own answers and correcting problems in my work.
London is one of the centres of Philosophy and Humanities. While at King's, I have had the opportunity to attend lectures held by the Royal Institute of Philosophy and visit many of London's world class landmarks, including Royal Albert Hall, the National Gallery, and Tate Modern. By studying in London you have the opportunity to experience some of the finest performances, artwork, and academic presentations in the world.
King's has its own bar and pub, and there are also many cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants around campus, which are great for gathering. King's students are passionate in what they study, so there's almost always some common ground to connect with people. In addition to classes, my programme organises research seminars for students, which can help you get to know people through academic exchange.