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1. Admissions/ Management Information
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Title of the programme – including any lower awards
Please provide the titles used for all awards relating to this programme. Note: all programmes are required to have at least a Postgraduate Certificate exit award.

See guidance on programme titles in:
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https://www.york.ac.uk/media/staffhome/learningandteaching/documents/programmedevelopment/Framework%20for%20Programme%20Design%20-%20PG.pdf
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Masters MA in Philosophy
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Postgraduate Diploma Postgraduate Diploma in PhilosophyPlease indicate if the Postgraduate Diploma is available as an entry point, ie. is a programme on which a student can register, is an exit award, ie. is only available to students exiting the masters programme early, or both.Exit
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Postgraduate Certificate Postgraduate Certificate in PhilosophyPlease indicate if the Postgraduate Certificate is available as an entry points, ie. is a programme on which a student can register, is an exit award, ie. is only available to students exiting the masters programme early, or both.Exit
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Level of qualificationLevel 7
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This document applies to students who commenced the programme(s) in:2020
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Awarding institutionTeaching institution
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University of York University of York
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Department(s):
Where more than one department is involved, indicate the lead department		Board of Studies
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Lead Department Philosophy
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Other contributing Departments:
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Route code
(existing programmes only)		MA - PMPHISPHI1  
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Admissions criteria
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A BA with a 2.1 average (or equivalent) in either Philosophy, or joint programme including Philosophy. Where applicants are from American-style degrees, decision is made on a case by case basis on whether sufficient prior Philosophical study has been done.
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Length and status of the programme(s) and mode(s) of study
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ProgrammeLength (years/ months) Status (full-time/ part-time)
Please select		Start dates/months
(if applicable – for programmes that have multiple intakes or start dates that differ from the usual academic year)		Mode
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Face-to-face, campus-basedDistance learningOther
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MA in Philosophy1 YearFull-timePlease select Y/NYesPlease select Y/NNo
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MA in Philosophy2 YearsPart-timePlease select Y/NYesPlease select Y/NNo
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Language(s) of study
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English
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Language(s) of assessment
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English
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2. Programme accreditation by Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Bodies (PSRB)
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2.a. Is the programme recognised or accredited by a PSRB
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Please Select Y/N: Noif No move to section 3
if Yes complete the following questions
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3. Additional Professional or Vocational Standards
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Are there any additional requirements of accrediting bodies or PSRB or pre-requisite professional experience needed to study this programme?
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Please Select Y/N: Noif Yes, provide details
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4. Programme leadership and programme team
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4.a. Please name the programme leader for the year to which the programme design applies and any key members of staff responsible for designing, maintaining and overseeing the programme.
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David Ingram (Programme Leader); Carol Dixon (Programme Administrator)
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5. Purpose and learning outcomes of the programme
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5.a. Statement of purpose for applicants to the Masters programme
Please express succinctly the overall aims of the programme as an applicant facing statement for a prospectus or website. This should clarify to a prospective masters student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
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Our MA is designed to give you a command of the central areas of
philosophical inquiry, the space and support to pursue a research project of
your own choosing, and transferable skills which will be of benefit to whatever
career you pursue. Above all, however, the primary goal of our MA is to help
you move from studying philosophical problems to investigating them as a
researcher in your own right.

During your study, you will engage in research-led enquiry,
focussing on contemporary problems and scholarship. You will receive
encouragement, support and guidance in selecting and independently studying
ideas of personal interest to you, as well as studying what we take to be core
areas of modern philosophical thought. You will develop transferable skills in
presenting your own ideas, conference organization, and collaborative work. We
have a lively postgraduate community, and you will be invited to participate in
the broad and diverse research culture of our department.

You will leave the MA programme with a firm, broad grounding in
contemporary philosophy. You will have had support in developing your skills as
a researcher, and as a thinker more generally. You will have explored the
philosophical ideas of greatest interest to you in detail, with high-level supervision
from professional philosophers. By the close of the MA you will have been
prepared, in both skills and research, to take your study further, or to apply
your knowledge and capabilities to a professional and persuasive standard in
the world of work.

