Philosophy of Mind and Language (Research) (specialisation)

Entry requirements

A completed Bachelor's degree in Philosophy or in a related discipline (in the latter case, students must have acquired at least 60 EC in Philosophical disciplines).

The applicant must have a degree with merit or distinction or equivalent. Meaning: a student’s weighted grade-point average in philosophy in the 2nd and 3rd year of their Bachelor's programme must be the equivalent of 7.5 or more (on the Dutch scale of 10).
On the page "Conversions of international grades" you will find an indication of what the equivalent of a Dutch 7.5 or 8 might be in the country where you obtained your Bachelor’s degree.

A proficiency in English

In order to take part in this programme, you need to have fluency in both written and spoken English.This requirement has been satisfied when the student meets the conditions, listed on our website.

Highly motivated

An applicant must be able to demonstrate to the Examination Board that they have serious research interests and skills. Applicant must write a motivation letter and send a writing sample which can help evaluate their research and writing skills.

Months of entry

February, September

Course content

Traditionally, philosophy of mind is part of the analytical tradition in philosophy. Recently, however, a more phenomenological approach to typical questions in the philosophy of mind has provided a refreshing new look on old topics. The advance of cognitive neuroscience is also leaving its trace in the way old questions are posed and answered. Therefore, the research Master’s in Philosophy of Mind and Language combines traditional analytical theorising with insights from phenomenology and the empirical sciences. Language is without doubt one of our most complex achievements, but at the end of the day, it’s all about what we do with it, how we use language to understand, comfort, criticise, and manipulate each other. Language is an immensely complicated tool for doing all these things, and more. We talk all the time. Language is our main form of social interaction. In the Master’s specialisation in Philosophy of Mind Language you’ll explore the richness of language from a social and evolutionary perspective.

What will you learn?

• Explore the richness of language from a social and evolutionary approach
• Choose from a wide array of elective courses and research seminars that fit your interests
• Gain valuable experience designing, conducting and presenting your own research

Research

The department of Philosphy of Language is part of the section Philosophy of Mind and Language. Current research is connected with two NWO-funded projects that are being carried out within this section, namely "Information Integration in Discourse" and "Reasoning and the Brain" (in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam and the F.C. Donders Centre). Together with the department of linguistics, this section organises the interdisciplinary "Semantics Colloquium". The members of the section work together with several philosophical and semantic centres in the Netherlands, Germany, France and the United States.

Career prospects

A majority of graduates from this programme continue their research in academia and pursue a PhD position.

Other graduates may find work in areas such as journalism, policy or education.

*This is a specialisation of the Master's in Philosophy

If you have any questions, email us here: study-information@ru.nl

Learn more via the Radboud University contact form.

Fees and funding

There are various scholarships available for studying at Radboud University. Some of the opportunities are described below. A full list, including detailed information, can be found on our website.

• Radboud Scholarship Programme
• Fulbright-Radboud Scholarships