Visiting and applying

The Department welcomes applications from candidates who wish to pursue postgraduate study in philosophy at York. Candidates may apply for full-time or part-time study on all courses.

Admissions to postgraduate courses at the University of York are handled centrally by Postgraduate Admissions. Their webpage on Applying offers guidance on the applications process. Admission is primarily dependent upon academic and financial conditions.

As a first step, prospective applicants should consult our Research pages and About us and Our staff to determine our main areas of strength and who might be an appropriate supervisor or supervisors for their project. The application will require one writing sample (3,000 words) and current references as well as a project description. The writing sample may be an essay which you have written recently for your present course, material you have prepared for some other purpose, or something you have written specially for your application to York. The example you supply should be on a topic which is relevant to the subject of your proposed course of study.

You will also particularly wish to look at the How to apply (for postgraduate taught courses), How to apply (for postgraduate research programmes) and supporting documents (PG taught) and supporting documents (PG research) pages.

Academic requirements

MA in Philosophy (Taught or Research)

Applicants for the MA in Philosophy will normally be expected to have obtained an upper second class honours, or equivalent, in an undergraduate degree that includes some philosophy.

Applicants for the MA in Philosophy by Research are expected to have a prior qualification in philosophy (normally a BA) and should apply here.

MPhil and PhD in Philosophy, PhD in Philosophy by Distance Learning

Normally, applicants should have, or be expected to obtain, an MA in Philosophy or an equivalent qualification.

MPhil candidates should apply for the MPhil programme, PhD candidates should apply for the PhD programme, and PhD by Distance Learning candidates should apply for PhD by Distance Learning programme. Progression for research degrees follows the guidelines of the University's Policy on Research Degrees.

When making their application, candidates are advised to make their research proposals as specific and clear as possible. Where possible, they should indicate the member(s) of staff that they would wish to work with. Preliminary enquiries are encouraged and should be addressed to the PG Researcher Administrator at philosophy-postgrad@york.ac.uk.

Graduate Diploma in Philosophy

Applicants will normally be expected to have obtained an upper second class honours, or equivalent, in a first degree which need not include philosophy.

English Language Requirements

For those whose first language is not English, there are English language requirements in order to study at the postgraduate level. Applicants should consult the Departmental Requirements on the webpages below for the minimum level of English language proficiency required:

A pre-sessional course in English language skills, to be taken before the commencement of the degree course, may be recommended or required. The pre-sessional course suitable for Philosophy postgraduates applicants is the 8-week Higher Level Pre-sessional and further information can be obtained from the pre-sessional language courses webpage.

Application deadlines

As far as the Department is concerned, there is no formal deadline for the receipt of applications, but most of the British sources of funds to finance postgraduate studies have strict deadlines for the receipt of applications. For funding deadlines please go to the Philosophy Fees and funding page and the University's Postgraduate fees and funding page.

Open and visit days

Please visit the University's Postgraduate open days and study fairs page for full details.