Subject overview
Philosophy at Sussex was ranked in the top 10 in the UK in The Times Good University Guide 2013 and in the top 30 in the UK in The Complete University Guide 2014.
Philosophy at Sussex also achieved a strong result in the 2008 Research Assessment exercise (RAE), placing it 18th in the subject nationally. It is one of only nine philosophy departments in the UK to have 100 per cent of its research activity rated as world leading, internationally excellent or internationally
recognised.
The Department is notable for encouraging a wide range of approaches to philosophical issues, allowing you to specialise in either the analytic or continental traditions, or to combine both.
Our faculty have a wide variety of research interests, with strengths in various traditions of European and analytic philosophy including aesthetics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, Kant, Hegel, German Idealism, Marx, critical theory, phenomenology, ancient philosophy, Indian philosophy, and social and political philosophy.
Academic activities
Postgraduate students attend regular reading and work-in-progress seminars, giving them the opportunity to discuss their own ideas and work with peers and faculty. There is also a weekly Philosophy Society meeting, showcasing current research both by Sussex philosophers and by internationally recognised philosophers from around the world.
Programmes
- PhD in Philosophy
- MPhil in Philosophy
The unique make-up of our Department allows for the supervision of a wide range of MPhil and PhD dissertation topics from within both the Anglo-American analytic tradition and the post-Kantian continental tradition, as well as on historical figures.
Possible supervision topics include Adorno, aesthetics, Aristotle, content, counterfactuals, Davidson, descriptions, ethical theory, externalism, fiction, film, forgiveness, Frege, German Idealism, Habermas, Hegel, Heidegger, Husserl, identity, imagination, Indian philosophy, justification, Kant, knowledge, Kripke, Levinas, Lewis, literature and philosophy, McDowell, Marx, mental causation, Merleau-Ponty, music, Nietzsche, ontology, perception, phenomenology and deconstruction, photography, Plato, poetry, possible worlds, Quine, realism and anti-realism, reference, representation, Russell, Sartre, self-knowledge, singular thought, transcendental arguments, truth, and Wittgenstein.
Recent thesis topics
Adorno and Kant
Consciousness and intrinsic physical properties
Contingent identity
Emotion, cognition and dynamics
Ethics and politics in Plato
Freedom and self-consciousness
Hegel’s theory of subjectivity
Intentionality, error and misrepresentation
Language and meaning in Heidegger
Marx’s philosophy of law
Merleau-Ponty and the sensible
Nietzsche and art
Perfectionism and liberalism
Russell’s theory of descriptions
The nature of the self
Theology in Aristotle’s Metaphysics
Truth and realism
Wittgenstein’s theory of the proposition
Entry requirements
- MPhil in Philosophy
-
UK entrance requirements
A Masters degree in philosophy or a related discipline.
Overseas entrance requirements
Please refer to Overseas qualifications.
English language requirements
IELTS 6.5, with not less than 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in the other sections. Internet TOEFL with 88 overall, with at least 20 in Listening, 20 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.
For more information, refer to English language requirements.
- PhD in Philosophy
-
UK entrance requirements
A Masters degree in philosophy or a related discipline.
Overseas entrance requirements
Please refer to Overseas qualifications.
English language requirements
IELTS 6.5, with not less than 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in the other sections. Internet TOEFL with 88 overall, with at least 20 in Listening, 20 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.
For more information, refer to English language requirements.
Visas and immigration
Find out more about Visas and immigration.
For more information about the admissions process at Sussex
For pre-application enquiries:
Student Recruitment Services
T +44 (0)1273 876787
E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk
For post-application enquiries:
Postgraduate Admissions,
University of Sussex,
Sussex House, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
T +44 (0)1273 877773
F +44 (0)1273 678545
E pg.applicants@sussex.ac.uk
Related subjects
Fees and funding
Fees
- MPhil in Philosophy
-
Home UK/EU students: £3,9001
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £3,9002
Overseas students: £13,00031 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
2 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
3 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
- PhD in Philosophy
-
Home UK/EU students: £3,9001
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £3,9002
Overseas students: £13,00031 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
2 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
3 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
To find out about your fee status, living expenses and other costs, visit further financial information.
Funding
The funding sources listed below are for the subject area you are viewing and may not apply to all degrees listed within it. Please check the description of the individual funding source to make sure it is relevant to your chosen degree.
To find out more about funding and part-time work, visit further financial information.
Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust for Postgraduate Study (2013)
Region: UK
Level: PG (taught), PG (research)
Application deadline: 1 October 2013
The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust are offering bursaries to Postgraduate students following any postgraduate degree courses in any subject.
Faculty interests
Research interests are briefly described below. For more detailed information, visit the Department of Philosophy.
Dr Lucy Allais Kant, transcendental idealism, forgiveness.
Professor Margaret Boden Philosophy of psychology, artificial intelligence.
Dr Andrew Chitty Political and legal philosophy, Hegel, German Idealism, Marx.
Dr Ron Chrisley Philosophy of cognitive science, artificial intelligence, mind, consciousness, representation and computation.
Dr Paul Davies Kant, phenomenology, aesthetics, philosophy and literature, 19th- and 20th-century European philosophy.
Dr Katerina Deligiorgi Kant, Hegel, moral philosophy, ethics and literature, contemporary aesthetics.
Dr Gordon Finlayson German Idealism, 20th-century German philosophy, the Frankfurt School, Adorno, Horkheimer, Habermas.
Professor Jonardon Ganeri Indian Philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of language.
Professor Michael Morris Philosophy of language, metaphysics, aesthetics, Wittgenstein, Plato.
Murali Ramachandran Philosophical logic, metaphysics, philosophy of language, epistemology.
Dr Sarah Sawyer Epistemology, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophy of language.
Dr Tanja Staehler Contemporary European philosophy, German Idealism, Plato, continental aesthetics.
Dr Kathleen Stock The nature of imagination; philosophy of fiction, music and film; aesthetics.
Careers and perspectives
Our graduates have gone on to careers in teaching and tutoring in Higher Education.
For more information, visit Careers and alumni.
School and contacts
School of History, Art History and Philosophy
The School of History, Art History and Philosophy brings together staff and students from some of the University's most vibrant and successful departments, each of which is a locus of world-leading research and outstanding teaching. Our outlook places a premium on intellectual flexibility and the power of the imagination.
Dr Tanja Staehler,
Arts A31,
University of Sussex, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9QN, UK
T +44 (0)1273 873119
E t.staehler@sussex.ac.uk
Department of Philosophy
Discover Postgraduate Study information sessions
You’re welcome to attend one of our Discover Postgraduate Study information sessions. These are held in the spring and summer terms and enable you to find out more about postgraduate study and the opportunities Sussex has to offer.
Visit Discover Postgraduate study to book your place.
Other ways to visit Sussex
We run weekly guided campus tours every Wednesday afternoon, year round. Book a place online at Visit us and Open Days.
You are also welcome to visit the University independently without any pre-arrangement.