Teaching & modules
Modules
Courses are divided into modules. You will normally take modules totalling 180 credits.
Required Modules
You are required to take:
- Dissertation: MA in Philosophy (60 credits)
Optional Modules
Those converting in from other subjects at undergraduate level will be strongly encouraged to take ‘General Philosophy’ as one of their options, although this will not be made strictly compulsory.
- General Philosophy (15 credits)
Students are required to make up the total of 120 credits from a range of optional modules.
In any average year over 20 of the following modules may be on offer. Individual modules are not guaranteed to be running each year, and students should identify at least 10 of the following in order to avoid disappointment. Optional modules may typically include:
- MA Philosophy Proseminar (30 credits)
- Philosophy of Art (15 credits)
- Early Modern Philosophy (15 credits)
- Epistemology (15 credits)
- Ethics I (15 credits)
- Ethics II (15 credits)
- Topics in Applied Ethics and Politics (15 credits)
- Central Thinkers in Analytic Philosophy (15 credits)
- Philosophy of Race and Gender (15 credits)
- Greek Philosophy I (15 credits)
- Greek Philosophy II (15 credits)
- Indian Philosophy I (15 credits)
- Indian Philosophy II (15 credits)
- Kant's Philosophy (15 credits)
- Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (15 credits)
- Metaphysics (15 credits)
- 19th-century Continental Philosophy (15 credits)
- Philosophy of Biology (15 credits)
- Philosophy of Language (15 credits)
- Philosophy of Mind (15 credits)
- Philosophy of Mind II (15 credits)
- Philosophy of Psychology I (15 credits)
- Philosophy of Psychology II (15 credits)
- Philosophy of Religion (15 credits)
- Philosophy of Science (15 credits)
- Political Philosophy I (15 credits)
- Advanced Logic (15 credits)
- Continental Philosophy II (15 credits)
- Philosophy of Medicine (15 credits)
- The Concept of Mental Disorder (15 credits)
Up to 30 credits from a range of Master’s modules offered across King’s College London (including up to 15 credits from Graduate Language Modules offered by King’s Language Centre) or at University College London or Birkbeck, subject to approvals. The only exemption to this rule is if a student has taken the module Greek Philosophical Texts; if this is the case, then they are not permitted to take any modules outside of the Department.
If you are a part-time student, you will take:
- First Year - 30 to 90 credits earned through 15 to 30 credits of optional modules.
- Second year - 90 to 150 credits earned through 1 x 60 credit core dissertation module and 15 to 30 credits of optional modules.
Total of 120 credits of optional modules taken across the two years.
Teaching methods - what to expect
You will be taught through a combination of lectures and seminars.
If you are a full-time student, you will complete the course in one year, from September to September. You should ensure that you are available to attend seminars at least two days a week.
If you are a part-time student, you will complete your course in two years, and you are required to gain 40 to 80 credits (but normally 60 or 80) in your first year, and then 100 to 140 (but normally 100 to 120, including 60 from the dissertation) in your second. If you take General Philosophy, you must take it in your first year. You should ensure that you are available to attend seminars at least two days a week.
Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.
Assessment
- Written/practical examinations
Your performance will be assessed through a combination of coursework and written/practical examinations. The coursework essay is the mode of assessment on most modules with written exams on some. The form of assessment for each module will be specified when you select your modules.