Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy
Philosophy starts with wonderment. Philosophers are prone to asking critical questions about humankind, the world and society, in order to shed a light on these issues by looking at them from all the relevant angles. Not satisfied with simple answers, philosophers will always insist on the quality of argumentation. In their search for answers, they delve deep for underlying motives and rational explanations.
What
Philosophy starts with wonderment. Philosophers are prone to asking critical questions about humankind, the world and society, in order to shed a light on these issues by looking at them from all the relevant angles. When can we say that we actually know something? Are all value judgements always subjective? Not satisfied with simple answers, philosophers will always insist on the quality of argumentation. In their search for answers, they delve deep for underlying motives and rational explanations. A philosopher’s search has no fixed end point and yields no definitive answers. In this rational search for fundamental insights many great philosophers have of course preceded you. For that reason, our Philosophy programme comprises a thorough historical study of philosophical texts since antiquity. You will learn to position yourself vis-à-vis that tradition. You will also learn to consider contemporary issues from an ethical, epistemological (i.e. the theory of knowledge), and other philosophical disciplines. For this, you will be able to call on a solid foundation in logics. Philosophy students study the history of philosophy, the legacy of important thinkers from history, and the specialist literature on these matters. The historical perspective, however, will always be at the service of the critical, autonomous approach to contemporary issues. This historical and systematic baggage will enable you to contribute to contemporary and socially critical debates.
For whom
Have you always been a deep thinker? Are you undaunted by questions that others would rather give a wide berth, or would only deal with very shallowly? Do you refuse to have your reason curtailed by convention or bypassed by ‘easy ways out’? If the answer to these questions is a resounding ‘yes’, Philosophy - mother of all sciences - is something you might want to consider. What are the possibilities and limitations of reason? Why is there ‘something’ instead of ‘nothing’ - what is it, and how? What are humans? And how free are we, really? This is the type of questions you will be dealing with in the Philosophy programme, although without any of the ready-made answers.
Structure
- Bachelor
We offer a three-year Bachelor’s programme, which combines a broad, general training with gradual specialisation. The first year offers a broad introduction to the Humanities. Together with students from other study programmes, you will take on a number of general introductory course units in literature, and psychology, among others. Four main modules contain the curriculum’s programme-specific course units: Logic, Knowledge and Science; Man, Ethics and Aesthetics; History and Text; and Skills and Methodology. From the second year onwards, the curriculum works towards a more in-depth and specific study of one of the main modules. The focus broadens to include more practical applications of philosophical insights and to textual studies. This in-depth study and specialisation continues in the third year. Staggered over the second and the third year, you take on a number of ECTS credits of a minor of your choice, i.e. a coherent set of course units from one or more other discipline(s). The choice of minors offers an indispensable acquaintance with other disciplines. In some cases, it even facilitates a transition to another Master's programme. In the course of the three-year Bachelor’s curriculum you will also take on methodology course units, in which you will acquaint yourself with general and philosophy-specific research skills such as researching and assessing information, formulating research questions and critically reading texts relevant to your research question, elaborating and presenting your findings orally and in writing. In the third year, the skills that you have acquired throughout the Bachelor’s programme culminate in a Bachelor’s dissertation, an independent research assignment you conduct under the guidance of a supervisor.
- Master
The Master’s programme contains the actual discipline-specific expertise through a choice of Philosophy electives that are for a large part based on ongoing doctoral research in our Department. These are best chosen in line with your Master’s dissertation topic. There is also room for a number of non-philosophical course units. Distinguished students of Philosophy or Moral Studies can also choose apply for the two-year interuniversity Philosophy Research Programme.
In addition to the (domain) Master’s programme described above, you can also choose a Master’s Programme in Teaching (in Dutch: Educatieve Master) (120 ECTS-credits).
Labour Market
Our programme usually does not lead to a fixed or rigid career path. Career opportunities that are directly in line with the programme are all situated in the academic research and/or education sectors. Research has shown that our graduates also end up in cultural, sociocultural, ideological and other organisations, and even in less obvious sectors such as government services, journalism, librarianship or in the business world.
Take a look at our website for a list of specific professions www.philosophy.ugent.be (in Dutch).
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- Multiperspectivism: we train students to reflect critically on a wide range of problems to which classical human, social and natural sciences research methods do not provide an answer. That reflection can take on as many forms as the problems that require reflection. We do not offer our students ready-made answers, but help them to develop a philosophical toolbox with which they can set out themselves.
- Social involvement: philosophy in society is omnipresent. Our students learn to think about current problems in a nuanced way and we challenge them to take on reasoned positions on those problems. We teach them to deal with a diversity of values and presuppositions and require of them to go beyond the boundaries of their own discipline (philosophy) by taking on a minor in another discipline. In so doing, we prepare our students to function in an interdisciplinary context.
- Talent development: an important part of the philosopher’s toolbox consists of argumentation and communication skills. Throughout the programme we train our students in analysing and formulating arguments. Numerous and diverse writing assignments play an important role in this. In addition, our students learn to give oral presentations and to debate and collaborate in a constructive way. By writing a Bachelor's and a Master's dissertation, our students prove that they are capable of conducting independent research on complex philosophical questions.
- Research-based: throughout the study programme, our students gain insight into important concepts and theories from various sub-domains of philosophy (such as ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, philosophy of science, logic, metaphysics, political philosophy, etc.), and learn to use these concepts in an adequate manner. Along the way we also pay attention to different styles of philosophizing. In addition, we focus on the history of philosophical thought. By asking our students to read a large number of historical texts, we train them in complex text interpretation, and confront them first-hand with the richness of the philosophical tradition.
- Upon graduation: Philosophy graduates are capable of sharp and clear-cut problem analysis. They are not afraid to think in abstract terms and can apply this to concrete situations. They quickly see the strengths and weaknesses of proposed arguments. They can integrate information of different kinds in a creative manner. They readily adopt other ways of thinking, and understand the importance of presuppositions in the confrontation between different perspectives. They have strong written and oral communication skills when it comes to complex problems.
Strengths
- Dare to think differently: our programme feedback shows that students appreciate our multiperspectivistic approach. In the words of one student, looking at things from different angles becomes a habit in daily life that allows for a better assessment and articulation of complex situations.
- Dare to think in an original and innovative way: our lecturers’ research output is high and internationally oriented. This contributes to a teaching practice that is strongly research-based. Our students also appreciate the wide range of acquired (research) competencies.
- Dare to think independently and critically: our students appreciate that we encourage independent and critical thinking. In the words of one student, our study programme stimulates the critical capacity to keep asking questions. In so doing, it focuses on "nothing less than our university’s 'credo' (...) 'dare to think'".
- Dare to think together: our students appreciate our lecturers’ approachability, professionalism, didactic qualities and expertise. Contact between lecturers and students is low-threshold.
- Dare to question yourself: Ghent University’s Education Quality Board (EQB) is highly appreciative of our self-critical attitude. It concluded that “the study programme is clearly able to detect weaknesses and remedy them accordingly.”
Challenges
- We are working on strengthening our alumni contacts and our contacts with the broader professional field. In so doing, we want to introduce a structural external perspective on the organisation and content of our study programme.
- We will highlight the international dimension of our study programme by investing in study abroad initiatives.
- Our graduates possess various assets when they enter the labour market. However, we want to offer them better guidance still in order to extrapolate the abstract skills inherent to the study of philosophy to the varying specific contexts in which they may be relevant.
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This information was last updated on 01/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.