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Oxford students: Philosophy and Theology

Hello

I'm thinking of applying to Oxford to study Philosophy and Theology.
I really want to make the right decision so I thought I'd post some general questions about applying to the university and the course itself.

What is the subject like?
What A levels/grades did you apply with?
What are they looking for in a applicant applying for this course?
What college would you recommend?
Is the course in high demand?
Is a worth while degree?!

I'm really unsure about what I want to do after I leave university. Would a degree in philosophy and theology be of benefit to me in the world of work?

I did philosophy at A level and absolutely loved it. As I mentioned before, I just don't want to make the wrong decision.

Thank you for your help :smile:

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Isaiah Berlin

The course is known as Philth - what more could you ask for?!

Reply 2

Laus

Ok. That's really encouraging.

Reply 3

Laus

Are you joking or do you genuinely think that this course is 'Philth'? I really wasn't expecting that sort of reply

Reply 4

Isaiah Berlin

My spidy sense detect a sense of humour failure...the course has a long name, so it gets abbriviated to Philth - from PHILosophy and THeology. And that is undoubtedly a great name for a course - how much cooler is it to be a Philther than a historian or a PPE'ist?

Reply 5

Laus

lol! I did laugh when I first read it... I think I'm just taking myself a tad to seriously.. tehe. I just wouldn't mind some answers to the questions I posted. I would love to be a Philther

Reply 6

Laus

I thought for a second that you might be referring to the course as filth!
Anyway, are you at university? :smile:

Reply 7

Isaiah Berlin

How else would I know about the mysteries of PhilTh :smile:

Reply 8

Laus

How else...! hmm. So, are there any Philthers present? I really need some answers! Pretty please!
Isaiah Berlin (nice name by the way) what course are you taking?

Reply 9

Laus

Good morning everyone! Thanks for moving my thread... I hope I get some responses! :smile:

Reply 10

Athena

Laus

What is the subject like?
What A levels/grades did you apply with?
What are they looking for in a applicant applying for this course?
What college would you recommend?
Is the course in high demand?
Is a worth while degree?!

I'm really unsure about what I want to do after I leave university. Would a degree in philosophy and theology be of benefit to me in the world of work?

The acceptance rate for the course is 29.6%, so you have a just below 1 in 3 chance of acceptance.

Have a look at www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk and www.theology.ox.ac.uk for career prospects (which include teaching, media and the army). You could try emailing the admissions tutors at colleges you like the look of to find out their standard offers :smile:

Reply 11

Laus

Thanks Athena. The websites are really helpful. I might e-mail some of the admission tutors. Do you think an A level in philosophy and ethics will put me in a better position?
I'd really like is to speak to some current or former PhilTh students :smile:

I'd like to know what they think of the course.

Reply 12

Athena

Laus

Thanks Athena. The websites are really helpful. I might e-mail some of the admission tutors. Do you think an A level in philosophy and ethics will put me in a better position?

Well, there aren't any necessary A levels to study PhilTh, but Religious studies is helpful (and while I took Philosophy and Ethics, it was called Religious Studies A level). However, plenty of people study the course with a background in neither aspect.

Reply 13

Laus

This computer is so slow! I have to wait ages before I can read a thread!
The A level is actually called Religion and Philosophy/Ethics. I think it's the same. Thanks for your help

Reply 14

EmDii

Hello, I'm also going to apply to the same course. :smile:

I'm from Finland, though, so too bad we can't compare our grades.

Choosing a college has been quite the difficult part, since I had absolutely no previous knowledge of any of the colleges -- Oxford colleges is not a part of Finnish folklore. I actually didn't know of the college system at all before starting to read about these things.

I think that Oriel's going to be my pick, however. It's small, near to the University, and guarantees accommodation. And they say it's got particular teaching strengths in Philth. And they have a good cook and vegetarian options for meals.

It really sucks that I can't attend an open day; it would really give some hands-on feeling of the place. It is, however, going to be enough trouble coming for the exams and interviews.

I would really love to study a Philosophy and Modern Languages course, but the selection of languages is quite odd, at least from a Northern European perspective. Well, I could take Russian, but I haven't studied it long enough to be able to pass the exams.

Reply 15

Laus

That's great! Good luck with your application. Sorry it is going to be a lot of trouble for you... I haven't been to an open day either. Is there any way you can visit some time this year or some time in 2007?

Oriel college does look good. I'm a vegetarian so that might come in handy :smile:

I still haven't made a definate decision. I'd like some people actually taking the course to give their opinion on it.

What kind of qualifications do give in Finland? Are they anything like the A level courses taken in the UK?