Course overview

Who are we? Why are we here? How should we live? Philosophy and religion are fundamental to informing the way that people live. The choices we make, our sense of what’s right and wrong, our understanding of what we owe to each other: all of these are shaped by our fundamental beliefs about the nature of the world and our place in it.

This course places the big questions of philosophy and ethics in conversation with the religious traditions that have shaped them across the globe and throughout history, and continue to shape them here and now. You will learn from subject specialists who have expert knowledge of the traditions they teach, and the experience to help you draw connections between ancient wisdom and the urgent debates of our time: the nature of authority, how belief shapes behaviour, the relationship between rights and responsibilities, what it means to be human, how to balance competing claims for justice.

Why study this course with us?

Excellence

Our courses are nationally recognised for their excellence. We are rated 1st in the UK for Teaching Quality Score (Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023), 1st for Student Experience Score (Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023) and are Top for Satisfaction with Feedback in the Guardian University Guide 2022 and 2023. We received 100% Overall Satisfaction in the subject area of Theology and Religious Studies in the latest National Student Survey (Discover Uni 2022), and 85% of our students go on to work or further study within 15 months of completing their course (Discover Uni 2022).

Flexibility

Our programme is designed to give you maximum flexibility to pursue your own interests. Whether you’re entering directly from school/college or you’ve been away from education for a while; whether you know right now what you want to focus on at University, or you’re wanting to discover ideas you’d never thought about before: our first year curriculum gives you the skills and knowledge to dive straight in, and our staff have the range of expertise to support you, wherever your curiosity takes you.

Teaching methods

Our delivery is vibrant, dynamic, and customised to meet the needs of our students and specific nature of our subject. While the exact details of delivery will vary depending on the content of a particular module (or even a particular session), most of your class sessions will be a mix of lecture, discussion, group work, and practical demonstration. Some modules may have specifically designated seminars, to facilitate discussion among a smaller group of peers. You will also have one-to-one tutorials in every module to help you prepare for your assessment. Teaching will be a blend of face-to-face accompanied by a smaller portion of online learning.

Assessment

The assessment on this programme is designed to help you consolidate your learning and develop key skills; the emphasis is on coursework rather than exams. In addition to essays, you are likely to write book reviews, text analysis, blog posts, dictionary entries, oral presentations, video presentations, research journals, workbooks, or critical reflections on your own learning. All assessments involve some element of independent choice, and are supported by formative activities, one-to-one tutorials, and feedback which highlights the next steps to enhance your achievement.