Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL3040: Philosophy Dissertation

This module descriptor refers to the 2024/5 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Summer:
Students to think about a possible topic and select possible supervisor; introductory lecture available online.

Term 1:
Week 2: 2-hour lecture and Q&A, to get students started and finalise allocations of supervisors.
Week 4: Submission of dissertation plan and initial bibliography (via BART).
Week 7: 3-hour small group seminar with student presentations, and feedback from supervisor and others students.
Weeks 8-12: At least one extended meeting with the supervisor before the Winter break is highly recommended!

Term 2:
Week 3: 1-hour lecture and Q&A about practical matters (bibliography, reference formats, and so on)
Week 6: Submission of first dissertation draft (ca. 5000 words) through BART
Week 6: 3-hour small group seminar with student presentations on their drafts, and feedback from supervisor and others students.
Weeks 9-11: At least one extended meeting with the supervisor before the Spring break is highly recommended!

End of April/Beginning of May:
Submission of the completed dissertation through BART.

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
162840

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity 12Personal meetings with the supervisor
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity 31 seminar per term in small groups with student project presentations
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity1Lectures and presentations in Term One
Guided Independent study284Private study: hours are approximate and may vary depending on student skill. Literature search, reading and analysis (130 hours), preparing presentations for the seminars (8 hours), writing of draft (60 hours) and final dissertation (86 hours)

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).