M.Phil Philosophy: Tilburg University

Course Description

The Research Master in Philosophy is a two-year programme that teaches a wide range of subjects in philosophy. Their overall aim is to provide you with the skills and insight needed to do independent intellectual work in philosophy at a postgraduate level. Some of their students want to acquire these skills as preparation for a PhD, some plan to use them in another area of intellectual enterprise, and some are just curious and want to know what postgraduate study in philosophy is like. But all are invited to participate in a lively research environment in which students are encouraged to interact with some of the best minds in the field.

Career Prospects

This programme has been designed for people with the ambition to do research. Graduates tend to fall into three groups. One group continue their research within academia by applying for a doctoral programme in the Netherlands or abroad. A second group teach philosophy at secondary schools. And a third group enter research-related professions outside of education.

Many of the analytic and scholarly skills acquired in higher philosophy education, such as the careful analysis of concepts, the art of writing essays, and that of giving a well-organised presentation, have application elsewhere. Their graduates are particularly well represented in journalism, science policy, and politics. The reputation of Tilburg University, and of the Philosophy Department in particular, will stand you in good stead whichever career path you choose.

Admission requirements

Candidates seeking admission to the programme must meet the following criteria:

• They must possess an internationally recognized BA or MA. This should be a degree in philosophy or a degree they deem equivalent. In the latter case at least 40 EC must have been spent on philosophy.
• Their average grade in philosophy in the 2nd and 3rd year of their Bachelors degree studies must be the equivalent of 7.5 or more (on the Dutch scale of 10). In case of admission on the basis of an MA their average grade during their MA studies must be 7.5 or more.
• Their BA or MA thesis must be the equivalent of a grade of 8 or more (on the Dutch scale of 10).
• They must be able to demonstrate that they have serious research interests and skills.
• Their oral and written command of English must be sufficiently high to allow for academic work. They must either
  • have obtained a higher diploma from an English-teaching institution,
  • or have scored 577 or higher in the paper-based version of the TOEFL language exam (IELTS equivalent: 6.5),
  • or have obtained a score of 233 on the computer-based version of this test (internet-based 91).