Research Degrees in
in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Do you want to advance or change your career, deepen your expertise in a topic, or expand your research and practical skills?
With a PhD or other postgraduate research degree in Philosophy you will:
We can supervise a broad range of projects within Philosophy. Our areas of expertise include:
Our academics play a major role in national and international philosophy research. We are involved with the British Society for Phenomenology, the British Society for the History of Philosophy, the Society for European Philosophy, and the Values-based Theory Network.
As a postgraduate researcher, you will play an active role in the intellectual life of the University. You are encouraged to participate in our Human Sciences Seminar Series, which is a well-established programme of seminars that facilitates discussions of philosophy from cross-disciplinary and cross-continental perspectives.
The social and intellectual life of the Faculty is enhanced by the Postgraduate Arts and Humanities Centre (PAHC) which provides:
Find out more about the different research degrees we offer
The majority of our students enrol in October. We offer further enrolment points in January and April.
Research degrees are available to study on-campus or through distance learning.
Our intellectually rigorous research degrees will equip you with the necessary skills to pursue academic research in Philosophy or related disciplines.
You will also gain higher-level skills in research, critical argument, project management, and communications, that equip you to enter managerial positions in a range of sectors.
This course is research based. You will independently conduct research into your own topic or a topic that we advertise. Your supervisory team will offer expert guidance throughout your studies and review work in progress.
Each year, you will follow a programme of training and development to enhance your research methods, subject-matter expertise and professional skills.
Please refer to our Fees page for more information on tuition fees.
Many of our PhD and Professional Doctorate programmes are eligible for the government's Doctoral Loan Scheme. MPhil and MA/MSc by Research degrees are eligible for a Postgraduate Loan.
Each year we offer a number of competitive scholarships to support high quality research projects. Current scholarship opportunities in Philosophy are advertised on our site.
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We are a member of the North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership which allows us to offer fully funded scholarships in the Arts and Humanities. Please contact us for more information.
You should, as a minimum, have a first or 2.1 honours degree or an equivalent qualification.
International students must demonstrate a sufficiently high standard of English language ability. In order to enter most postgraduate courses the English requirements are IELTS 6.5, TOEFL 575, and TOEFL computer-based 230.
We welcome interest from applicants from non-standard backgrounds. We will take subject knowledge, professional experience, publications, or other appropriate evidence of accomplishment into consideration.
See more about our standard entry requirements.
Before applying for a research degree, you should have a preliminary discussion with a member of staff about your project and ideas. To arrange this, please email Dr Anna Bergqvist, a.bergqvist@mmu.ac.uk, the Research Degrees Co-ordinator for Philosophy.
For further information on the application process, contact the Admissions team at pgradmissions@mmu.ac.uk.
To apply for this degree, please select one of the study options below to begin your application.
Before you apply, you should discuss your project with a member of academic staff. You should also complete the postgraduate research degree thesis proposal form, which you will need to upload as part of your application. The document can be attached at the final checklist section after you’ve submitted your application.