Program Overview

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For our MPhil in Philosophy, we offer supervision in a wide range of fields including: continental philosophy, history of philosophy, social and political philosophy, and medical humanities. We have an established international reputation and a strong tradition of postgraduate education, particularly in the specialist area of continental philosophy and - more recently - in the middle-ground between continental and analytic philosophy. Moral and political philosophy is another notable area of research concentration. We are also very active in the emerging field of medical humanities. We also offer a PhD and a Masters by dissertation in this subject. Please note that part-time research study is also available. Why we're great.

• We are renowned for our combination of Continental and Anglo-American philosophy.
• We are 7th in the UK for research impact in philosophy (Grade Point Average, REF2021)
• The School is also home to both the Essex Autonomy Project and the Ethics of Powerlessness, major interdisciplinary projects funded by the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council), which aim to investigate the role of autonomous judgement and conditions of powerlessness in many aspects of human life.

Our expert staff

PGR students are allocated a supervisor whose role is to guide the student through the different stages of the research degree. In some cases, students may have joint supervision by two members of staff. Initially, supervisors help with the development of the research topic and plan. Students have regular one-to-one meetings to discuss progress on research. Our open-minded and enthusiastic staff are known for our unique combination of Anglo-American and European philosophy, and as a leading centre for critical theory, phenomenology, German idealism and medical humanities. Some recent projects and publications include:

• Timo Jütten’s major new Leverhulme-funded research project, Competition and Competitiveness
• Irene ene McMullin’s Existential Flourishing: A Phenomenology of the Virtues (Cambridge, 2018)
• Steve Gormley’s Deliberative Theory and Deconstruction: A Democratic Venture (Edinburgh, 2020)

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Specialist facilities

By studying in the School of Philosophy and Art History , you will have access to a range of outstanding facilities to aid your learning and research. We have a large well-equipped room for use by our research students. There are desks and computers, a sprinter/fax machine and some comfortable seating, so our students use this room for meetings and reading groups, as well as private study. There are two additional rooms with desks and chairs for the use of research students, including one which overlooks a quiet courtyard.

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Your future

Many of our graduates have progressed successfully to further research and an academic career. Philosophers with a PhD from Essex now teach at many UK universities, including Warwick, Oxford, Sussex, Reading, Bolton, Manchester Metropolitan, and Keele, and also at numerous institutions abroad (such as University College Dublin, the University of Malta, and Grand Valley State University, USA). Our other Philosophy graduates have gone into careers in law, the media, local administration, HM Revenue and Customs, and top jobs in the Civil Service.