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philosophy at uni

i was just wondering which one you would pick out of:
UCL
Durham
Warwick
St. Andrews

to read Philosophy. If you have any experience of them that would be cool to hear too
xx

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Reply 1

Magnum Opus

Durham or St. Andrews, although they are all very good, it's hard to distinguish

Reply 2

piiineapple

arisk01

Durham or St. Andrews, although they are all very good, it's hard to distinguish

i'm thinking durham probably yeah

Reply 3

chester.

Before you make any decisions make sure you check out the content of the courses at the different unis. Here at St Andrews philosophy is very analytical, which may or may not appeal to you. Other universities may offer modules in Eastern Philosophy for example which will not be done at other universities. Philosophy is one of those subjects where the course content is pretty much the most important factor when it comes to deciding where to go. Subjects like maths for instance will be pretty much the same at all the universities, but philosophy can vary greatly. :biggrin:

You probably already know all this, but just making sure :wink:

Reply 4

piiineapple

chester.

You probably already know all this, but just making sure :wink:

cheers for this actually, ithink you're right and i am thinking about the scene where i'll be studying it too much. I'll definitely look over the course contents again!
Many thanks x

Reply 5

River85

piiineapple

cheers for this actually, ithink you're right and i am thinking about the scene where i'll be studying it too much. I'll definitely look over the course contents again!
Many thanks x

Scene? As in surrounding environment, social opportunities, atmosphere?

Academically I'd probably go for Durham or UCL, I'm just no great fan of UCL's location (London, large, impersonal, expensive) but then, although I don't think it has a department that's stronger than at least two of those unis, you do have access to world class libraries in London. Tough one but I would probably chose St Andrews in its place. But all are excellent universities and philosophy departments.

About course content, Durham's philosophy departments is particularly large (well, the university isn't large) so you may not get the large numbers of modules. But they are strong in ethics, metaphysics and history of science and medicine in particular. So if those areas appeal to you then it's certainly worth considering. Its smaller size does make it quite friendly and well organised (unlike one certain, larger Durham department...)

Here's the faculty handbook if you haven't read it already

http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/faculty.handbook/degrees/frameworks/v500.pdf

Haven't you considered Bristol? I like bigging up Bristol's philosophy department :p:

Reply 6

River85

johnbrown

I don't care about employability or whatever that much but I think I might want to do postgrad maybe one day depending on how my degree goes, do you think that a degree from UCL or King's would be respected equally?

Respected equally, what, in order to get onto a masters course? When applying for postgrad study, universities will be far more interested with your academic performance (good 2:1 or above, consistancy) references and possibly your research interests. Where you took your undergrad degree is little importance.

But KCL and UCL are both excellent universities anyway.

Reply 7

River85

johnbrown

I thought so. You don't happen to have any experience of either department do you?

Unfortuntely not, no. Not personal experience. When I applied to unis the second time around I did apply for UCL (alongside LSE and Durham) but it was just out of interest really. I already had an agreement with Duham that they'd give me an offer and I'd go there (it was complicated). I knew London wasn't really that right environment for me at the time so I made no real attempt to familiarise myself with the department and its course. I can name some famous alumni of UCL/UoL :p:

I get the impression KCL's slightly more undergrad focused but I don't really have anything to base this on.

There's also a KCL and UCL forum. There may be students who'll be able to help there. This is still a new forum so it's quite quiet, getting off the grond.

Reply 8

florA_miguel

Why not Warwick? Its academic reputation is as high as Durham or UCL's and the Philosophy course offered is as interesting and varied (if not more so).

Reply 9

piiineapple

johnbrown

Have you had your open day at UCL yet piiineapple? What did you think of it if you have?

I'm sort of wishing I'd applied to Durham now even though I didn't really like the thought/look of it when I was making my decisions :hmpf:

The only thing I'm looking forward to at university is the work and the course lol

yup i have. i thought it wasssss... big and disconnected. i thought the guy who took the open day (philosophy lecturer) was really really funny but the whole thing wasn't...how to describe... i felt like it didn't have much focus. i dunno why, maybe it was the big group but i just felt like i was at school somewhere bigger and when i went to durham it was completely different, it felt like i was a part of something. durham felt like i was in a big family all working towards something awesome (haha yup im cool) but do you know what i mean? UCL seemed cold in comparison.

to be fair i was in an incredibly bad mood when i went to UCL since i'd had to get up bloody early to get there and then we couldn't find the philosophy department and there was no help.

what did you think? i think i'm bias because i like the idea of durham better than UCL on paper so i guess that makes me WANT to prefer it, if you see!
:eyeball:

Reply 10

piiineapple

johnbrown

Yeah, the guy who did it was funny, he seemed so aloof lol like he was in his own little world. Other than that, no one really seemed to talk to each other that much but the people I did talk to seemed friendly enough. I didn't feel like it had no focus and it didn't seem that big either, I duno, I didn't feel anything which is sort of worrying I guess. I haven't actually visited any other universities apart from Cambridge so I'm not really in a position to compare really. I am going to go there anyways I think, I don't really have the choice because there is no where else I want to go more. I think I'll like it when I get there... I really wanted an offer but now that I have one I am having doubts but I think maybe it's just nerves a bit at the thought of living in London, growing up, moving away from home etc. I just have to keep telling myself I'll be fine! I sort of like the idea of the detatchedness of it all though, when I think about going to uni it's comforting to think I would be in a 'big family' :p:

haha but I know when I'd get there I probably wouldn't like it. Ahhh I don't know how I feel... I just can't imagine myself at any university.

