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MA Philosophy & Literature

MA (NFQ Level 9)
Scholarships Available

This course is available through the following application route(s)

Duration:
1 Year
Attendance:
Full Time
Delivery:
On Campus
NFQ Level:
9 (90 credits)
Level:
Graduate Taught
Award:
Master of Arts
Next Intake:
September
Country Specific Entry Requirements:
Visit the UCD Global Undergraduate Entry Requirements webpage.
Other School Leaving Requirements:
See www.ucd.ie/admissions
Curricular information is subject to change.

Duration:
2 Years
Attendance:
Part-Time
Delivery:
On Campus
NFQ Level:
9 (90 credits)
Level:
Graduate Taught
Award:
Master of Arts
Next Intake:
September
Country Specific Entry Requirements:
Visit the UCD Global Undergraduate Entry Requirements webpage.
Other School Leaving Requirements:
See www.ucd.ie/admissions
Curricular information is subject to change.

Apply Now

The MA in Philosophy and Literature interdisciplinary course, delves into the intriguing intersections between philosophy and literature. Explore the essence of texts, the worlds they portray, and the intricate relationships between reader, text, author, and reality.

The MA in Philosophy and Literature will be useful for any job requiring a subtle understanding of debate and disagreement, or requiring close attention to texts, especially in the cultural sector. The programme offer graduates from Philosophy or Literature (English and other literatures) the opportunity to study the many areas of overlap between the disciplines.  The central questions concern the status of the text, the status of the world represented in the text, and the relationship between the reader, the text, the author, and that world.

  • Unique combination of philosophy and literature
  • Close attention from dissertation supervisor
  • Vibrant academic and social community

Our MA in Philosophy and Literature programme is aimed at students who wish to deepen their knowledge of the core areas of philosophy and literature at graduate level.  It is also intended to provide a good foundation of graduate work for students who wish to continue to more advanced graduate research. It aims to provide an integration of literary theory and text-based work with the philosophical implications of the area.  The School of Philosophy encourages our students to be critical philosophical thinkers with the ability to reflect on current philosophical debates, history of philosophical thought and add their own contribution.  We aim to provide a learning environment that fosters collegiality and a pluralistic approach to the main areas of philosophy and encourages students to engage critically with questions.  As the largest teaching and research centre in philosophy in Ireland, the programme benefits from many world-leading figures in philosophy that give invited seminars and conferences throughout the year.  Small group seminars and participation in conferences and workshops are a key element of the programme design.  As such, the programme uses key approaches to teaching such as philosophical debates, critical reflections, essays and paper presentations.

About This Course

  • A deepened appreciation of the significance and value of ideas in and for internationalisation and globalisation
  • A grasp of how to pursue a career in academic life and the acquiring of transferable skills in research and organisation
  • A knowledge of how to write research proposals and attain funding from national and international organisations
  • An awareness of how to compose and structure philosophical writing for peer reviewed journals, book collections and monographs
  • An awareness of how to present and defend philosophical papers in seminars, workshops, conferences and other fora.
  • An enhanced awareness of how to work with texts, organise a thesis and set out extended philosophical arguments clearly and compellingly.
  • An enhanced awareness of the relevance of philosophy to other academic disciplines and to personal, professional and political life.
  • An extensive knowledge of library and online sources that facilitate research, including classical and foreign language sources.
  • Detailed studies of these complementary disciplines (philosophy and literature) and of literary theory through a programme delivered with the Schools of English and Modern European Languages.

Graduates of UCD School of Philosophy have continued to have successful academic careers in Ireland, Europe and the US. Others are prominent playwrights, journalists, human-rights activists, broadcasters, film-makers and musicians. A small number of our graduates continue into PhD programmes both at UCD and abroad.

Below is a list of all modules offered for this degree in the current academic year. Click on the module to discover what you will learn in the module, how you will learn and assessment feedback profile amongst other information.

Incoming Stage 1 undergraduates can usually select an Elective in the Spring Trimester. Most continuing undergraduate students can select up to two Elective modules (10 Credits) per stage. There is also the possibility to take up to 10 extra Elective credits.

