MA Philosophy
Belfast, United Kingdom
MA
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
14 Aug 2026
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 23,000 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international fee
The Queen’s MA in Philosophy is a pluralist programme that recognises and values diverse philosophical methods, histories, and scholarly approaches, while providing students with a strong grounding in core areas of philosophy. The student experience is that of a generalist MA programme informed by an inclusive approach to disciplinary history and by engagement with twenty-first-century issues and debates. Students will explore historical and contemporary debates, solve abstract and concrete problems, and respond to fundamental and applied questions.
Students will learn with internationally recognised leaders in philosophical research. Our staff have strengths in ethics and epistemology, as well as philosophy of science, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of technology, political philosophy, and post-Kantian European philosophy. There is growing expertise in comparative and diverse global philosophical traditions. Research-led teaching brings students into the middle of cutting-edge research as active participants, and our dynamic research community offers multiple opportunities for students to pursue meaningful research experiences.
MA in Philosophy students have opportunities to personalise their education through the Dissertation and the Individually Negotiated Topic module. With guidance from the supervisor, students can choose a topic that interests them for directed critical reading and analysis with a small, focused group. Students also benefit from a wide range of interdisciplinary opportunities within the School and the Faculty of AHSS, along with the excellent postgraduate experience infrastructure at Queen’s. Students may opt to complete the Queen’s Certificate in Strategic Leadership.
Philosophy at QUB is a supportive and highly research-active unit—ranked joint first in the UK for Research Intensity (Complete University Guide 2022). Our programme size and location within the interdisciplinary school of HAPP means that our students’ work can receive significant individual attention, that our students can build highly productive working relationships with teaching staff from Philosophy, and that our students may also explore interdisciplinary learning and research opportunities, complementing their core philosophical interests.
Philosophy highlights
Global Opportunities
Students benefit from a curriculum and learning community in which diverse perspectives are represented and valued. Students may pursue research experiences locally and internationally.
Career Development
The applied and engaged philosophy emphasis of the MA is attractive to students with interests in social justice and policy careers, as well as those interested in academic and academic-related careers.
World Class Facilities
Queen’s is a research-intensive Russell Group university with an excellent QS ranking and offers a wonderful library and digital learning resources as well as up-to-date physical learning spaces.
Internationally Renowned Experts
At Queen’s, students learn with internationally recognised experts and research innovators who are actively pursuing research projects in all areas represented within the MA curriculum.
Industry Links
The School has an active Employers’ Forum that is used to forge links with national and international employers. Queen‘s philosophy graduates have an unlimited range of occupations in the public and private sectors, including the Civil Service, local government, the media, policy analysis, the voluntary sector, teaching, journalism, business, marketing and advertising. Career destinations of our students have included the BBC, the Diplomatic Service, the NHS, International House, RPS Belfast and the Belfast Education and Library Board.
Student Experience
Our strong cohort model means that students learn within a supportive community of peers, which provides especially effective learning support in Philosophy.
How do I fund my study?
The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study.
A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Master's courses in all subject areas (excluding Initial Teacher Education/PGCE, where undergraduate student finance is available). Criteria, eligibility, repayment and application information are available on the UK government website.
Course Structure
The MA Philosophy course is a full year (12 month) course delivered primarily through in person seminars that emphasize student discussion and analysis of key texts and issues. Students may currently enrol on a full-time (1 year) basis. Full-time students typically complete three modules in each of the Autumn and Spring semesters. During Autumn, students also identify a potential dissertation project on a topic of particular interest. Students confirm their dissertation supervisor and also undertake further research training to prepare for their dissertation during the Spring semester. In the summer, students focus on writing up their dissertation project, supported primarily by their dissertation supervisor.
The MA is awarded to students who successfully complete six taught modules (120 CATS points) and a 15,000-word research dissertation (60 CATS points).
Exit qualifications are available: students may exit with a Postgraduate Diploma by successfully completing 120 CATS points from taught modules or a Postgraduate Certificate by successfully completing 60 CATS points from taught modules.
Core Modules
- Philosophy Dissertation (60 credits)
- APPROACHES TO RESEARCH DESIGN (20 credits)
- Applied Philosophy (20 credits)
Optional Modules
- Geo-power: States, Sovereignty, Territory (20 credits)
- Virtues, Ethics, and Empire (20 credits)
- Knowledge and Ignorance (20 credits)
- Philosophy of Conflict and War (20 credits)
- Philosophy of Time (20 credits)
- Social Injustice (20 credits)
- Ethics, Law, and Responsibility (20 credits)
- Individually Negotiated Topic (20 credits)
- Ranked 10th in the UK for Graduate Prospects (The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024).
- Queen’s was ranked 1st out of 8 UK universities for sporting facilities (International Student Barometer 2020/21).
We anticipate that the MA programme is a perfect one-year course to prepare students for PhD entry. The applied and engaged philosophy emphasis is attractive to students with interests in social justice and policy careers, as well as those interested in academic and academic-related careers.
The programme will assist students in gaining wider skills which will be vital in their future careers, including:
- Excellent training in critical thinking, critical reading, and critical writing
- Research and publication skills
- Understanding and responding to equality, diversity, and inclusion issues in applied contexts
- Project management: planning and executing components of a long-term project
Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world-leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this the Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.