Program Overview

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On our four-year BA Philosophy and Politics (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. This course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three or four years of study, depending on whether you choose to study abroad for a year. During your Year Zero, you study three academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory academic skills module, with additional English language for non-English speakers. You are an Essex student from day one, a member of our global community based at the most internationally diverse campus university in the UK. 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. Some of the most fundamental questions about political life, its principles and ideals, are philosophical in character. Our course brings these disciplines of philosophy and politics together, and provides a sound academic grounding in both. You are given plenty of opportunities to bring the resources of moral and political philosophy to bear on the issues of political life. You study topics including:

• Ethics
• Political philosophy
• European philosophy (including critical theory, phenomenology, and existentialism)
• Concepts in political science: state, laws, wars and political parties
• Obligations, freedom, rights and equality

We are 7th in the UK for research impact in philosophy (Grade Point Average, REF2021). Our Department of Government is one of the most prestigious in Europe, with an outstanding record of teaching, research and publication. Why we're great.

• We equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed at Essex and beyond.
• Guarantee a place on your chosen course upon successful completion of your foundation year.
• Small class sizes allow you to work closely with your teachers and classmates.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond our University campus. We support you extending your education through providing the option of an additional year. The five-year version of our degree allows you to spend the fourth year studying abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three and four-year courses. Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. We have exchange partners in the following areas:

• The United States
• Europe
• Canada
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Latin America
• The Middle East
• Hong Kong
• Japan

If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university

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Our expert staff

We have some of the best teachers across the University in our Essex Pathways Department , all of whom have strong subject backgrounds and are highly skilled in their areas. In our School of Philosophy and Art History our courses are taught by world-class academics. We are 7th in the UK for research impact in philosophy (Grade Point Average, REF2021). Our open-minded and enthusiastic philosophy staff have an exceptionally broad range of research interests, so whatever questions in philosophy catch hold of your imagination, there is certain to be someone you can approach to find out more. Meanwhile some of the biggest names in politics work at Essex, giving you unparalleled access to some of the best minds. Our staff are advising the CIA on counter-terrorism, training politicians and civil servants in democratising countries, and commentating on political events in national and international media. Our politics academic staff work on topics ranging from international conflict and violence to British elections, and from the obligations of the younger generation to why authoritarian leaders welcome natural disasters.

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Specialist facilities

By studying within our Essex Pathways Department for your foundation year, you will have access to all of the facilities that the University of Essex has to offer, as well as those provided by our department to support you:

• We provide computer labs for internet research; classrooms with access to PowerPoint facilities for student presentations; AV facilities for teaching and access to web-based learning materials.
• Our Student Services Hub will support you and provide information for all your needs as a student
• Our social space is stocked with hot magazines and newspapers, and provides an informal setting to meet with your lecturers, tutors and friends.

Take advantage of our other extensive learning resources to assist you in your studies:

• Laboratories of networked computers featuring extensive software for political analysis
• The ESSEXLab provides opportunities for experimental lab research
• Student societies for politics, debating, and Model UN
• An exciting programme of research seminars , reading groups and mini-courses that help you expand your philosophical knowledge beyond what you learn on your course
• Access a variety of philosophy and politics textbooks and journals in the Albert Sloman Library

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Your future

Many employers want graduates with critical thinking skills who can think logically and creatively about practical problems. Our students are in demand from a wide range of employers in a host of occupations, including law, PR, project management, journalism and the media, teaching, librarianship, the Civil Service, banking, the police and fashion design. Our recent graduates have gone on to work for a wide range of high-profile companies. Philosophy develops your transferable skills, providing you with:

• The ability to understand all sides of a dispute objectively and without forming a premature opinion
• The ability to work in a team, taking a collaborative approach to problems
• The ability to interpret dense text and to communicate effectively
• Analytical and problem-solving skills

We also work with the university's Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.