Module Type Module   Trimester Credits
Stage 1 Core Modules
 PHIL40410 Philosophy & Literature Autumn  10
Stage 1 Core Modules
 PHIL40030 Dissertation Summer  30
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL40970 Topics in Philosophy of Mind and Cognition Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL41280 Feminist & Gender Theory Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL41320 Topics in Continental Philosophy: Phenomenology, Intersubjectivity & Embodiment Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL41510 Ethics in Public Life: Technology & Human Health Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL41810 Critique, Destruction & Deconstruction Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL41890 Topics in the Philosophy of Language Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL41980 Foundations of Cognitive Science Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL41530 Reading and Research Autumn&Spring&Summer(separate)  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL31230 Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL40250 Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL40420 The Good Society Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL40840 Autonomy as a Philosophical Problem Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL41240 John Henry Newman - Philosophical Perspectives Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL41950 Philosophy of Religion Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL41970 18th Century Moral Philosophy Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)2 of:
Students should select 2 modules from Philosophy Option Group. Students must consult their supervisor before taking PHIL41530 Reading and Research, then contact the School Office to be manually registered. You should not register for this module online.
PHIL42000 Empirical Methods in the Mind Sciences Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - B)3 of:
Students should select 3 modules from the Literature Option Group. Students MUST contact the Programme Co-Ordinator before registering for any module especially those offered by the School of English and Drama (ENG). Students who fail to do so will not be allowed to register for that module.
 ENG40940 Gender and Sexuality in Theory and Representation Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - B)3 of:
Students should select 3 modules from the Literature Option Group. Students MUST contact the Programme Co-Ordinator before registering for any module especially those offered by the School of English and Drama (ENG). Students who fail to do so will not be allowed to register for that module.
 ENG41570 World-Systems,World-Literature Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - B)3 of:
Students should select 3 modules from the Literature Option Group. Students MUST contact the Programme Co-Ordinator before registering for any module especially those offered by the School of English and Drama (ENG). Students who fail to do so will not be allowed to register for that module.
 ENG41840 US Experimental Poetry: Docupoetics and Lyric Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - B)3 of:
Students should select 3 modules from the Literature Option Group. Students MUST contact the Programme Co-Ordinator before registering for any module especially those offered by the School of English and Drama (ENG). Students who fail to do so will not be allowed to register for that module.
 GRC40330 Exploring New Worlds Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - B)3 of:
Students should select 3 modules from the Literature Option Group. Students MUST contact the Programme Co-Ordinator before registering for any module especially those offered by the School of English and Drama (ENG). Students who fail to do so will not be allowed to register for that module.
 IRFL40170 The Narrative Art Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - B)3 of:
Students should select 3 modules from the Literature Option Group. Students MUST contact the Programme Co-Ordinator before registering for any module especially those offered by the School of English and Drama (ENG). Students who fail to do so will not be allowed to register for that module.
 EDF40060 Digital Methods Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - B)3 of:
Students should select 3 modules from the Literature Option Group. Students MUST contact the Programme Co-Ordinator before registering for any module especially those offered by the School of English and Drama (ENG). Students who fail to do so will not be allowed to register for that module.
 ENG41640 Joyce, Ulysses Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - B)3 of:
Students should select 3 modules from the Literature Option Group. Students MUST contact the Programme Co-Ordinator before registering for any module especially those offered by the School of English and Drama (ENG). Students who fail to do so will not be allowed to register for that module.
 ENG41860 Queer Frictions: Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Literature & Culture Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - B)3 of:
Students should select 3 modules from the Literature Option Group. Students MUST contact the Programme Co-Ordinator before registering for any module especially those offered by the School of English and Drama (ENG). Students who fail to do so will not be allowed to register for that module.
 ENG42150 Energy, Modernity, Culture Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - B)3 of:
Students should select 3 modules from the Literature Option Group. Students MUST contact the Programme Co-Ordinator before registering for any module especially those offered by the School of English and Drama (ENG). Students who fail to do so will not be allowed to register for that module.
 HUM40040 Creative Approaches Spring  10

MA Philosophy & Literature (W179) Full Time
EU          fee per year - € 10555
nonEU    fee per year - € 22600

MA Philosophy & Literature (W180) Part Time
EU          fee per year - € 5710
nonEU    fee per year - € 11300

***Fees are subject to change
Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.

  • A BA with a 2:1 or above (a GPA of approx. 3·2) in Philosophy

    or
     
  • A Joint Major BA with a 2:1 in Philosophy and a 2:2 or above in the second subject
  • A Postgraduate Diploma with a 2:1 or above in Philosophy

However, all applications are assessed on a case by case basis, and so students with a 2:2 in Philosophy should also consider applying.

If the undergraduate degree is in literature, you should have at least two courses in literary theory, each with a grade of at least B- (60%). An overall grade of B- (60%) in your undergraduate degree (to be confirmed by a transcript); two academic letters of reference; a sample of philosophical or literary-theoretical writing, such as an undergraduate essay.

Applicants whose first language is not English must also demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 6.5 (no band less than 6.0 in each element), or equivalent.

You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information. Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage.

Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EU) applicants: Yes

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants: No


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General application route(s) for Irish/UK/EU applicants* for International (non-EU) applicants* to MA Philosophy & Literature:

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W179
MA Philosophy & Literature
Master of Arts

Full-Time
Commencing September 2026
Graduate Taught
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W180
MA Philosophy & Literature
Master of Arts

Part-Time
Commencing September 2026
Graduate Taught
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