|
This is a new Masters programme in philosophy, presently unique to Aberdeen and the Northern Institute of Philosophy (NIP). It is principally designed for able graduates with a reasonably broad undergraduate philosophical experience who wish to begin to acquire the specialised skills needed for independent research in philosophy prior to application to PhD programmes and/or without having to commit from the outset to the time and resourcing involved in undertaking a PhD. The programme will include elements of conventional Masters coursework but will involve a much greater explicit emphasis on research skills and practices than is normal in Masters courses in philosophy. These will be developed ‘hands on’ via participation in the collaborative research activities of the Northern Institute and the supervised pursuit of small research projects of one’s choosing. In addition, each NIP MLitt student will be given the opportunity to undertake a four-week study visit to one of our European partner institutions.
The Aims and Scope of the Training
Besides those directly demanded by philosophical thought itself, there are a variety of intellectual and operational skills involved in effective research in philosophy and its communication. Some, like logic, set theory and probability theory, are technical and are demanded especially of those who wish to work in the philosophies of logic, language, mathematics, science, metaphysics and certain aspects of epistemology and ethics. The MLitt will involve dedicated philosopher-friendly training in these skills. Other forms of know-how are purely philosophical: they include analysis of the specific research questions raised by a broad problem and their interrelations and dependences, the orchestration of a progressive order of approach to them, the search for and organisation of relevant sources, the ability to identify parallels in issues in different areas of philosophy and to know when and how to profit from collateral investigation of them, the development of presentational skills to enable one to secure the most effective feedback on one’s work, and the ability to write up in ways that maximise the accessibility and impact of one’s ideas. And increasingly, in the current economic milieu, philosophers need to be able to explain the interest of their work to non-specialist constituencies.
All these aspects will be covered within the training of candidates for the MLitt, who will experience all facets of best research practice in philosophy. An important part of this experience will be the active mentored participation within the research activities of the Institute, as well as taking part in its programmes of knowledge-transfer and wider communication.
NIP MLitt students will be given the opportunity to be an official visitor at one of our partner institutions for a four-week period. Our partner institutions for 2013 are the University of Barcelona, the University of Neuchatel, the University of Geneva, the University of Stockholm and the University of Modena. Visiting students will be encouraged to identify a member of faculty at the visiting institution with whom they could discuss their dissertation. NIP will cover the costs of air travel to the institution and the receiving institution will help students to find suitable accommodation for the duration of their visit.
NIP MLitt students will also be invited to the NIP Reading Party, a four-day philosophy and hiking event for all NIP members (and occasional special guests!) on the beautiful Isle of Skye. Pictures of last year's reading party are available here. The reading party will be fully subsidised for NIP MLitt students.
The Training team
The MLitt is a unique programme offered by the members of the Northern Institute of Philosophy. For further details about the members research interests see the member's webpages.
The Northern Institute of Philosophy is currently host to one major Leverhulme-funded research project, Relativism and Tolerance (2011-14), and four pilot projects: Self Knowledge, Pluralism, A priori Knowledgeand Testimony. In addition to the resident members of staff, the Institute has a wide network of active Associate Fellows and a vigorous programme of distinguished international research visitors who, besides leading seminars on their own work, participate fully during their visits in the schedule of weekly project research seminars and frequent workshops that structure the NIP calendar. MLitt students will be expected to participate in a number of the Institute’s activities, as dictated by the module requirements, but will also be most welcome to participate fully in all Institute activities.
Supervision
Each student will be appointed an academic supervisor on the basis of his or her principal areas of prospective research interest, who will provide guidance and support for all aspects of the student’s work throughout the programme.
|
News Feed
