Philosophy and the Arts (MA) (2025 Entry)

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Course code

P-V7PN

Start date

29 September 2025

Duration

1 year full-time;
2 years part-time

Qualification

Led by

Philosophy

Location

University of Warwick

Course code

P-V7PN

Start date

29 September 2025

Duration

1 year full-time;
2 years part-time

Qualification

Led by

Philosophy

Location

University of Warwick

Meet us

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Find out more about our Philosophy of the Arts taught Master's degree at Warwick

Philosophy and the Arts is an interdisciplinary degree, allowing you to combine philosophy with any or all of three arts disciplines. This MA is designed for students to take advantage of Warwick's strengths across Philosophy, English, History of Art, and Film and Television Studies.

Course overview

This course allows you to combine the study of philosophy with any/all of three arts disciplines. Warwick has been a home for interdisciplinary work in philosophy and literature since the early days of the university.

This degree is designed to take advantage of our strengths across Philosophy, English and Comparative Literary Studies, History of Art, and Film and Television Studies. Warwick has excellent research strength in all of these areas, and it also has considerable scholarly interaction across these fields, especially through the programming of the Centre for Research in Philosophy, Literature and the Arts.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject; a writing sample of around 2,500 words on a philosophical topic.

See our departmental guidanceLink opens in a new window.

English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirementsLink opens in a new window. This course requires the following:

Band B
IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements pageLink opens in a new window.

Academic References

We typically ask for one academic reference for taught courses, and two academic references for research courses.

You will be asked to include an email address for your referee(s) when submitting your application and we will contact them for you.

View our guide to academic references.Link opens in a new window

Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Modules

Core modules

Topics in Philosophy and the Arts

This module introduces students to a range of question in the philosophy of art, addressing questions about art in general and about particular art forms or works.

The first half focuses on methodological and foundational questions. What is it to study the arts philosophically? Is the philosophy of art a descriptive or normative endeavour? What is the relation between artistic and other forms of value?

The second half focuses on a diverse range of artists, authors, works or genres from across the arts; these provide an opportunity to explore the philosophical challenge of individual cases. The module aims to integrate study of broad theoretical questions with reflection on - and provocation from - specific art practices. Students will be encouraged to draw on their own experience and expertise in relation to the arts, to test claims on offer.

Read more about the Topics in Philosophy and the Arts moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Optional modules

The programme gives students access to a wide range of modules across four departments.

If you write a dissertation, you will take three optional modules (one from Philosophy and two from the other contributing departments). If you follow the non-dissertation route, you will take five optional modules (up to three from Philosophy and at least two from the other departments). In previous years, optional modules have included:

Appearance Matters
Hegel's Aesthetics
Revolutionary Aesthetics
Nietzsche
20^th Century French Philosophy
Heidegger’s Being and Time
Embodiment, Nature, Art: Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology
Critical Theory, Culture, Resistance
Feminist Literary Theory
Queer Theory and Praxis
Ecopoetics
Screen Cultures and Methods
Film Criticism, Film Style
Issues in Documentary
Irony in Film
Post-Colonial Cinemas
Colour and its Meaning
Visual Art and Poetry
Reality after Film
Latin American Modernism
East meets West: the Visual Arts in Colonial and Post-Colonial India

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Find your taught course fees

Fee Status Guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status

Additional course costs

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2024/25 year of study). Information about module department specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

Core text books
Printer credits
Dissertation binding
Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and funding

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships and financial support

Find out about the different funding routes available, including; postgraduate loans, scholarships, fee awards and academic department bursaries.

Living costs

Find out more about the cost of living as a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick.

Philosophy Funding Opportunities

Find out more about the various funding opportunities that are available in our department.

Teaching

On this course, you will follow a programme of taught modules. If you choose to take the dissertation route, you will take three taught modules followed by a 10,000-word dissertation. If you take the non-dissertation route, you will take five taught modules. Your exact pathway will depend on your selection of optional modules. Philosophy modules are assessed through essay-based assignments.

Class sizes

Seminar class sizes range from 8-20 people for this course.

Typical contact hours

For taught components, there are typically two hours of teaching per module per week for this course.

Assessment

You will submit assessed essays during the academic terms. You will also begin planning your dissertation and generally you will undertake your supervision sessions for this with your agreed supervisor during the summer term. As long as you pass your taught components, you will then focus on completion of your MA dissertation in the summer months (July and August).

Reading lists 

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platform.

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogue. 

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department. 

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Any compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

Careers

Your career

Completing an MA provides a strong foundation for those intending to study for a PhD. In addition to those pursuing further study, graduates from these courses have gone on to work for a range of national and international employers.

Our graduates have pursued roles such as: further education teaching professionals; IT business analysts, architects and systems designers; library clerks and assistants and secondary education teaching professionals.

Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant offering impartial advice and guidance together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

Identifying Your Skills, Strengths and Motivators for Philosophy Students
Thinking about Work Experience for Philosophy Students
Careers in the Public Sector
Warwick careers fairs throughout the year

Department

Philosophy at Warwick

Our research reputation is founded in consistent excellence across a range of philosophical fields, including in philosophy of mind and epistemology; Post-Kantian European philosophy; philosophy of the arts and aesthetics; moral, political, and legal philosophy; and mathematical logic and computation.

Philosophy of Mind, Action, and Epistemology
Philosophy of Psychology
Philosophy of Literature and the Arts
Moral and Political Philosophy
Kant and Hegel
19th and 20th Century Post-Kantian (Continental) Philosophy, including Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger
Mathematical Logic

We collaborate extensively with academics and practitioners in other subjects and have long-standing partnerships with researchers and practitioners across all faculties.

We support four active and successful research centres that co-ordinate research activities in our main areas of research strengths. Each centre has well-established interdisciplinary links within Warwick and beyond. At Warwick, you’ll be part of an inclusive staff and student community. We provide a vibrant and friendly environment where our students have dedicated support to explore their passion for philosophy and develop their skills as researchers.

Find out more about us on our website.Link opens in a new window

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Application deadlines

The application process for courses that start in September and October 2026 opens on 2 October 2025.

Applications close on 2 August 2026 for students who require a visa to study in the UK, to allow time to receive a CAS and complete the visa application process.

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Why Warwick

Discover why Warwick is one of the best universities in the UK and renowned globally.

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We have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.

About the information on this page

This information is applicable for 2026 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply. Please read our terms and conditions to find out more.

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Philosophy and the Arts (MA) (2025 Entry)

Find out more about our Philosophy of the Arts taught Master's degree at Warwick

Scholarships and financial support

Living costs

Philosophy Funding Opportunities

How to apply checklist

I'm ready to apply

Find out how to apply to us, ask your questions, and find out more.

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Why Warwick

Why Warwick

Why Warwick

Why Warwick

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6th Most Targeted University

69th in the World

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