Teaching & modules
Modules
Required Modules
You are required to take:
- Philosophy of Medicine (15 credits)
- The Concept of Mental Disorder (15 credits)
- Dissertation: MA in Philosophy of Medicine & Psychiatry (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 90 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)
- 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)
- Central Thinkers in Analytic Philosophy (15 credits)
Up to 30 credits from a range of MA 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.
There are a limited number of spaces available on each optional module, and you will have the opportunity to discuss your choices with your personal tutor.
If you are a part-time student, you will take:
- First Year - 30 to 90 credits. These will normally include 30 credits from the two compulsory modules, ‘Philosophy of Medicine’ and ‘The Concept of Mental Disorder’. If students are advised to take ‘General Philosophy’ they must do so in year 1. If either ‘Philosophy of Medicine’ or ‘The Concept of Mental Disorder’ was not taken in the first year, it must be taken in the second.
- Second Year - 90 to 150 credits earned through 1 x 60 credit core dissertation module and 30-90 credits of optional modules.
Teaching methods - what to expect
We will teach you through lectures and seminars. Each optional module will take two to four hours a week, and 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
- Coursework
- 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 philosophy modules with written exams on some. The mode of assessment for each module will be specified when you choose your options.