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5.b.i. Programme Learning Outcomes - Masters
Please provide six to eight statements of what a graduate of the Masters programme will be able to do.
If the document only covers a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma please specify four to six PLO statements in the sections 5.b.ii and 5.b.iii as appropriate.
Taken together, these outcomes should capture the distinctive features of the programme. They should also be outcomes for which progressive achievement through the course of the programme can be articulated, and which will therefore be reflected in the design of the whole programme.
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PLOOn successful completion of the programme, graduates will be able to:
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11) Critically review current scholarship and research on key problems, issues and debates across a wide range of areas of philosophy
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22) Apply critical perspectives to current research in their field in a technically proficient yet accessible and clear manner informed by current practice, scholarship and research
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33) Work effectively and collaboratively in the planning, organization, and delivery of significant research events and reports (in a manner continuous with best practice at a professional level)
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44) Take full ownership of their own development as researchers and professionals, continually reflecting on their own practice, progress and received feedback, and seeking assistance where appropriate
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55) Give presentations of their ideas and arguments at a professional level (aligned with best practice) to varied audiences
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66) Create detailed and persuasive project proposals at a high level (continuous with best practice in professional research proposals), and initiate, develop and complete substantial independent projects
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5.c. Explanation of the choice of Programme Learning Outcomes
Please explain your rationale for choosing these PLOs in a statement that can be used for students (such as in a student handbook). Please include brief reference to:
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i) ... in what way will these PLOs result in an ambitious, challenging programme which stretches the students?
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In common with many disciplines in the humanities, Philosophy has
a helical structure which involves repeatedly revisiting core concerns,
features and demands of its own practice. This is done as a means of
continually improving the student’s grasp of and proficiency with these core
concerns, features, and demands. As a consequence of this, a Philosophy MA is
best able to stretch its student’s core philosophical capabilities simply
through setting progressively harder material, and expecting progressively more
fine-grained and complex appreciation of and engagement with that material.
That is the progression we see across our three-year BA, and that is taken
further in the MA, with a heightening both in material difficulty and the
demands of assessment.
       
On top of this, the MA also stretches the student’s philosophical abilities outside of conventional
essay-writing and exam tasks, through the compulsory dissertation (which
comprises a number of skills modules), the compulsory conference at which they
must both deliver and chair, and the postgraduate skills module which obligates
them to attend, engage with, and reflect on colloquia. These diversified forms
of assessment stretch their abilities to work independently, to work
collaboratively, to devise and deliver conferences and conference papers,
amongst other skills.



           

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ii) ... in what way will these PLOs produce a programme which is distinctive and advantageous to the student?
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Our MA has a distinctive structure as it gives equal focus to the deepening of philosophical
aptitude described above and to development of core transferable skills which
are equally applicable in further study and the world of work outside of
academia. Students are challenged to work and be assessed collaboratively (a
common feature of the world of work), to deliver convincing presentations in a
conference setting (crucial to flourishing in most academic and non-academic
posts), to produce proposals of a kind suitable to submit to funding bodies
(crucial to flourishing in most academic and non-academic posts), and are
spurred to continuously reflect on their own practices, and on best practice
more generally.
           
 This is jointly beneficial and distinctive. Our MA produces well-rounded students who are not merely able to produce good
essays, but who are already gaining experience in the skills and practices
common both to the research community in Philosophy, and also to professional
practices outside of academia. This helps prepare the student for exit from
further study should they so desire, and also helps build skills and confidence
in areas which will soon become crucial if they seek to achieve a doctorate and
academic employment. The compulsory dissertation, likewise, is not merely a
long essay, but a structured task which runs across the year and develops them
as independent workers, further strengthens their ability to write proposals,
and tests their independent work ethic as they complete the task across the
summer.




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iii) ... how the design of the programme enables students from diverse entry routes to transition successfully into the programme? For example, how does the organisation of the programme ensure solid foundations in disciplinary knowledge and understanding of conventions, language skills, mathematics and statistics skills, writing skills, lab skills, academic integrity
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Any applicant admitted onto the programme will have been judged to have sufficient prior experience and
competence in Philosophy to study at a post-graduate level. This will include
students from a variety of degree programmes, with a variety of interests and
prior training. In the course of the programme, students will receive
consistent supervisory contact and skills provision, designed to help them
achieve the best possible learning outcomes on the course, and to ensure that
they feel as welcome as possible in the department, and its broader
philosophical culture. The programme itself – with its emphasis on attendance
at colloquia, independent project-work, and strongly structured networks of
academic support throughout the year – is designed to further strengthen the
independence, research skills, and critical tools of students. As a
consequence, students from all entry routes will be provided with consistent,
constant and responsive support in transitioning into, and flourishing on, our
programme.
Students will also – through supervision -  receive discussion and support in arriving at a clear
conception of how they intend to use the skills the programme will develop in
the next step of their career, whether within or outside the academy. Skills
sessions and advice will be provided concerning the former, and our strong
links with the Careers service will be used in connection with the latter.



