University of Sheffield
UCAS Code: VV56 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
Award of Access to HE Diploma in either Law, Business Management, Humanities or Social Sciences, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 30 at Distinction and 15 at Merit
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
+ B at A Level
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Higher
Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (last awarded Summer 2024)
+ AB at A Level
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
In this broad, interdisciplinary degree, you will study the momentous questions in philosophy, religion, and ethics that matter most to you. From the value of religious faith and practices to the ethics of climate change or euthanasia, you'll learn to develop and defend your own critical perspectives within the context of global events.
**Sex and science, god and mind, logic and the value of life itself – acquire the tools and the ability you need to consider the biggest questions humanity has ever asked.**
A degree in philosophy, religion and ethics will see you exploring topics ranging from the value of religious faith, to the ethics of climate change and euthanasia. Develop and defend your own critical perspectives within the context of global events.
You'll study modules across all three subjects, each taught by expert researchers. As you can imagine, there’s plenty of course content to explore, and we advise you on the best way to structure your options. In year three, you'll have the opportunity to write a dissertation, working closely with a member of academic staff to focus on an area that excites you.
As a graduate, you’ll come away with an understanding of radically different perspectives. You’ll be able to summarise, write and speak about complex ideas clearly and concisely. And you’ll be able to draw on your experience applying philosophical knowledge through critical analysis and/or community engagement.
**Why study this course?**
- **Top 100 in the world for Philosophy QS World Rankings 2023** - learn from world-leading staff, teaching an exceptionally diverse range of modules.
- **World-leading institute for Bible research** - the Sheffield Centre for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies is known around the world for its work on translations of religious texts and the influence of involuntary migration on religion.
- **Take on the big issues** - work with the Centre for Engaged Philosophy, researching areas of fundamental political and social importance, from criminal justice and social inclusion to climate ethics.
- **Outside lectures** - join our award-winning, student-led volunteering project Philosophy in the City and introduce school children to philosophical ideas they can apply to everyday life.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Sheffield
School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities (Philosophy)
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.
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
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Theology and religious studies
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
Theology and religious studies
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.
Top job areas of graduates
Theology can actually be a very vocational subject —by far the most common move for theology graduates is to go into the clergy and at the moment we have a serious shortage of people willing to go into what is one of the oldest graduate careers. If you want to study theology but don't want to follow a religious career, then there are plenty of options available. 2015 graduates went into all sorts of jobs requiring a degree, from education and community work, to marketing, HR and financial analysis. Postgraduate study is also popular — a lot of theology graduates train as teachers, or go into Masters or even doctoral study - where philosophy and law are very popular postgraduate subjects of study.
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.
£19k
£23k
£29k
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.
Theology and religious studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£23k
£29k
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.
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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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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?
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