Overview
The skills and knowledge you gain from studying philosophy will make you a better student in other subjects; they will also be invaluable in a wide variety of occupations because philosophy focuses less on what you believe, and more on the quality of your reasons for believing it.
Why study Philosophy at University of Otago?
- Philosophy provides a toolkit to critically engage with difficult and important questions. It seems that some actions are right and others are wrong, but it's difficult to explain if this is because one produces better outcomes or the other respects humanity.
- It seems that some scientific claims are almost certainly true, but a crucial element of the success of science is its willingness to revise its claims in light of new evidence.
- It seems that there is little more to our brains than complex neural networks, but how do these networks generate intense feelings?
Programme Structure
Curriculum:
- The Philosophy programme has a friendly and open atmosphere in which staff and postgraduate students regularly socialise. We are an active community – a steady stream of visitors from across New Zealand and from overseas attend our weekly seminar programme, providing students with the opportunity to meet and attend seminars given by a wide range of leading philosophers. Our undergraduate Philosophy Club meets monthly for pizza and philosophical discussion.
Admission requirements
Academic requirements
We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.
English requirements
TOEFL iBT is accepted by more than 13,000 universities and other institutions in over 160 countries. The test can be taken at a test center or at home. The test measures your English-language abilities in an academic setting. The score refers to the total score of 4 subjects (writing, listening, speaking, and reading), each subject has a range of 0 - 30.
OR
90
Other requirements
General requirements
- a Bachelor's degree with first or upper second class Honours (with an average grade in Honours papers at or equivalent to at least B+ at the University of Otago) or equivalent (including a research component with an average grade at or equivalent to at least B+ at the University of Otago); or
- a Master's degree (with an average grade at or equivalent to at least B+ at the University of Otago) (including an appropriate research component worth at least a quarter of a year's workload (0.25 EFTS), with a grade at or equivalent to at least B+ at the University of Otago); or
- appropriate research experience; and
- for candidates including a nominated creative component for assessment, demonstrated advanced training or experience in a relevant creative practice.