Undergraduate Program
The Philosophy department specialises in several areas of philosophical research and teaching :
- The history of philosophy: classical Greek philosophy, early modern philosophy including Descartes, Spinoza, modern philosophy including Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, the phenomenological tradition, the analytic tradition, and Wittgenstein.
- Logic, epistemology and metaphysics: philosophical logic, philosophy of mathematics, pragmatism.
- Philosophy of the physical sciences: time and the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics.
- Philosophy of mind: Cognitive science and the philosophy of psychology.
- Moral, social and political philosophy: history of political throught, contemporary normative political philosophy, feminist theory, theories of modernity, critical theory.
The Department also offers a challenging fourth year Honours program after the pass degree has been completed. The central aim of the Honours year is the completion of a research thesis; seminars are also undertaken to complement the research project. Interested students should look at the Honours pages for further details.
How do I start studying Philosophy?
In the first year of your degree, enrol in Philosophy Junior units. These units all have a code that begins with PHIL1, and are sometimes called 1000 level units. There is no assumed knowledge in these units - students come as they are. Generally speaking, you sit one Junior unit of Philosophy in each semester of your first year if you wish to continue on to completing Honours, a Major or any Senior level units in Philosophy.
What happens after first year?
This depends on a lot of factors, including which degree you are sitting and under which Degree Resolutions you entered. It has been made more complex by the recent changes to Units of Study that have made them all six-credit point subjects.
For best advice, we recommend you contact the
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
E:
T: +612 9351 3129
In person at the Faculty Office,
Level 2, Lobby H,
Quadrangle Building A14.