Philosophy MA at the University of Sheffield

The Philosophy MA, housed in the School of History, Philosophy, and Digital Humanities at the University of Sheffield, offers a coherent but flexible programme of study. You may be a Philosophy BA holder seeking to broaden and deepen your understanding and enhance your skills and employability. Or you may be coming from another intellectual background and seeking an entry point into Philosophy at Masters level.  In either case, our MA is tailored to your needs.

The Philosophy MA Programme

During your Philosophy MA studies you will encounter different ways of doing philosophy, build on solid foundations, and specialise in your chosen approaches and areas of interest. The core modules you will take in Semester 1 will provide foundational knowledge and also allow engagement with some of the most exciting recent developments in philosophy. These include:

  • The Approaches to Philosophy module is designed to provide an overview of different philosophical methodologies – for example Analytic Philosophy, Phenomenology, Pragmatism, and Feminist Approaches to Philosophy – while allowing you to specialise in your own preferred approaches.
  • The New Directions in Philosophy module engages with groundbreaking research that is reorienting the discipline.  Representative topics include Environmental Bioethics, New Approaches to Modality, Socially Engaged Philosophy of Language, Normativity and Technology, and Artificial Minds.

In the second semester, optional modules give you space to further develop your own research interests. These include:

  • The Language, Thought and Reality module covers topics in the Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language, Epistemology, Metaphysics and Philosophical Logic.  Representative topics include Truth & the Liar Paradox, Personal Identity, Thinking about Thinking, Social Epistemology, and Mystical & Psychedelic Experience.
  • The Ethics and Practical Philosophy module investigates moral and other values. This module includes topics in applied ethics but also caters to specialists in theoretical philosophy via topics in meta-ethics. Representative topics include The Immoral Realism Debate, Theories of Value in Ethics & Aesthetics, Philosophy of Disability, Blame, Apology & Forgiveness, and Moral & Normative Skepticism.
  • The Political Theory module offers a practical and engaged approach, covering a range of topics that deal with questions of justice and governance. Representative topics include Colonialism, Racism and Fascism (which builds on the Phenomenology topic in Approaches to Philosophy), Democracy, Prisons & Punishment, Animals’ Political Rights, and Commemorative Justice.

Your studies will culminate with the completion of a Dissertation.  Our wide range of expertise means that you will have expert advice on your choice of topic, latitude in that choice, and expert supervision as you plan and write an ambitious piece of independent research.

Your MA study at a glance
  • Modules team taught by specialists in the field
  • Learning through a mixture of lectures and seminars
  • Assessment through essays, digital artefacts (blog or video), and dissertation;
  • Develop transferable skills in:
    • Research
    • Analysis and argumentation
    • Writing and verbal communication
    • Collaborative learning
    • Independent thinking

Study in an excellent research environment, supported by:

Apply to study here

We welcome applications from students with both undergraduate experience in philosophy and none at all.

If you want to know more about this programme, please send an email to Dr Niall Connolly or book an online consultation via the Calendly link here.

APPLY NOW
Testimonials from past students

**Note: The Philosophy MA underwent a curriculum redesign for the 2026/2027 academic year. The testimonials below are from students from the previous iteration of the MA.

While on the MA, I pursued a range of philosophical topics (such as ethics, epistemology, and phenomenology) owing to the eclectic expertise of the staff. I had many intense and exciting supervision meetings, where supervisors had made a clear effort to understand and help me develop my work. Though the MA is a taught course, the university provides many workspaces and philosophical resources to help you conduct serious independent study. This is supported by a genuinely welcoming community of postgraduates and staff who meet regularly to discuss philosophy and attend seminars. The weekly Research Seminar is a core component of the research community, exposing students to a variety of contemporary work, followed by engaged Q&As and casual socialising into the evening. In this environment, I made close friends who I still speak to and chatted with staff who supported me in the next steps of my career.

Overall, the MA at Sheffield blends stimulating philosophical study with a friendly and sociable community – this makes it an excellent place to pursue postgraduate study in philosophy.

