LPHIL7262 Philosophy Master’s Dissertation Course Descriptor

Course Overview

In this course, students write an 11,000 word philosophy dissertation on an approved topic of their choice and defend it in a viva voce exam. Students are prepared for this endeavour in part by the earlier ‘Mind and Reality’ and ‘Values and Society’ seminars, which provide an advanced introduction to academic philosophical writing, research, and presentation skills. Students are also prepared by the earlier optional modules in which they write essays and defend them in individual tutorials and develop their background philosophical knowledge. In the dissertation course, after an initial group seminar with the course leader, students meet with an assigned supervisor to finalise their proposal and to discuss and refine successive drafts. Once the dissertation has been submitted, students defend it in a 50-minute viva voce exam. The aims of this course is to enable students to evaluate philosophical positions and develop a sustained philosophical argument, to promote students’ ability to present their ideas clearly, and prepare students for doctoral studies as well as a wide range of other careers. 

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject-Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a syllabus and range of additional resources (e.g. readings or other resources, assignment briefs, discussion boards, signposting to Academic Writing support) to orientate and engage students in their studies.

Teaching and learning strategies for this course will include: Up to 3 hours of group workshops and a set of 1:1 supervision sessions (3-5 individual sessions throughout the process).

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups.

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 600 hours including independent work hours.

Employability Skills

Completing a Master’s dissertation in philosophy cultivates skills that are employable across a range of sectors. These include the abilities to:

• Work independently, creatively, and to deadlines
• Conduct research and explore relevant existing knowledge
• Analyse, contextualise, and interpret complex ideas and materials
• Synthesise and evaluate information against a backdrop of uncertainty
• Solve problems through logical reasoning
• Present findings and opinions in a clear, structured manner, whether orally or in writing
• Engage in collaborative and constructive discussion

Assessment

Formative

Students’ successive partial drafts will be formatively assessed during the course. These assessments do not count towards the end of year results, but will provide students with developmental feedback, both written and oral.

Summative

* Vivas are a compulsory pass, see AQF7 Academic Regulations, Part C: Assessment Regulations.

Feedback

Students will receive formal feedback in a variety of ways: written (in comments on draft material, including via email correspondence); oral (within one-to-one supervision tutorials, and on an ad hoc basis).

Feedback is provided on summative assessment and is made available to the student either via email, the VLE or another appropriate method.

Indicative Reading

Reading is to be decided upon between student and supervisor, depending on the chosen dissertation topic.

Indicative Topics

The topics to be covered will vary between dissertations, but typically the student will proceed in the following stages:

• Proposal
• First Draft
• Second Draft
• Third Draft
• Final Draft
• Submission
• Viva Voce Exam

Version History