Teaching quality at Warwick (Poitics/Philosophy)
I put Warwick as my firm choice and Exeter as my insurance for PPE last year. Having not gotten the grades I ended up going to Exeter and was disappointed with the quality of teaching: lecturers reading off the slides, tutors getting questions wrong, silence in tutorials, general apathy and lack of "academic" feel. It generally feels like students are not that academics-oriented and there is no intelligent discussion, which is something I really care about.
After a few months I panicked and applied to transfer to Warwick Politics and Phiosophy (which had lower grade requirements), and have now received an offer. But reading some of the reviews, it seems like views on teaching quality is mixed? Is this a problem everywhere apart from the very top universities? Does it get better after the first year?
I was wondering if someone could share their experience of what it's like at Warwick (particularly in the Politics / Philosophy department), teaching quality, what the lecturers are like and whether people are more driven / whether it would feel more "academic"?
After a few months I panicked and applied to transfer to Warwick Politics and Phiosophy (which had lower grade requirements), and have now received an offer. But reading some of the reviews, it seems like views on teaching quality is mixed? Is this a problem everywhere apart from the very top universities? Does it get better after the first year?
I was wondering if someone could share their experience of what it's like at Warwick (particularly in the Politics / Philosophy department), teaching quality, what the lecturers are like and whether people are more driven / whether it would feel more "academic"?
(edited 9 months ago)
Reply 1
I studied PPE at Warwick in 2018, and although I majored in Economics, I still took the baseline required modules in Politics and Philosophy as well as a few extras
Most of the course leaders and tutors were academically strong and plenty of people from my seminars went on to advanced degrees in management, economics, data science. Obviously this is not the case across the board anywhere and some academics will inevitably not focus on their teaching if they're being paid to research, but 'no intelligent discussion' and tutors getting questions wrong is not something my friends or colleagues have lamented about their experience at any tier 1 university
Given my degree, I felt the focus from students was mostly professional drive (hence the advanced degrees in management, if not going straight into employment) rather than academic but my time there was still marked by people who worked hard and showed natural talent
Most of the course leaders and tutors were academically strong and plenty of people from my seminars went on to advanced degrees in management, economics, data science. Obviously this is not the case across the board anywhere and some academics will inevitably not focus on their teaching if they're being paid to research, but 'no intelligent discussion' and tutors getting questions wrong is not something my friends or colleagues have lamented about their experience at any tier 1 university
Given my degree, I felt the focus from students was mostly professional drive (hence the advanced degrees in management, if not going straight into employment) rather than academic but my time there was still marked by people who worked hard and showed natural talent
Reply 2
Original post
by mariana23456I put Warwick as my firm choice and Exeter as my insurance for PPE last year. Having not gotten the grades I ended up going to Exeter and was disappointed with the quality of teaching: lecturers reading off the slides, tutors getting questions wrong, silence in tutorials, general apathy and lack of "academic" feel. It generally feels like students are not that academics-oriented and there is no intelligent discussion, which is something I really care about.
After a few months I panicked and applied to transfer to Warwick Politics and Phiosophy (which had lower grade requirements), and have now received an offer. But reading some of the reviews, it seems like views on teaching quality is mixed? Is this a problem everywhere apart from the very top universities? Does it get better after the first year?
I was wondering if someone could share their experience of what it's like at Warwick (particularly in the Politics / Philosophy department), teaching quality, what the lecturers are like and whether people are more driven / whether it would feel more "academic"?
After a few months I panicked and applied to transfer to Warwick Politics and Phiosophy (which had lower grade requirements), and have now received an offer. But reading some of the reviews, it seems like views on teaching quality is mixed? Is this a problem everywhere apart from the very top universities? Does it get better after the first year?
I was wondering if someone could share their experience of what it's like at Warwick (particularly in the Politics / Philosophy department), teaching quality, what the lecturers are like and whether people are more driven / whether it would feel more "academic"?
Hey @mariana23456 !
I’ve just finished my second year studying EPP (Economics, Psychology & Philosophy) so I can offer a bit of insight on the Philosophy side.
I personally really enjoyed the teaching from all of my philosophy lecturers in my core first year module. Having taken modules from Economics, Psychology, Philosophy, WBS, and Computer Science, I can definitely say Philosophy was one of my favourite departments in terms of structure and teaching quality. The philosophy lecturers I had were really passionate about their subjects and the seminars were great - generally people do participate quite a bit and it’s very discussion-oriented rather than the tutor just talking at you. In my experience Warwick does generally have more of that “academic” feel that you mentioned - I’ve very rarely had seminars where everyone is quiet and for the most part everyone is relatively academic and puts effort into their studies.
I’m majoring in econ + psych, so this is based on my experience from 1st year philosophy modules - though I have heard similar things about 2nd and 3rd year ones too from my coursemates.
Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions!
Jasmine (Student Ambassador)
Reply 3
I can’t speak for the Politics department, but the Philosophy department at Warwick is brilliant, currently ranking joint 2nd for Philosophy departments in UK universities.
I just finished studying Philosophy at Warwick, and the lecturers seem (and are) genuinely enthusiastic about their discipline. Of course, like with anything, there will be certain lecturers who you find more engaging and enthused than others, but, on the whole, the teaching is to a really high standard.
There is also a very wide range of modules which you won’t find in other Philosophy departments, especially in Continental Philosophy. There are specialist modules unique to Warwick such as ‘Appearance Matters’, looking at the beauty ideal as an increasingly ethical ideal, and ‘The Philosophy of Terrorism and Counter Terrorism’.
Also, the university doesn’t match two subjects together for no reason - it’s a very thought out process, and so it is likely that Philosophy and Politics together at Warwick is a good combination. There are modules which are solely focused on Philosophy or Politics separately from the departments, or there are some with overlap, such as ‘Democracy, Authority, and Resistance’ which I did in second year.
I really recommend !! 🩷
I just finished studying Philosophy at Warwick, and the lecturers seem (and are) genuinely enthusiastic about their discipline. Of course, like with anything, there will be certain lecturers who you find more engaging and enthused than others, but, on the whole, the teaching is to a really high standard.
There is also a very wide range of modules which you won’t find in other Philosophy departments, especially in Continental Philosophy. There are specialist modules unique to Warwick such as ‘Appearance Matters’, looking at the beauty ideal as an increasingly ethical ideal, and ‘The Philosophy of Terrorism and Counter Terrorism’.
Also, the university doesn’t match two subjects together for no reason - it’s a very thought out process, and so it is likely that Philosophy and Politics together at Warwick is a good combination. There are modules which are solely focused on Philosophy or Politics separately from the departments, or there are some with overlap, such as ‘Democracy, Authority, and Resistance’ which I did in second year.
I really recommend !! 🩷
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