There is a large, diverse philosophy PhD community at Warwick. You’ll almost certainly be able to find others working on topics similar to your own off whom you can bounce ideas. During the autumn and spring terms, there are regular departmental colloquia featuring speakers from other universities. There are also many seminars and reading groups you can attend. PhD students are encouraged to attend MA seminars, and lectures for undergraduates, if they have a particular interest in the topics or wish to make up for gaps in their knowledge. So there’s plenty of philosophical action aside from your own research—if anything, the problem is not to let yourself get distracted by other things that are going on!

- Barney Walker, PhD Philosophy (2016)

When I originally came to Warwick in order to do an MPhil in Philosophy, I was struck by the exceptionally welcoming and supportive research environment of the philosophy department. This environment, combined with Warwick’s research strengths in the philosophy of mind, led me to stay in Warwick for my PhD. If you are interested in issues on the interstices of the philosophy of mind, epistemology, and metaphysics, the Warwick philosophy department has a great deal to offer. My research has benefited massively from the generosity of the members of staff who are happy to discuss your work, even if they do not supervise you directly. Besides this, the large number of graduate seminars, workshops and conferences that take place every term and the strong research ties with other universities, serve to make Warwick a stimulating environment for philosophical discussion and research. To my mind, the most distinctive characteristic of the department is its combination of research strengths in a diverse range of topics, with a spirit of intellectual openness and collaboration. While my research is now largely on recent issues in the metaphysics of mind, I still find myself drawing heavily on the work I did during my MPhil in philosophy, the focus of which was largely on Kant’s theoretical philosophy. The general openness to both contemporary and historical perspectives on philosophical issues on the part of the research community here, is one of the features that I have found invaluable: not only does Warwick have the expertise to facilitate this kind of approach, it is encouraged, and has allowed me to develop as a philosopher, and find my own philosophical voice.

- Tristan Kreetz, Current PhD Philosophy candidate