Overview

Our flagship MSc Philosophy degree programme at The University of Edinburgh offers you an excellent opportunity to enhance your learning and join a large, vibrant and supportive postgraduate community.

This programme provides an intensive grounding in philosophy, its methodology and techniques of research. It is excellent preparation for those who intend to pursue a PhD, as well as those who wish to delve more deeply into philosophy at the postgraduate level before pursuing a non-academic career.

We provide a broad, advanced education in philosophy, covering all the core areas of contemporary analytic philosophy:

epistemology
metaphysics
logic
philosophy of mind and language
philosophy of science
ethics
social/political philosophy

Beyond contemporary analytic philosophy, we also regularly offer courses in:

Africana philosophy
Islamic philosophy
Japanese philosophy
Buddhist philosophy
history of ancient Greek
modern European philosophy, including post-Kantian traditions such as existentialism and phenomenology

Key research areas

The programme provides the ideal foundation for future research in philosophy, and you have the option to keep your studies general or focus on a particular area.

Your MSc culminates in a research dissertation in a core research area, an original, publication-quality piece of research, undertaken in close collaboration with researchers in the relevant group.

The department has particular focus in the following areas:

Meta-ethics and applied ethics
Philosophy of mind and cognitive science
Philosophy of race and gender
History of philosophy, including ancient Greek and Islamic philosophy, early modern and late modern European philosophy
Philosophy of science and epistemology

Career opportunities

This is the ideal programme for deepening your involvement in philosophy, giving you a grounding in postgraduate work, or developing an academic career in philosophy. However, the course also teaches a broad range of transferable skills applicable to a wide range of modern jobs.

Get more details

Visit programme website

Programme Structure

Courses include:

Phil Skills

MSc Proseminar

Philosophy Dissertation

Logic, Computability and Incompleteness

Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science

Epistemology

Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

Freedom, Consent, and Political Obligation

Islamic Philosophy

The Philosophy of Wittgenstein

Check out the full curriculum

Visit programme website

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 12 months
Part-time
- 24 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2027-09-14 00:00:00
- Apply before 2027-04-02 00:00:00

More details

Round 1 deadline: 27 November
Round 2 deadline: 29 January
Round 3 deadline: 26 February

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

100

Schedule TOEFL®

IELTS

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Credits

180 alternative credits

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Disciplines

Philosophy View 131 other Masters in Philosophy in United Kingdom

Explore more key information

Visit programme website

Join for free or log in to access our complete career info list.

Academic requirements

GPA

Upper Second Class

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

100

Schedule TOEFL®

IELTS

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

A UK 2:1 honours degree or its international equivalent.
These entry requirements are for the 2026-27 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ.

Make sure you meet all requirements

Visit programme website

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

33200 GBP / year

≈ 33200 GBP / year
Domestic Applies to you

Applies to you

Citizens or residents

13700 GBP / year

≈ 13700 GBP / year

Additional Details

Part-time fees:

Home / Scotland - £6,850

International/EU - £16,600

Living costs

Edinburgh

United Kingdom

725 - 1167 GBP / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

Win a €10000 Scholarship! Deadline: 30 June 2020

Embark on your journey with the Studyportals Scholarship! We're giving away a total of 20,000 euros to help you achieve your dream of studying abroad.

Win a €10000 Scholarship! Deadline: 30 June 2020

Embark on your journey with the Studyportals Scholarship! We're giving away a total of 20,000 euros to help you achieve your dream of studying abroad.

Check for any work restrictions

Visit programme website

In order for us to give you accurate scholarship information, we ask that you please confirm a few details and create an account with us.

Scholarships Information

Below you will find Master's scholarship opportunities for Philosophy.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

On this page

About

Overview

Key research areas

Career opportunities

Get more details

Programme Structure

Check out the full curriculum

Key information

Duration

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Credits

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

Explore more key information

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Make sure you meet all requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

Domestic Applies to you

Additional Details

Living costs

Edinburgh

Funding

Check for any work restrictions

Scholarships Information

Available Scholarships

Our partners