University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2019/20 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Arts > Department of Philosophy > Philosophy (BA) > Specification
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Programme code | 1PHIL007U |
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Programme type | Single Honours |
Programme director(s) |
Anthony Everett
|
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
School/department | Department of Philosophy |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Relevant QAA subject benchmark groups | Philosophy (2019) (benchmark statement) |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 3 years (full time) |
This programme is designed to offer students a thorough understanding of Philosophy as it is practised in the analytic tradition. The wide ranging and flexible curriculum provides a programme of study which has progressive intellectual challenges and consolidates previous experience at each new level.
The mandatory units at level C provide all students with (a) a basic knowledge of some fundamental problems of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and political philosophy (b) a basic competence in logic and the analysis of arguments and (c) the skills of reading and writing required in analytic philosophy. At levels I and H students choose from a wide range of options, taught by specialists in the areas of their own research, some text-based and others topic-based, ranging from ethics and political philosophy to philosophy of physics. Students are also expected to write a number of final essays, which give them the opportunity both to explore areas in more depth and detail and to develop their own research skills.
Students successfully completing the programme will be fully competent to continue with postgraduate study, but the programme also provides training in a wide range of transferable skills which serve as the foundation for many types of career.
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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|
Acquisition of knowledge and understanding through lectures, seminars and tutorials (1,2,3,4,5). |
Methods of Assessment | |
Coursework essays, testing understanding of a single topic in detail (1,3,4,5,7). |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
---|---|
|
Acquisition of knowledge and understanding through lectures, seminars and tutorials (1,2,3,4,5). |
Methods of Assessment | |
Coursework essays, testing understanding of a single topic in detail (1,3,4,5,7). |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
---|---|
|
Acquisition of knowledge and understanding through lectures, seminars and tutorials (1,2,3,4,5). |
Methods of Assessment | |
Coursework essays, testing understanding of a single topic in detail (1,3,4,5,7). |
Statement of expectations from the students at each level of the programme as it/they develop year on year.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
Year 1 of the programme has been designed to lay the foundations, both in terms of subject-specific knowledge and skills and in terms of more general abilities, which will allow students to fulfil the programme's aims and objectives. By the end of the year, students should have a basic knowledge of some central areas of the subject (metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and political philosophy) and some crucial philosophical skills, including competence in formal logic and familiarity with the aims and methods of analytic philosophy. They should also be developing their skills in essay-writing and in discussing philosophical issues in tutorials. |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
Students further develop their skills and knowledge by choosing from a menu of options. These options are more demanding than level C units both in terms of the difficulty of the materials studied and of the amount of independent critical thinking required of the students. By the end of the year they should be capable of reading difficult and technical material (eg modern journal articles), grasping their arguments, and debating them in seminars with their peers. The two mandatory units, 'Realism' and 'Normativity' provide all level I students with a firm basis from which to proceed to level h. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
Students further develop their skills and knowledge by choosing from a range of advanced options, taught by specialists in the areas of their own research. By the end of the year they should be capable of thinking critically and working independently. Students' capacity for intensive and independent research is further tested by the system of finals essays. |
The intended learning outcome mapping document shows which mandatory units contribute towards each programme intended learning outcome.
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the undergraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
Workload Statement
In common with the rest of the University, units in the Faculty of Arts
adhere to the credit framework which sets out that 20 credits normally
equates to some 200 hours of student input. Some of this time will be spent
in class, with the remainder divided between preparation for classes and
preparation for, and completion of, the assessment tasks. Some of this
activity may occur within the University’s online learning environment,
Blackboard, which you may use to prepare wikis, to interact with other
students, to download tutorials or to receive feedback.
Assessment Statement
Please select the following link for a statement about assessment. This is University of Bristol access only.
https://www.bris.ac.uk/arts/current/under/assessment.html
An exchange scheme exists with the university of Maryland, allowing one or two Bristol students to spend the whole of their second year in Maryland.
The Philosophy department webpage and the undergraduate handbook.
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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List A | |||||
Logic and Critical Thinking | PHIL10032 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
List B | |||||
Introduction to Philosophy A | PHIL10005 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
List C | |||||
Readings in Value Theory | PHIL10033 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
List D | |||||
Knowledge and Reality | PHIL10034 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
List E | |||||
Introduction to Philosophy B | PHIL10006 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
List F | |||||
20 CP From Bristol Futures, UWLP or Faculty Wide Units | OPEN | 20 | Optional | ||
Certificate of Higher Education | 120 |
The following units are for students spending Teaching Block 2 abroad, studying at one our international partner universities: PHIL20056, PHIL20054 and PHIL20055. They are to be taken in place of unit choices in lists D, E and F.
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
List A | |||||
Realism and Normativity | PHIL20046 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
List B - Choose 20 credit points this list | |||||
Philosophy of Language | PHIL20017 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
List C - Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
Philosophy of Mind | PHIL20010 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy of Mathematics | PHIL20039 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Epistemology | PHIL20009 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
List D - Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
Philosophy of Mathematics | PHIL20039 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Epistemology | PHIL20009 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Death, dying and disease | PHIL20049 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List E - Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
Ethics | PHIL20011 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Space, Time and Matter | PHIL20053 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List F | |||||
20 CP From Bristol Futures, UWLP or Faculty Wide Units – OR choose an additional 20 CP from lists B-E above | OPEN | 20 | Optional | ||
Diploma of Higher Education | 120 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
List A -Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
Philosophical Issues of Physical Sciences | PHIL30052 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy and the Environment | PHIL30112 | 20 | Optional | TB-1,TB-2 | |
Philosophy of Science | PHIL30049 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophy of Biology | PHIL30063 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Evil, Deviance, and Crime | PHIL30127 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Virtue and Well-Being | PHIL30126 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
List B | |||||
First Extended Essay | PHIL30107 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1,TB-2 | |
List C - Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
Philosophy of Science | PHIL30049 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophy of Psychology | PHIL30077 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophy of Biology | PHIL30063 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy and the Environment | PHIL30112 | 20 | Optional | TB-1,TB-2 | |
List D - Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
Texts in Modern European Philosophy 2 | PHIL30116 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy of Psychology | PHIL30077 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Death, dying and disease | PHIL30115 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Evil, Deviance, and Crime | PHIL30127 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List E | |||||
Second Extended Essay | PHIL30108 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1,TB-2 | |
List F | |||||
20 CP From Bristol Futures, UWLP or Faculty Wide Units – OR choose an additional 20 CP from lists C and D above | OPEN | 20 | Optional | ||
Philosophy (BA) | 120 |
Unit Pass Mark for Undergraduate Programmes:
For details on the weightings for classifying undergraduate degrees, please see the Agreed Weightings, by Faculty, to be applied for the Purposes of Calculating the Final Programme Mark and Degree Classification in Undergraduate Programmes.
For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.
Please refer to the specific progression/award requirements for programmes with a preliminary year of study, the Gateway programmes and International Foundation programmes.
All undergraduate degree programmes allow the opportunity for a student to exit from a programme with a Diploma or Certificate of Higher Education.
Integrated Master's degrees may also allow the opportunity for a student to exit from the programme with an equivalent Bachelor's degree where a student has achieved 360 credit points, of which 90 must be at level 6, and has successfully met any additional criteria as described in the programme specification.
The opportunities for a student to exit from one of the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry with an Award is outlined in the relevant Programme Regulations (which are available as an annex in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).
An Ordinary degree can be awarded if a student has successfully completed at least 300 credits with a minimum of 60 credits at Level 6.
The pass mark for the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine and Dentistry is 50 out of 100. The classification of a degree in the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry is provided in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
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