Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL3040: Philosophy Dissertation

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

Module Aims

Writing a philosophy dissertation is an opportunity to demonstrate your abilities in the comprehension, analysis, and critique of philosophical texts. It is also an exercise in the communication of your own ideas, your ability to choose and develop a research topic of your own choice and preference, with the help and guidance from members of the academic staff. You will obtain substantial knowledge of the discussions and problems pertaining to your dissertation topic and enhance your analytic and writing skills.

A well conducted and written dissertation is a text that shows your dedication to define and engage in independent research, explore and present philosophical arguments on the basis of good knowledge of core texts relevant to the topic, and complete a large project on time and at a high academic standard.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate independent research skills 2. Demonstrate analytic skills 3. Complete a substantial piece of original writing in a timely manner
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. Demonstrate knowledge of appropriate literature 5. Develop and demonstrate a high standard of presentational and writing skills 6. Analyse and critique philosophical arguments
Personal and Key Skills	7. Choose and define personal, relevant themes and questions 8. Demonstrate graduate level skills of written presentation of philosophical material 9. Demonstrate advanced skills in selecting, digesting and organising material for a purpose 10. Demonstrate the ability to develop coherent and cogent arguments based on own research skills 11. Demonstrate high level of independent work ethic and commitment to a project

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 Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
16	284	0

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

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	12	Personal meetings with the supervisor
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	3	1 seminar per term in small groups with student project presentations
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	1	Lectures and presentations in Term One
Guided Independent study	284	Private 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).

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Dependent on choice of topic.