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BA Philosophy and Politics

University of Southampton

Institution
University of Southampton
Level
undergraduate
Subject
Philosophy and Politics
Duration
3 years
UCAS code
VL52
Typical offer
A-level ABB, IB 32

Entry requirements

A level: ABB IB: Pass, with 32 points overall with 16 points at Higher Level

About this course

Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Politics, a politics and international relations and philosophy degree examining fundamental questions of governance, ethics, and political theory. Core topics include Research Methods, Ethics & Professional Practice, and Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning. Students complete compulsory study across both disciplines and can choose to undertake an independent dissertation in either philosophy or politics during their final year. The first year covers foundational concepts through Comparative Politics, Engaging Political Ideas, Ethics, Introduction to International Relations, Reason and Argument, and Truth, Knowledge, and Objectivity. The second year continues with specialized core modules including Rationality, Preference, Wellbeing, and Fairness: Concepts in the Philosophy of Politics and Economics and The Struggle for Democracy. Optional modules across the course allow students to explore diverse areas such as Business, Morality, and Markets, Chinese Philosophy, Crime and Punishment, and Political Philosophy. Final-year students may also choose between a Dissertation in Politics & International Relations and a Philosophy Dissertation to complete their studies.

Modules

  • Comparative Politics
  • Engaging Political Ideas
  • Ethics
  • Introduction to International Relations
  • Reason and Argument
  • Truth, Knowledge, and Objectivity
  • A (Dis) United Kingdom? An introduction to British Politics
  • Applied Ethics
  • Faith and Reason
  • Foundations of Modern Politics
  • Freedom and Responsibility
  • Global Dilemmas: Reading Contemporary Politics
  • Philosophy of Race
  • Primary and Secondary Education: Critical Observations
  • Puzzles about Art and Literature
  • Rationality, Preference, Wellbeing, and Fairness: Concepts in the Philosophy of Politics and Economics
  • The Struggle for Democracy
  • AI Utopias and the Climate Crisis
  • Animal Ethics, Animal Minds
  • Children and Human Rights
  • Cognitive Psychology in Education
  • Comparative Party Politics
  • Contemporary Theories of Justice
  • Data, Culture, and Justice
  • Democratic Theory
  • Digital Futures of the Past: Power, Ethics, and Representation
  • Education Policy and Reforms: Global Experiences and Local Contexts
  • Epistemology: Knowledge and Evidence
  • Ethics of Global Poverty
  • Ethics of War
  • European Power and the Geopolitics of Europe and Asia
  • Gender, Power and Politics
  • Global Justice: Poverty, Inequality and the Environment
  • Globalisation and World Politics
  • Green Political Thought: Humans and other stories
  • Humanities and Professional Practice
  • Introduction to Experiments in Social Science
  • Kant’s Copernican Revolution in Philosophy
  • Migration, Borders, Refuge: Political Ethics in an Age of Mobility
  • Mind and World in the History of Philosophy
  • Moral Philosophy
  • Philosophy of Race
  • Philosophy of Religion
  • Political Philosophy
  • Political Thinking
  • Politics and Protest
  • Public Opinion in Action: What we know and how we know it
  • Qualitative Research in Politics & International Relations
  • Reinventing Democracy: Innovation, Participation and Power
  • Self and Agency in the History of Philosophy
  • Self, society, nature, and normativity
  • The Government Lab
  • The Mind, The Brain, and Consciousness
  • Business, Morality, and Markets
  • Children and Human Rights
  • Chinese Politics
  • Classical Chinese Philosophy
  • Classical Indian Philosophy: Self, Knowledge, and Liberation
  • Comparative Party Politics
  • Contemporary Theories of Justice
  • Crime and Punishment
  • Democratic Theory
  • Dissertation in Politics & International Relations
  • Education Policy and Reforms: Global Experiences and Local Contexts
  • European Power and the Geopolitics of Europe and Asia
  • Exploring the Hidden Assumptions in Education
  • Gender, Power and Politics
  • Global Justice: Poverty, Inequality and the Environment
  • Globalisation and World Politics
  • Green Political Thought: Humans and other stories
  • Happiness and Wellbeing
  • Introduction to Experiments in Social Science
  • Islamic Philosophy
  • Migration, Borders, Refuge: Political Ethics in an Age of Mobility
  • Partisans, Public Opinion and Elections: Understanding the Political Mind
  • Philosophical Pessimism
  • Philosophy Dissertation
  • Philosophy and Ethics in Psychology and AI
  • Philosophy of Sex, Sexuality, and Gender
  • Political Philosophy
  • Politics and Protest
  • Public Opinion in Action: What we know and how we know it
  • Reinventing Democracy: Innovation, Participation and Power
  • The Ethics of Belief: Evidence, Truth, and Ideology
  • The Ethics of Climate Change
  • The Government Lab