Study Philosophy at Otago

• Overview
• Contact details
• Qualifications
• Papers
• Programme requirements
• Minor subject requirements for undergraduate programmes

Overview

The questions which philosophers discuss are so basic and so general that at some time or other most people have come across them. Philosophy is the attempt to assess the foundations of our beliefs and the principles we live by.

The basic questions of philosophy connect with almost every subject taught at university, so 100-level Philosophy papers are a useful part of any degree. Higher level Philosophy papers examine the foundations of many disciplines including the sciences, mind and language, religion, ethics, politics and logic.

^ Top of page

Contact details

Email philosophy@otago.ac.nz
Website otago.ac.nz/philosophy

^ Top of Page

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Arts (BA)
• Bachelor of Arts and Science (BASc)
• Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA(Hons))
• Diploma for Graduates (DipGrad)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Subjects (PGDipArts)
• Master of Arts (MA)
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Papers

See the full list of Philosophy (PHIL) papers.

^ Top of page

Programme Requirements

Bachelor of Arts (BA) majoring in Philosophy

Level	Papers	Points
100-level	Two 100-level PHIL papers	36
200-level	Two 200-level PHIL papers One further PHIL paper at 200-level or above One of GEND 201  Introduction to Feminist Theory, POLS 202  Theories of Justice, or PSYC 204  Justice, Race and Class, may be substituted for one 200-level PHIL paper	36 18
300-level	Four 300-level PHIL papers (or three 300-level PHIL papers and one 400-level PHIL paper) One of BITC 301  Bioethics, CLAS 340  Love, Death and the Good Life: Socrates and Plato, or POLS 301  Power and Liberty, may be substituted for one 300-level PHIL paper	72
Plus	198 further points; must include 54 points at 200-level or above. Up to 90 points may be taken from outside Arts	198
Total		360

^ Top of page

Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA(Hons)) in Philosophy

Papers
PHIL 490  Dissertation Three further papers from 400-level PHIL papers or CLAS 440  Advanced Studies in Socrates and Plato Prerequisites: One of PHIL 105  Critical Thinking, or PHIL 222  Introduction to Formal Logic, or equivalent

^ Top of page

Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Subjects (PGDipArts) in Philosophy

The Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Subjects (PGDipArts) programme in Philosophy is the same as the programme for the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA(Hons)).

^ Top of page

Master of Arts (Coursework) (MA(Coursework)) in Philosophy

Papers
PHIL 590 Research Dissertation Two of: HUMS 501 Writing and Revision for Graduate Research HUMS 502 Research Methods in the Humanities HUMS 503 Key Debates in the Humanities three 400-level PHIL papers CLAS 440 may be substituted for one 400-level PHIL paper.

^ Top of page

Master of Arts (Thesis) (MA(Thesis)) in Philosophy

Thesis
Thesis: PHIL 5 Note: Students who have not completed a Bachelor of Arts (BA(Hons)) in Philosophy or a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Subjects (PGDipArts) in Philosophy must complete the required papers for the BA(Hons) in Philosophy prior to undertaking the thesis.

^ Top of page

Minor Subject Requirements

Philosophy as a minor subject for a BA, MusB, BPA, BTheol, BSc, BAppSc, BCom, BHealSc, or BASc degree

Available as a minor subject for a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Music (MusB), Bachelor of Performing Arts (BPA), Bachelor of Theology (BTheol), Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Applied Science (BAppSc), Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), Bachelor of Health Science (BHealSc), or Bachelor of Arts and Science (BASc) degree

Level	Papers	Points
100-level	Two 100-level PHIL papers	36
200-level	Two 200-level PHIL papers	36
300-level	One 300-level PHIL paper	18
Total		90

^ Top of page

This information must be read subject to the statement on our Copyright & Disclaimer page.

Regulations on this page are taken from the 2019 Calendar and supplementary material.