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The MA has a core module which provides skills training for the first two terms, called "Postgraduate Research Skills". This covers core professional skills in assessing and responding to research (through attending and collaboratively discussing colloquia), as well as featuring skills sessions delivered by various centres in the University. (For example, a representative of the Writing Centre delivers one of the sessions). There is also an on-line component which brings students up to speed on plagiarism rules, use of research repositories, and so on. There is also a core module called 'Dissertation Preparation' which provides skills training and assistance with arriving at the dissertation proposal for the first two-terms, and hands-on supervision for the dissertation in the third term. This prepares students to complete their dissertation to a high standard.
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v) ... how this programme (as outlined in these PLOs) will develop students’ digital literacy skills and how technology-enhanced learning will be used to support active student learning through peer/tutor interaction, collaboration and formative (self) assessment opportunities (reference could be made to such as blogging, flipped classrooms, response 'clickers' in lectures, simulations, etc).
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A mixture of electronic resources are used on the MA. Again, the "Postgraduate Research Skills" module features a heavy on-line component, which delivers training through on-line testing and the use of on-line resources, including links to external web-sites. The modules which MA comprises make varying use of our Virtual Learning Environment, some offering online forums, and all offering their key resources in electronic format.
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vi) ... how this programme (as outlined in these PLOs) will support and enhance the students’ employability (for example, opportunities for students to apply their learning in a real world setting)?
The programme's employability objectives should be informed by the University's Employability Strategy:
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http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-admin/careers/staff/
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The MA is designed to visibly and effectively develop a number of transferable skills which are desirable to
employers. The "Dissemination Practice" module tasks them with
collaboratively organizing a research conference, as well as producing a
collaboratively authored report. The "MA Preparation" module trains
students to effectively construct project proposals, in a way designed to be
continuous with best practice in applying to funding bodies. Independent work
is developed through the MA Dissertation. The "Postgraduate Research
Skills" module has a number of bespoke skills sessions, concerning writing
quality, use of reliable online research repositories, and referencing, among
other topics.  
Our most recent final score for positive destinations in Philosophy (15/16) showed a 75% rate of positive
destination (moving forward to either a professional job or further
graduate-level study), against a sector average of 71% for Philosophy
post-graduates across all institutions, and 72.4% across Philosophy
post-graduates across the Russell group.



 
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viii) ... how learning and teaching on the programme are informed and led by research in the department/ Centre/ University?
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The MA is partly comprised of modules which are 3rd year UG module teaching complemented by an M-level assessment. Our 3rd year UG provision is entirely research led. Outside of the MA modules which make use of UG 3rd year teaching (the "option" modules), the two core modules "Topics in Practical Philosophy" and "Topics in Theoretical Philosophy" are also research-led, the contents of these modules being determined year-on-year by the research interests of those who deliver them. The "Postgraduate Research Skills" module largely constitutes the attendance and participation in department colloquia, which are of course led by up-to-date research.Finally, the Dissertation preparation includes supervision in the third term on the student's dissertation proper, which is given by academics working in the same research area; here again, teaching is research-led.
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5.d. Progression
For masters programmes where students do not incrementally 'progress' on the completion of a discrete Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma, please summarise students’ progressive development towards the achievement of the PLOs, in terms of the characteristics that you expect students to demonstrate at the end of the set of modules or part thereof. This summary may be particularly helpful to students and the programme team where there is a high proportion of option modules and in circumstances where students registered on a higher award will exit early with a lower one.

