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Programme code | 1PHIL007U |
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Programme type | Single Honours |
Programme director(s) |
Karim Thebault
|
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.
UG Workload Statement
Success as an undergraduate student depends on you being able to make the transition to self-motivated, independent learning. Programmes are designed to assist you in this development, in many cases by starting with units in which timetabled teaching, such as lectures and practical classes, provides the foundations of knowledge and skills in a subject, moving on to individual research-based work. Over time you will be expected to take increasing responsibility for your own learning, guided by the feedback on your work that you will receive. At the heart of your studies at every level there must be regular and disciplined individual reading, reflection and writing and it is this skill of independent studies, above all others, that will serve you best when you leave the University.
Most programmes use credits and a 20 credit unit broadly equates to about 200 hours of student input. This includes all activities related to the teaching, learning and assessment of taught units.
A component of this is the time that you spend in class, in contact with the teaching staff, which includes activities such as lectures, laboratories, tutorials and fieldwork. Some of this activity may be online and could consist of activity that is synchronous (using real-time environments such as Blackboard Collaborate) or asynchronous (using tools such as tutor moderated discussion forums, blogs or wikis).
In some programmes there are field courses and/or placements that will take place in concentrated periods of time.
Outside scheduled activities you are expected to pursue your own independent learning to build your knowledge and understanding of the subjects you are studying. Such independent activities include, reviewing lecture material, reading textbooks, working on examples sheets, completing coursework, writing up laboratory notes, preparing for in-class progress tests and revising for examinations.
We recognise that many students undertake paid employment. To achieve a sensible balance between work and study, you are advised to undertake paid work for no more than 15 hours per week in term-time.
Professional Programmes
Many undergraduates in the Faculty of Health Sciences will be following the professional programmes of:
For these professional programmes, full time attendance is compulsory unless absence is formally approved. Academic activities are timetabled throughout the 5-day week and student workload is around 40 hours per week on average. Where possible, students in the early years are permitted Wednesday afternoons for sport and extra-curriculum activities. This may not be available in later years of professional programmes as when a student progresses through the curricula there is an increasing exposure to clinical and professional activities. Students in clinic or on placements may need to stay later than core times of 08.00 – 18.00 or even overnight to observe out-of-hours activities. This increasing exposure to clinical activities means that students on these professional programmes often have longer term dates than the University standard. Individual years within programmes are likely to vary in length (for example because of the timings of placements) and further information on this will be found in individual programme regulations. Another important point to note is that many of the assessments sit outside of the standard University examination timetable and are likely to be more frequent meaning that students will more oftentimes be engaged in revision activities and self-directed learning.
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty Assessment and Feedback Statement for Undergraduate Students. University of Bristol access only.
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 | |
Texts in Modern European Philosophy 1 | PHIL20050 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Political Philosophy | PHIL20012 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Themes in Modern European Philosophy 1 | PHIL20051 | 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 | |
Space, Time and Matter | PHIL20053 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List D - Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
Philosophy of Mathematics | PHIL20039 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Death, dying and disease | PHIL20049 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List E - Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
Ancient Philosophy | PHIL20040 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Space, Time and Matter | PHIL20053 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Ethics | PHIL20011 | 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 | ||
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List A -Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
Philosophy of Science | PHIL30049 | 20 | Optional | C,D | TB-2 |
Philosophical Issues of Physical Sciences | PHIL30052 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy of Biology | PHIL30063 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Feminist Philosophy | PHIL30123 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Probability and Rationality | PHIL30078 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
First Extended Essay | PHIL30107 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Themes in Modern European Philosophy 2 | PHIL30117 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Evil, Deviance, and Crime | PHIL30127 | 20 | Optional | A,B | TB-1 |
List B - Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
The Philosophy and History of Medicine | PHIL30082 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Feminist Philosophy | PHIL30123 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Probability and Rationality | PHIL30078 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Themes in Ethics | PHIL30137 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List C - Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
Philosophy of Science | PHIL30049 | 20 | Optional | C,D | TB-2 |
Philosophy of Psychology | PHIL30077 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophy of Mathematics | PHIL30090 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Texts in Modern European Philosophy 2 | PHIL30116 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
The Ethics of Migration and Citizenship | PHIL30118 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy of Biology | PHIL30063 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
The Philosophy and History of Medicine | PHIL30082 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy in the Digital Age | PHIL30132 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List D - Choose 20 CP from this list | |||||
Death, dying and disease | PHIL30115 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Texts in Modern European Philosophy 2 | PHIL30116 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
The Ethics of Migration and Citizenship | PHIL30118 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy of Psychology | PHIL30077 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Evil, Deviance, and Crime | PHIL30127 | 20 | Optional | A,B | TB-1 |
Philosophy in the Digital Age | PHIL30132 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List E | |||||
Second Extended Essay | PHIL30108 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
List F | |||||
20 CP From Bristol Futures, UWLP or Faculty Wide Units – OR choose an additional 20 CP from lists A-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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