Philosophy Dissertation module (PI40007)

The Philosophy Dissertation represents the culmination of the undergraduate Philosophy degree.

It is a uniquely challenging and rewarding module that offers you the opportunity to use the research skills and interests gained over the course of your entire degree, and to channel them towards a research topic of your own choosing and design.

Work produced from this module has, in the past, been both published and award-winning (e.g. in Ephemeris, The Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy, and with the Global Undergraduate Awards).

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

• channel research skills learned at all previous levels of your degree, towards a much more bespoke project
• focus on a topic you are passionate about and wish to make an intelligent philosophical intervention in
• understand and channel the wide scope of possible topic choices open to you (previous dissertation topics have included: confrontations between figures in the history of philosophy; engagements with video games, literature, films, and sports)
• work under the close supervision of an academic supervisor drawn from the philosophy programme. All supervisors have extensive experience, both with supervising research projects and with conducting their own

By the end of this module, you will:

• have completed the most consolidated and rewarding piece of writing of your degree
• gained new insights into time management, structured writing, editing, and how momentum informs good academic writing
• have produced a piece of research of potentially publishable standard that can act as a calling card for further study and research opportunities

Assignments / assessment

• 250 word abstract
  • due end of semester 1 (early December)
  • formative
• 10,000 word dissertation
  • due end of semester 2 (late April/early May)
  • summative (100%)

Teaching methods / timetable

• two preparatory module group meetings in semester 1 (October/November)
• regular one-to-one meetings with your supervisor throughout semester 2
  • January through to late March, typically meetings occur once every two weeks