Ethan Clack

I came to Sheffield because of the department’s reputation for outstanding research and teaching in many areas of philosophy. The range of modules available to MA students makes Sheffield an excellent environment to develop your interests and ideas. I am forever grateful for my lectures and seminar discussions in Political Philosophy, Feminism and Global Justice. The department’s interest in philosophical practices that engage with complex issues of the contemporary world played an integral role in shaping my ongoing work in philosophy. The MA not only sharpened my philosophical toolkit, it also provided seminars and workshops on applying for jobs outside of the academy. Besides the excellence in research and teaching, the department is very welcoming and encouraging. I am very fortunate to have been trained at such a great department.

Tareeq Jalloh

The Philosophy department in Sheffield University is foremost an incredible community. I will never forget the academic and social support that was available, not only from fellow MA students, but from the wider Postgraduate community.

The broad expertise of the faculty allows students lots of freedom in discovering their areas of interest, however this is equally matched by the department’s incredible depth of knowledge. This is to say that by studying philosophy in Sheffield you will be exposed to the true cutting edge of your area of interest. I still feel very privileged to have been able to study and research the metaphysics of objects and persons under Eric Olson and Niall Connolly, who steered me firmly in the right philosophical direction.

Furthermore, the opportunities for extra-curricular research are broad and abundant in both the weekly departmental research seminar and reading groups. I found these to be brilliant resources for both developing my philosophical skills and forming connections to the community.

Certainly, there is nowhere I would rather have studied.

Finlay Dawes

The Philosophy MA is such a special experience. You’ll be discussing, debating and becoming completely engrossed in some of the most interesting questions and conundrums humans have ever grappled with. Topics that will likely shape your thinking for decades to come. Whether you go onto the world of work or further study, this course will give you the firm foundations you need to see problems differently and succeed. Not to mention, you’ll be the most interesting person at dinner parties should any philosophical topics arise… though I wouldn’t recommend bringing them up unprompted!

I did my degree in the height of the pandemic and even in those dark times, the friendliness of the department and the sense of community they managed to create was so wonderful. Even years after I still feel part of something. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone considering the course.

Tom Flint

Doing the MA at the University of Sheffield was genuinely one of the best decisions of my life. It opened up so much more than a new field of knowledge and a different way of thinking – it led to a whole new way of life, a new place to call home, and a wonderful circle of friends.

One of the things that first attracted me to the course was its truly multidisciplinary nature and the freedom to make it your own. The sheer variety of modules on offer is fantastic, and being able to tailor the MA to your own interests, curiosities and questions makes for an incredibly rich and rewarding experience. The faculty are brilliant – hugely knowledgeable and academically rigorous, but also warm, friendly, approachable and genuinely interested in your ideas.

What really makes the course special, though, is the sense of community. Between the Friday seminar series, the annual retreat and the brilliant mix of students from all walks of life, it genuinely felt like being part of a family. I met people who challenged and expanded my thinking, introduced me to entirely new perspectives, and became lifelong friends.

I was also a mature student, a parent and someone with a disability, and one of the things I really appreciated was how comfortably all of that was accommodated. There’s a real mix of ages, backgrounds and life circumstances among the students, and I never felt out of place or that I had to fit into a particular mould. If you’re considering returning to study later in life, or wondering whether an MA could work alongside family life, work or other commitments, I’d really encourage you to go for it. My experience was that the course offered the flexibility, understanding and support to make it work, without compromising on the richness of the academic or social experience.

And Sheffield itself is a wonderful place to study and live. The university has fantastic facilities, including beautiful libraries, and the city has so much to offer – live music, countless festivals, a vibrant and eclectic cultural scene, stunning surroundings and nature right on your doorstep. There’s something about Sheffield that makes it easy to feel at home and comfortable being yourself, while also encouraging you to stretch, explore and grow.

I came to Sheffield expecting to gain a qualification and broaden my intellectual horizons. I left with a whole new perspective on the world, a community of people I love, and a life I couldn’t have imagined beforehand. I really can’t recommend the experience highly enough. If you’re considering applying, don’t hesitate!”

Simone Bolshaw

Throughout my time studying philosophy at the University of Sheffield I felt consistently supported by my supervisors. Whether they were encouraging me to pursue a specific area of interest in my essays, prompting me to reconsider a piece of philosophical thought from a new angle, or offering advice on future career decisions, my lecturers were always willing to offer up their time.

As someone who now serves the city of Sheffield in the public sector, I frequently call upon the skills I developed during my MA. Philosophy doesn’t just teach you how to think, but also makes you reconsider why you think it, a mindset that has served me well far beyond my university course.

Joe Bardsley

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