University of Reading, Department of Philosophy

Información

Philosophy involves a critical examination of our most fundamental beliefs about truth and reality, right and wrong. It challenges many of our assumptions about what we know and how we should live. It is a discipline concerned with how different views of the world clash or fit together, and with how far different perspectives (moral, scientific, religious, metaphysical, personal) may be reconciled.

We have an energetic and expanding programme of teaching and research. The atmosphere is friendly and informal, with plenty of scope for you to select a package of modules that suit your individual philosophical interests. The expertise of the members of staff covers all the major divisions of philosophy, and provides an attractive range of special options. There is a flourishing Philosophy Society at which undergraduates and graduates meet regularly to hear visiting speakers and discuss a wide range of philosophical topics.

The Philosophy Department is part of the thriving Faculty of Arts and Humanities, which has a strong interdisciplinary tradition and attracts large numbers of undergraduate and graduate students from the UK and overseas. We are also part of the School of Humanities, comprising of Classics, History, History of Art and Philosophy, one of the largest school within the University.

We are a lively and productive centre of research with an international reputation for excellence. The most recent Subject Review gave us a perfect score of 24 for the quality of our teaching. The latest Research Assessment Exercise awarded us a 5 rating for the quality of our research, recognising our international reputation. The well-known Leiter Report on graduate programmes in Philosophy rated the Philosophy Department at Reading as one of the top ten in the UK, comparable to Carnegie-Mellon, Georgetown, and the University of Virginia.

Our department is well known for our friendly and co-operative atmosphere, in which students and staff get to know each other on an individual basis.