Ancient philosophy (programme option)
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Programme structure

The duration of the Master's programme is two years, and the programme consists of 120 credits.

The master's degree consists of the following parts:

  • 40 credits of obligatory courses 
  • 20 credits of elective courses
  • 60 credits consisting of
    • either a longer independent work, or a shorter independent work plus elective courses (this option is for students starting their MA in the autumn of 2019 and later)
      or
    • either a longer independent work, or two shorter independent works (this option is for students who started their MA  in the autumn of 2018)

You can take the whole programme in English. Some courses are offered only in English. Others are offered in Norwegian, or in English if there are students who do not understand Norwegian.

Study progression

You can choose between two courses of study, the one with a master's thesis of 60 credits, the other with a master's thesis of 30 credits:

If you choose to write a master's thesis of 60 credits

4. semester FIL4090 – Master's Thesis in Philosophy
3. semester Semester abroad / FIL4090 – Master's thesis in philosophy Semester abroad / 10 credit MA course in philosophy
2. semester FIL4090 – Master's Thesis in Philosophy 10 credit MA course in ancient history of ideas / 10 credit MA course in philosophy 10 credit MA course in philosophy
1. semester FIL4081- Philosophical method and practice

FIL4561 – Ancient Philosophy and its key concepts
  10 credits 10 credits 10 credits

If you choose to write a master's thesis of 30 credits

4. semester

 FIL4091 – Master's Thesis in philosophy 10 credit MA course in philosophy 10 credit MA course in philosophy
3. semester

Semester abroad / FIL4091 – Master's Thesis in philosophy

Semester abroad / 10 credit MA course in philosophy

 

Semester abroad / 10 credit MA course in philosophy

2. semester

 FIL4091 – Master's Thesis in philosophy 10 credit MA course in ancient history of ideas / 10 credit MA course in philosophy 10 credit MA course in philosophy
1. semester FIL4081- Philosophical method and practice FIL4561 – Ancient Philosophy and its key concepts

 

10 credits

10 credits

10 credits

Semester abroad

We recommend that you go abroad in the third semester. 

If you are writing a master's thesis of 30 credits, you can take courses giving 20 credits at the institution abroad. If you are writing a master's thesis of 60 credits, it may be useful to move part of the work on the thesis from the third to the second semester, so that you can take more than one course in your semester abroad.

To organise this, please contact the student advisor well ahead of your stay.

40 credits compulsory courses

In addition you have to take a minimum of 10 credits in ancient history of ideas and/or ancient philosophy either abroad or at the University of Oslo. We offer one course in ancient history of ideas per year. For those who stay in Norway, one of the following courses may be offered:

20 credits of elective courses

20 credits chosen among all 10 credit courses in philosophy listed below.

Metaphysics and the philosophy of mind

Epistemology and philosophy of science

Ethics and other practical philosophy

Philosophy of language/logic

History of philosophy

Aesthetics

Courses at the intersection of the areas listed above

Courses that may shift areas from semester to semester

The following courses will each time belong to a designated area depending on the course contents:

FIL4010 and FIL4011 are shared master's and Ph.D. courses. These are offered as 10 credit courses and students can only take two such within the master's degree programme.

Since the content of many of the courses will vary from year to year, it may be possible to get credits for the same course twice. Special course codes are available for this purpose. If you are considering this option, please contact the programme administration as early as possible to know if it can be done. Usually you cannot get credits for the same course a third time.

It is possible to get recognition for courses from other subject areas than philosophy, provided they have philosophical content or are of clear relevance to the master’s thesis you are writing. The limit for how many credits you can get recognition for is 20 credits, which can be extended to 30 credits if the subjects are particularly relevant to the study of ancient philosophy.

Please apply with an e-mail to the programme administrator. Two courses are automatically recognized on the programme and no application is needed: KFL4070 – