Research centres

Our department is home to four research groups and centres, the Warwick Mind and Action Research Centre, the Centre for Research in Philosophy, Literature and the Arts, the Research Group in Post-Kantian European Philosophy and the Centre for Ethics, Law and Public Affairs), that are led or co-led by members of our department.

These interact across our research cluster areas – as well as across disciplines within the university and beyond – and frequently play host to guest workshops, conferences and seminars that you are welcome to join. There are also a number of student-led reading or discussion groups dedicated to specific areas of philosophy, such as the Foucault and Logic Reading Groups. Additionally, the department has a limited budget to support postgraduate students attending conferences or events in the pursuit of their studies or academic career.

Student-led initiatives

There’s more to life as a PhD student than research; in fact, we offer many opportunities for you to engage with the academic community in the department, and participate in university-wide activities. For example, the Departmental Graduate Seminar is a student organised seminar providing an opportunity for all Warwick philosophy graduate students, and occasionally students from other universities, to present their work to a general philosophy audience. It’s also an excellent chance to meet and socialise with fellow graduate students and discuss each other’s research.

Events and societies

There are various research activities and seminar series sponsored by the department and its research centres, including the weekly Graduate Research Seminar on Consciousness and Self-Consciousness and the fortnightly Graduate Research Seminar in Post-Kantian European Philosophy.

By attending seminars, you can keep up-to-date with recent developments in philosophical thinking and philosophical writing introduced by a range of philosophers. You can also gain insight into how – and how not – to present a paper in preparation for your own, future presentations. Further to this, the department holds weekly ‘Work-in-Progress Days’ in which PhD students present work for discussion by other graduates and staff.

The department also hosts approximately two or three Departmental Colloquium per term, as well as two annual events: the Warwick Graduate Conference in the Philosophy of Mind (MindGrad), the premier UK graduate conference for philosophers of mind which attracts graduate students from all over the world; and the London-Warwick Graduate Mind Forum, a research day where students from Warwick, King’s College London and University College London present their work for commentary and discussion.

Beyond our department, you can also join the Warwick Philosophy Society, which puts on a range of talks throughout the academic year, holds regular socials (including ‘Phil ‘n’ Tea’, a weekly gathering in the Philosophy common room for all students, as well as the annual Phil-Psych Ball), and offers academic support.