Philosophy

Philosophy at Oxford is not studied in a single-subject first degree course, but instead may be studied as one part of ‘joint’ degree courses, combined with one or two other subjects. There are seven such Joint Honour Schools, and Magdalen accepts students for all but one of these. For Philosophy, Politics and Economics (‘PPE’) the college currently accepts up to 10 students per year. Between 5 and 8 students a year are accepted for Classics. Up to 3 are accepted for Psychology and Philosophy. In addition, in a typical year about 3 students in total are accepted for the smaller Schools of Philosophy and Modern Languages, Physics and Philosophy, and Mathematics and Philosophy.

In all of these Joint Honour Schools, the extent of concentration on Philosophy is left open to student choice. In PPE and Classics, it is possible after the first public examination to decide not to study philosophy further at all. At the other extreme, it may make up 5 out of 8 papers in the Final Examination. In the other Schools, between 3 and 5 of the 8 final papers may be in philosophy. In Maths and Philosophy and Physics and Philosophy, where there are examinations at the end of both the 3rd year and the 4th year, students in their 4th year do four papers, and may choose to do any number of them (from none to 4) in philosophy. In most of these Schools, a thesis may be substituted for one final examination paper.

Except in Classics, the first public examination is taken in the first year: for Psychology and Philosophy it is taken at the end of the second term, and for the other Schools it is taken at the end of the third term (i.e., at the end of the first year). In PPE, in Psychology and Philosophy, and in Philosophy and Modern Languages, it includes a foundation paper with three parts. One part is entitled General Philosophy, and deals with central questions in metaphysics and the theory of knowledge. A second is called Moral Philosophy, and is centred around J.S. Mill’s Utilitarianism and an assessment of the issues raised by it. The third part is an introduction to Formal Logic. In Physics and Philosophy and in Mathematics and Philosophy, there are two papers, one on Elementary Mathematical Logic and one called Introduction to Philosophy: it partly overlaps with the General Philosophy paper for PPE, but includes more material relevant to Physics and Maths.

In Classics the first public examination ('Mods') is taken in the second term of the second year. Students do one philosophy paper for that examination, and there is a choice between General Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Logic, Early Greek Philosophy, Plato, or Lucretius.

In all Schools, work for the final examinations starts after the first public examination, and there is a very wide choice of papers which may be studied. Most Schools have bridging papers that are designed to connect Philosophy with the other subject. The paper in Philosophy of Mathematics is compulsory for those doing the Maths and Philosophy course, and likewise a paper in Philosophy of Physics is compulsory for those studying Physics and Philosophy. Those who continue with Philosophy in PPE after the first year are required to take the Ethics paper. For Psychology and Philosophy, the paper in the Philosophy of Mind is not strictly a requirement, but it is very strongly recommended.

The College currently has two Tutorial Fellows in Philosophy. The Senior Philosophy Tutor is Dr Ralph Walker; his research interests and teaching specialisms are wide, including ancient philosophy (Plato and Aristotle), history of modern philosophy, especially the German philosopher Kant (on whom he has published 2 books and many articles), metaphysics, theory of knowledge, and philosophy of religion. Dr Lizzie Fricker’s research interests are in philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and theory of knowledge. Her current research is on knowledge acquired through the spoken or written word, on which she has published articles and is preparing a book. She is also a specialist in the later philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Both tutors regularly teach all of the ‘core’ papers in History of Philosophy, Ethics and ‘Knowledge and Reality’, and also the optional papers in their own specialist areas.

In the first year students are usually taught in small classes of 3 or 4, since we find this encourages discussion both in and beyond the tutorial, which is very beneficial in developing skills and enthusiasm, as well as comradeship, at this stage. ‘Core’ finals papers are usually taught in a mixture of small classes and individual tutorials. Optional papers are often taught in single tutorials, since this is appropriate to students at a more advanced stage, who are capable of sustaining a discussion on their own and can benefit from focus on their own distinctive line of thought on a subject.

Entry procedures

Written tests

Candidates will take an aptitude test, the nature and timing of which varies from subject to subject, and the details are given below. Where written tests in Philosophy are required, they are designed to test analytical skill and intelligence. No knowledge of Philosophy is presupposed. No preparation is required or appropriate. The requirements are as follows:

Mathematics and Philosophy: No test in Philosophy. All candidates for Mathematics and the joint schools are required to take an Aptitude Test of mathematical and analytical skills on Wednesday 2 November 2011, which will be taken at the candidate's own school/college or an approved test centre. Further details of the test can be seen on the departmental website: www.maths.ox.ac.uk.

Philosophy and Modern Languages: For Modern Languages, candidates are required to take a written test on Wednesday 2 November 2011, which will be taken in the candidate's own school/college or an approved test centre; for further details see under Modern Languages. For Philosophy, those candidates short-listed for interview will sit a one-hour test at interview designed to offer an opportunity to demonstrate the capacity to reason analytically and to use language accurately.

Philosophy, Politics and Economics: For further details see under PPE.

Physics and Philosophy: No test in Philosophy. For Physics, all candidates are required to register for and to take the Physics Aptitude Test on 2 November 2011, normally at their own school/college or an approved test centre. For further details see the Physics Department website (www.physics.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/apptests.htm) and the test website.

Psychology and Philosophy: Candidates are required to register for and to take the Oxford Thinking Skills Assessment. This test will take place on 2 November 2011 in the candidate's own school/college or an approved test centre. Further information and a specimen paper can be found on the test website.

Written Work

Written work is not generally required for these Joint Honour Schools, with the exception of Philosophy and Modern Languages. For this Joint Honour School no written work is required for Philosophy but Modern Languages candidates are asked to supply two pieces of school or college written work (preferably of different kinds) for the languages they are currently studying. One piece of work should be written in the language they wish to study at Oxford. We would like you to send three copies of each piece of work directly to Magdalen College, c/o Tutor for Admissions, to reach the College no later than 10th November. The copies should be secured with a paperclip only and have a completed cover sheet.

Conditional offers are usually AAA at A2 (or equivalent). For Mathematics and Philosophy a conditional offer would usually be A*A*A, with A*s in Mathematics and Further Mathematics (if taken). For Physics and Philosophy a conditional offer would usually be A*AA, to include Physics and Mathematics and the A* to be in one of these two subjects.

External links