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Philosophy and Politics

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,A

Required subjects: A Levels: no specific A Level subjects required. GCSEs: English at C or 4.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

36-37

37 points with 666 at HL - 36 points with 665 at HL. Required subjects: HL: no specific subjects required. SL: English at 5.

Scottish Higher

A,A,A,A

AAAA (achievement by end of S5 preferred). BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6. Required subjects: Highers: no specific Higher subjects required. National 5s: English at C.

UCAS Tariff

132-144

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**

Philosophy has been at the core of Western intellectual life for at least 2,500 years. It is central to our understanding of the world, our place in it and our interaction with it.

Philosophy provides the tools by which the presuppositions of all areas of intellectual and practical activity may be systematically and critically examined.

While there are different approaches that philosophers have taken, the study of philosophy emphasises the use of:

* argument

* critical enquiry

* rigour in reasoning

* clarity of expression, including the making of pertinent distinctions

**Philosophy at Edinburgh**

The University has a strong historic connection to the subject, counting Adam Ferguson and Sir William Hamilton among its former students.

Edinburgh has one of the UK's largest philosophy departments and the Philosophy Society attracts high-profile speakers.

Our programme is structured in such a way that you will cover the basics of Western philosophy. Later in the degree, you will have the opportunity to select from a wide variety of courses from Philosophy of Well-Being to Feminism.

**Politics**

Politics studies the theory and practice of how societies are governed. It asks questions such as:

* How do our political institutions create collective rules, who has the power to make them, and what are the consequences of political decisions?

* What is the nature of a just society, and how do we get there?

Drawing on the expertise of leading academics and researchers in the field, you will explore the origins and present-day contexts of societal conflicts about power, participation, and resources.

You will not only study the processes of governance at the local, national, and international levels, but also the morality of political action, and the limits of freedom and justice.

**Studying Philosophy and Politics**

This joint programme allows you to gain in-depth knowledge in both subject areas, and the opportunity to specialise in the topics that interest you most.

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
£26,500
per year
International
£26,500
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:

Central area campus

Department:

School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences

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.

78%
Philosophy
64%
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

88%
Staff make the subject interesting
91%
Staff are good at explaining things
88%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
48%
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

76%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
81%
Course specific equipment and facilities
76%
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?

73%
UK students
27%
International students
47%
Male students
53%
Female students
88%
2:1 or above
7%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A*

Politics

Teaching and learning

81%
Staff make the subject interesting
83%
Staff are good at explaining things
74%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
60%
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

71%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
83%
Course specific equipment and facilities
47%
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?

61%
UK students
39%
International students
37%
Male students
63%
Female students
92%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

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.

£19,500
med
Average annual salary
93%
med
Employed or in further education
65%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
12%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
10%
Business, research and administrative professionals

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.

£24,000
high
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
69%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Business, research and administrative professionals
10%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
7%
Other elementary services occupations

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.

Philosophy

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

£24k

£24k

£27k

£27k

£30k

£30k

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.

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.

£23k

£23k

£31k

£31k

£33k

£33k

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
University of Aberdeen | Aberdeen
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MA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-152
Lower entry requirements
University of Aberdeen | Aberdeen
Philosophy, Politics and Economics
MA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 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:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (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