Program Overview

On our four-year BA Philosophy and History (including foundation year), we work with you to develop your subject-specific knowledge, and to improve your academic skills. You receive a thorough grounding in these areas during your foundation year (known as Year Zero) to prepare you for a further three years of undergraduate study at Essex. Our five-year version of this course enables you to study abroad during your fourth year of study.

After successful completion of Year Zero in our Essex Pathways Department, you progress to complete your course with our School of Philosophy and Art History.

Our course provides a wide-ranging and sound academic grounding in the disciplines of philosophy and history. You identify the relevance of philosophy to other forms of enquiry, for example social, political, cultural and in particular historical, and to actively connect these two fields of study. This is facilitated by the shared interests of our two departments and our strong commitment to interdisciplinary study.

We cover a wide range of topics from the meaning of life to capitalism and its critics, from ancient philosophy to current trends in European thought; and we have particular strengths in the areas of:

• Ethics
• Political philosophy
• Philosophy of religion
• European philosophy (including critical theory, phenomenology, and existentialism)

We are involved in many exciting and interdisciplinary research projects, and have active links with other areas including Political Science, Law, Sociology, Psychoanalysis, and Art History.