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Philosophy and Politics

Entry requirements


A level

B,C,C-B,B,B

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

30

30 points overall with 5, 5, 5 at Higher level

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H2,H2,H3,H3

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

A relevant BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma with DDM

Scottish HNC

Pass

A relevant HNC with B in the Graded Unit

Scottish HND

Pass

A relevant HND with BB in the Graded Units

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,C-A,A,B,B

UCAS Tariff

102-120

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Philosophy

Politics

Philosophy explores our existence using critical thinking and argument. If you find yourself thinking about life's big issues and questions, philosophy could be for you.

At Levels 1 and 2 you will receive a grounding in ancient and modern philosophy and be introduced to fundamental ideas concerning ethics, epistemology (the nature of knowledge), and metaphysics (the nature of reality).

You then specialise at Levels 3 and 4 by drawing on a range of philosophy modules taught by lecturers engaging in interdisciplinary research.

You will study existentialism in relation to contemporary culture, technology, and film, and topics in aesthetics and the philosophy of art. You will also be encouraged to make links between philosophy and other subjects, such as politics, literature, film, the environment, psychology, and computer science.

Politics confronts the big issues that affect societies the world over. You’ll get an overview of the British political system as well as examining some of the most complex problems faced by humanity and the ideas that underpin them. The MA degree means you study Politics alongside other subjects from History to Geography, languages to Psychology. At Levels 3 and 4 you will be able to specialise.

Our current teaching includes optional modules on Russian, Irish, and Middle Eastern politics, nations and nationalism, political theories, and on human rights and humanitarian intervention. Topics such as illegal drugs, gender and sexuality, environmental sustainability, and surveillance are also covered.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£21,900
per year
International
£21,900
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£1,820
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Dundee

Department:

School of Humanities Social Sciences and Law

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

83%
Philosophy
75%
Politics

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Philosophy

Teaching and learning

83%
Staff make the subject interesting
83%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
74%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

86%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
71%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

85%
UK students
15%
International students
50%
Male students
50%
Female students
81%
2:1 or above
15%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
B

Politics

Teaching and learning

74%
Staff make the subject interesting
83%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
73%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

79%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
85%
Course specific equipment and facilities
52%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

84%
UK students
16%
International students
43%
Male students
57%
Female students
77%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Philosophy

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£17,420
low
Average annual salary
86%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

20%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
14%
Other elementary services occupations
7%
Other administrative occupations

Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.

Politics

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
low
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
44%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
11%
Teaching and educational professionals
6%
Public services and other associate professionals

The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

Politics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£16k

£16k

£25k

£25k

£28k

£28k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
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UCAS Points: 152-165
Nearby University
The University of Edinburgh | Edinburgh
Philosophy and Politics
MA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 132-144
Same University
University of Dundee | Dundee
History and Politics
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UCAS Points: 104-120

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here