BA Philosophy

at Trinity College Dublin The University of Dublin

First and second years

In the first two years, you will study foundation courses in the history of Philosophy, as well as engage with certain fundamental philosophical problems such as the debates about free will and determinism, the nature of morality, the nature of language, the existence of God, logic, and the scope and limits of human knowledge.

In the Joint Honours programme, where Philosophy is studied with another subject, there are approximately five hours of classes per week; with double that for the Single Honours programme.

Third and fourth years

In the final two years, you are able to set your own syllabus by selecting courses from a reasonably wide choice including political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of mind, among others. In this way you can specialise in the areas of philosophy you have found most interesting and most suitable to your skills.

English Language Requirements

IELTS: Academic: Grade 6.5;*

EU & Non-EU fees for academic year 2022/23 are:

EU Fees €5,681

Non EU Fees €20,609

In the recent past, graduates of Philosophy have worked in areas as diverse as accountancy, academic teaching, journalism, law, TV reporting and research, filmmaking, banking, computing and advertising. Each year some graduates also opt to pursue a research career, beginning with postgraduate study in Ireland or abroad.

Research on graduate entry aptitude tests in the US (GRE) show that philosophy graduates outscore all other disciplines in two of the three main areas (verbal reasoning and analytical writing) and tend to do well in the third, quantitative reasoning. The kind of reasoning and analytical competencies acquired in studying philosophy are transferable to a multiplicity of careers.