DPT: Philosophy and Linguistics (MA Hons) (UTPHILI)

Jump to: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4

Year 1 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: September

You will be automatically enrolled on your five compulsory courses.

You are expected to pass all three of your compulsory Year 1 Philosophy courses. Students who fail any of these three courses may be permitted to progress; however, the failed course(s) will need to be retaken (and passed) in Year 2.

You must also pass both Linguistics and English Language 1A and Linguistics and English Language 1B to progress to Year 2 of the Philosophy and Linguistics programme.

Compulsory courses

Morality and Value

Logic 1

Introduction to the History of Philosophy A

Linguistics and English Language 1A

Must be passed

Linguistics and English Language 1B

Must be passed

Course options

You have the option to take Philosophy of Science 1 in Year 1 or Year 2, but it is not required.

Philosophy of Science 1

In addition to courses in Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y, you are permitted to take a course in British Sign Language (LLLO07003/LLLO07004) from Schedule X, subject to availability.

You are permitted a maximum of 40 credits at Level 7 across Years 1 and 2.

Challenge Courses are designed to bring together students from different degree programmes to explore the complex issues facing the world today through interdisciplinary collaboration and creative thinking. Working with each other and expert academics, students will gain new perspectives and develop important life skills highly valued by employers, such as teamwork, problem-solving and adaptability.

Our Changing World

Sustainability and Social Responsibility (UG)

Wicked problems: Reason and Rhetoric

Understanding decolonisation in a globalised world

Sustainable Development Goals: History, Progress and Beyond 2030

Living in the Anthropocene

Understanding Gender in the Contemporary World

Healthy Eating for People and Planet

Year 2 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: August

You will be automatically enrolled on your four compulsory courses. In order to progress into Year 3 of the Philosophy and Linguistics programme, you must:

- Pass both Mind, Matter and Language (MML) and Knowledge and Reality (K&R) with a mark of 40% or above,
- Achieve an average of 50% across both MML and K&R, and
- Pass both LEL2A and LEL2D.

Compulsory courses

Mind, Matter and Language

Must be passed

Knowledge and Reality

Must be passed

LEL2A: Linguistic Theory and the Structure of English

Must be passed

LEL2D: Cross-linguistic Variation: Limits and Theories

Must be passed

Course options

If you have not taken Introduction to the History of Philosophy A or Philosophy of Science 1, you have the option to take these courses in Year 2.

Philosophy of Science 1

Introduction to the History of Philosophy A

AND

In addition to LEL2A and LEL2D, you have the option to enrol on one or both of these Year 2 LEL courses.

LEL2B: Phonetic Analysis and Empirical Methods

LEL2C: English in Time and Space

AND

In addition to courses in Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y, you are permitted to take one or two courses in British Sign Language (LLLO07003/LLLO07004) from Schedule X, subject to availability.

You are permitted a maximum of 40 credits at Level 7 across Years 1 and 2.

AND

Our Changing World

Sustainability and Social Responsibility (UG)

Wicked problems: Reason and Rhetoric

Understanding decolonisation in a globalised world

Sustainable Development Goals: History, Progress and Beyond 2030

Living in the Anthropocene

Understanding Gender in the Contemporary World

Healthy Eating for People and Planet

Year 3 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: August

You will need to take 120 credits, including:

- 40-80 credits (2-4 courses) of Philosophy Year 3 courses and
- 40-80 credits (2-4 courses) of Language Sciences Honours courses, at least one of which must be a 'Foundation' course.

If you are considering a dissertation in Language Sciences in Year 4, you must include a Language Sciences 'Skills' course in your Year 3 course selections. The LEL Honours handbook gives further details about the Language Science courses being offered. Please consult this handbook when selecting your courses.

There are no compulsory courses in this year of this programme.

Course options

Philosophy of Religion

Metaphysics

Logic 2: Modal Logics

Topics in Mind and Cognition

Late Modern Philosophy

Ancient Philosophy

Early Modern Philosophy

Philosophy of Time

Philosophy of Technology

AND

Applied Ethics

Normative theory

Political Philosophy

Aesthetics

Social Philosophy

Moral Philosophy

Feminist Philosophy

Philosophy of Technology

AND

Political Philosophy

Late Modern Philosophy

Ancient Philosophy

Early Modern Philosophy

Japanese Philosophy

AND

Sociolinguistics

Historical Linguistics

Pragmatics

Syntax: Theory and Practice

Morphology

Phonetics and Laboratory Phonology

Cognitive Linguistics

Semantic Theory

AND

This list of courses includes those listed above in the 'Foundation' category; you cannot use the same course to meet both of these requirements.

Sociolinguistics

Middle English

Simulating Language

Historical Linguistics

First Language Acquisition (Honours)

Second Language Acquisition (Honours)

Origins and Evolution of Language (Hons)

Reading Old English

Linguistic Fieldwork and Language Description

Global Englishes

Speech Processing (Hons)

Speech Synthesis

Pragmatics

Scots and Scottish English

Computer Programming for Speech and Language Processing

Phonological Theory and English Phonology

Syntax: Theory and Practice

Morphology

Phonetics and Laboratory Phonology

History of Scots

Universals of Language

Language Variation and Change

Speech Production and Perception

Cognitive Linguistics

Methods in Theoretical Linguistics

Semantic Theory

Discourse Analysis

Online Experiments for Language Scientists

Structure of a Language A

Semiotics

Quantitative Methods in Linguistics and English Language (Hons)

Language Endangerment and Revitalisation

Year 4 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: August

You will need to take:

- Dissertation in Philosophy, Dissertation in Language Sciences, or two Philosophy coursework dissertations (two 20-credit courses - one in each semester) (Group A),
- Two Philosophy Year 4 courses (Group B), and
- Two Language Sciences Honours courses (Group B).

The LEL Honours handbook gives further details about the Language Science courses being offered. Please consult this handbook when selecting your courses.

There are no compulsory courses in this year of this programme.

Course options

You must select a dissertation in Philosophy or Language Sciences.

There are two options in Philosophy - either an independent dissertation or two coursework dissertations:

- An independent dissertation is a single 8,000-word dissertation. You should select Dissertation in Philosophy (PHIL10026) for this option.

- The coursework dissertation option involves enrolling in two additional Philosophy Year 4 courses and submitting a 4,000-word essay in place of the standard assessment for each of these two courses. To complete the coursework dissertation option, you must select two courses from the Coursework Dissertation Options listed below. You must complete one coursework dissertation in Semester 1 and one in Semester 2. These courses are attended as normal. With this option, you will be enrolling in a total of four Philosophy Year 4 courses.

In order to complete the Dissertation in Language Sciences, you must have taken a course from the 'Skills' category in Year 3.

Dissertation in Language Sciences

Dissertation in Philosophy