Philosophy

Entry requirements

Our regular standard of admission is at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree (2:1), although candidates will usually also have completed or be undertaking a Masters qualification.

Candidates are required to provide:

• a sample of a single-authored, written, philosophical work, of less than 7000 words
• an outline of your proposed research subject in about 1000 words

Research outline

Your outline need not be a final thesis proposal but should include:

• a straightforward, descriptive, and informative title
• the question that your research will address
• an account of why this question is important and worth investigating
• an assessment of how your own research will engage with recent study in the subject
• a brief account of the methodology and approach you will take
• a discussion of the primary sources that your research will draw upon, including printed books, manuscripts, archives, libraries, or museums
• an indicative bibliography of secondary sources that you have already consulted and/or are planning to consult

Your application, including your references and research outline, will be passed to members of staff whose expertise and research interests most closely match the area of your proposed study.

Months of entry

Anytime

Course content

Philosophy at the University of Glasgow is thriving. Our vibrant research environment includes an active community of postgraduate students and engaged staff who are internationally recognised for their contributions to a wide range of philosophical debates.

Our staff supervise a wide range of the core areas of philosophy, including:

• aesthetics
• ethics
• epistemology
• history of analytic and early modern philosophy
• logic and philosophy of logic
• metaphysics
• philosophy of language
• philosophy of mathematics
• philosophy of mind
• political philosophy

Current areas of research, which may transcend and cut across these core areas, include:

• affect
• autonomy in moral and political philosophy
• causation and explanation
• cognitive penetration
• consent
• distributive justice
• ethical intuitionism
• end of life ethics
• knowledge-how
• imagination
• mental qualities
• moral psychology
• pain and suffering
• philosophy of emotion
• philosophy of perception
• philosophy of virtual and augmented reality
• social choice theory
• social epistemology
• totality
• virtue ethics and epistemology

We strongly encourage applications in any of the above areas.

Find out more

• research in philosophy
• events, centres, and projects in philosophy
• current postgraduate research students

Also see our Philosophy & Psychology PhD

Information for international students

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic and Academic Online (not General Training)

• 7.0 overall with no subtest less than 7.0
• IELTS One Skill Retake Accepted
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Fees and funding

Prices are based on the annual fee for full-time study. Fees for part-time study are half the full-time fee.

Irish nationals who are living in the Common Travel Area of the UK, EU nationals with settled or pre-settled status, and Internationals with Indefinite Leave to remain status can also qualify for home fee status.

Fee status and policies

Alumni discount

We offer a 20% discount to our alumni on all Postgraduate Research and full Postgraduate Taught Masters programmes. This includes University of Glasgow graduates and those who have completed a Study Abroad programme, Exchange programme, International Summer School or Erasmus programme with us. This discount can be awarded alongside most University scholarships. No additional application is required.

Possible additional fees

• Re-submission by a research student £540
• Submission for a higher degree by published work £1,355
• Submission of thesis after deadline lapsed £350
• Submission by staff in receipt of staff scholarship £790

Depending on the nature of the research project, some students will be expected to pay a bench fee (also known as research support costs) to cover additional costs. The exact amount will be provided in the offer letter.

• College of Arts & Humanities Graduate School funding opportunities
• further funding opportunities
• MRes Scholarship: Creativity, Inclusion and the Virtual

We have a strong track record of securing AHRC and Glasgow University College of Arts & Humanities funding for our PhD students.

Potential students with 1st class results (or equivalent) are strongly encouraged to apply.