Lol, this started off as a discussion about where to study philosophy and has turned into me writing out all my worries in this mini crisis I am having!

reading this, it sounds like you do want to go there :smile:

i dont think the open days were paticularly representative of how it would actually be so if you liked it even how it was i expect you'd love it when you actually belonged to it, if that makes sense!
:yep:

this is what ive decided any hoo :biggrin:

tell me what you decide :smile:

Reply 11

WokSz

piiineapple

i was just wondering which one you would pick out of:
UCL
Durham
Warwick
St. Andrews

to read Philosophy. If you have any experience of them that would be cool to hear too
xx

Hey there,

I'm currently doing Philosophy at Durham so I'll try and let you know about my experiences here.

The department is amazing. The lecturers are splendid and are always available if you have trouble. What I like about Durham's Philosophy department is that due to its small size, you feel like you're a part of a family so everyone kind of looks out for each other.

The standard is very high. You're expected to read A LOT, so unless you really do enjoy Philosophy, don't bother coming here. Lectures are very challenging, but like I said earlier if you have problems, there will always be a member of staff available.

Tutorials are an integral part of the degree. The tutors are all amazing, and this is the best way to get to grips with the material being taught. Philosophy isn't simply about learning abstract facts. You need to understand and analyse the theory. This is where tutorials come into play and trust me they really are well structured. The tutors are generally PHD students, so you can relate to them as they know what you're going through.

The course itself is quite well structured. What I enjoy about Philosophy here at Durham is that it's quite broad. The first year is not really focussed on a specific branch of Philosophy, and you get to study modules such as Ethics and Values and Introduction to Logic. E&V is probably my favourite module, simply because it's really interactive. The lecturer interacts with the students so we actually feel like we're part of the teaching process rather than simply the students.

The thing I love the most about Durham is the idea of electives. If you're applying for a single honours in Philosophy, you will have to do five core modules. In order to pass the year, you need to do 6 modules. Therefore, you have an extra module, which you may either take from the Philosophy department or from any other Department within the University. I have friends who are doing an elective in Geology, Geography, English, etc...

You will enjoy any University out of those choices. They are all top tier institutions, so you will have an amazing standard of education no matter where you go. However, Durham has it's advantages, which made me pick it. The College system, the fact that you're only 15 minutes away from Newcastle and yet you can always escape to the quiet and quant surroundings of Durham and the general emphasis on community life here adds to the University experience, which I feel other cities may lack.

All the best with your applications and I hope you're happy wherever you go! :smile:

Reply 12

littleshambles

florA_miguel

Why not Warwick? Its academic reputation is as high as Durham or UCL's and the Philosophy course offered is as interesting and varied (if not more so).

I decided not to apply to Warwick because I'd have to live in Coventry in the second year.

I don't like Coventry.

Their course is pretty special though (possibly an impression conveyed by their particularly lovely font more than anything)

Reply 13

littleshambles

BTW, for straight Philosophy, I'd pick Durham.

Reply 14

Ekpyrotic

St. Andrews and UCL has the strongest philosophy departments out of those.

Reply 15

Ekpyrotic

johnbrown

I think I've decided on UCL now! I might as well give it a go, I bet I will like it I will firm it nearer the time cos if I do it now I'll be too worried I'll change my mind later on

Do consider St. Andrews. We're a world leading department for analytical philosophy.

Reply 16

piiineapple

I was just re-reading this thread because i still haven't bloody decided.
any more advice anyone?
I'm torn between: 1. reapplying to cambridge 2. going straight to durham and 3. considering UCL more

that is all i've managed to narrow it down to and it's now doing my head in!!!

Reply 17

Ekpyrotic

1. Please remove the apostrophe from 'St Andrew's' in your signature.

2. Why did you decide on Durham over St Andrews and UCL?

Reply 18

piiineapple

Ekpyrotic

1. Please remove the apostrophe from 'St Andrew's' in your signature.

yessssir

Ekpyrotic

2. Why did you decide on Durham over St Andrews and UCL?

durham is all traditions, old stuff and small- without being in scotland. when on the open day i got the impression that UCL is too postgrad orientated. oo and castle has formals twice a week which i thought was pretty cool.