Note: it is not expected that a position statement is written for each masters PLO, but this can be done if preferred.
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On completion of modules sufficient to obtain a Postgraduate Certificate students will be able to:
If the PG Cert is an exit award only please provide information about how students will have progressed towards the diploma/masters PLOs. Please include detail of the module diet that students will have to have completed to gain this qualification as an exit award.
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A postgraduate certificate can be attained as an exit award when a student has achieved at least 60 credits at or above a pass-mark level, from the completion of any combination of modules.
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On completion of modules sufficient to obtain a Postgraduate Diploma students will be able to:
If the PG Diploma is an exit award only please provide information about how students will have progressed towards the masters PLOs. Please include detail of the module diet that students will have to have completed to gain this qualification as an exit award.
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A post-graduate diploma can be attained as an exit award when a student has achieved at least 120 credits at or above a pass-mark level, from the completion of any combination of modules.
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6. Reference points and programme regulations
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6.a. Relevant Quality Assurance Agency benchmark statement(s) and other relevant external reference points
Please state relevant reference points consulted (e.g. Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, National Occupational Standards, Subject Benchmark Statements or the requirements of PSRBs): See also Taught Postgraduate Modular Scheme: Framework for Programme Design:
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https://www.york.ac.uk/media/staffhome/learningandteaching/documents/programmedevelopment/Framework%20for%20Programme%20Design%20-%20PG.pdf
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http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/Masters-Degree-Characteristics-15.pdf
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http://www.qaa.ac.uk/assuring-standards-and-quality/the-quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements
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http://www.qaa.ac.uk/publications/information-and-guidance/publication?PubID=2843#.VthM1fmLS70
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6.b. University award regulations
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The University’s award and assessment regulations apply to all programmes: any exceptions that relate to this programme are approved by University Teaching Committee and are recorded at the end of this document.
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7. Programme Structure
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7.a. Module Structure and Summative Assessment Map
Please complete the summary table below which shows the module structure and the pattern of summative assessment through the programme.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
If the structure of your programme does not fit the usual academic year (for instance students start at the beginning of September or in January) please contact your Academic Quality Team contact in the Academic Support Office for guidance on how to represent the structure in an alternative format.

To clearly present the overall programme structure, include the name and details of each individual CORE module in the rows below. For OPTION modules, ‘Option module’ or 'Option from list x' should be used in place of specifically including all named options. If the programme requires students to select option modules from specific lists by term of delivery or subject theme these lists should be provided in the next section (7.b).

From the drop-down select 'S' to indicate the start of the module, 'A' to indicate the timing of each distinct summative assessment point (eg. essay submission/ exam), and 'E' to indicate the end of teaching delivery for the module (if the end of the module coincides with the summative assessment select 'EA'). It is not expected that each summative task will be listed where an overall module might be assessed cumulatively (for example weekly problem sheets).

Summative assessment by exams should normally be scheduled in the spring week 1 and summer Common Assessment period (weeks 5-7). Where the summer CAP is used, a single ‘A’ can be used within the shaded cells as it is understood that you will not know in which week of the CAP the examination will take place. (NB: An additional resit assessment week is provided in week 10 of the summer term for postgraduate students. See Guide to Assessment, 5.4.a)
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http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-admin/registry-services/guide/
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Full time structure
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CreditsModuleAutumn TermSpring Term Summer Term Summer Vacation
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CodeTitle12345678910123456789101234567891012345678910111213
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20PHI00020MTopics in Theoretical PhilosophySAEA
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20PHI00019MTopics in Practical PhilosophySAEAA
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10PHI00008MPostgraduate Research SkillsSEAA
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20PHI00022MDissertation PreparationSAAAE
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10PHI00023MDissemination PracticeSAAEAE
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60PHI00017MDissertationSEA
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20Option Module (List A)SEA
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20Option Module (List B)SEA
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Full-time Route: Please indicate when any Progression Board and Exam board will be held and when any reassessments will be submitted. NB: You are required to provide at least three weeks notice to students of the need for them to resubmit any required assessments, in accordance with the Guide to Assessment section 4.9
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Progression BoardSummer Term & Week 10
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Reassessment
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Exam BoardAutumn Term & Week 1
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Part time structures
Please indicate the modules undertaken in each year of the part-time version of the programme. Please use the text box below should any further explanation be required regarding structure of part-time study routes.
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Year 1 (if you offer the programme part-time over either 2 or 3 years, use the toggles to the left to show the hidden rows)
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CreditsModuleAutumn TermSpring Term Summer Term Summer Vacation
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CodeTitle12345678910123456789101234567891012345678910111213
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20PHI00020MTopics in Theoretical PhilosophySAEA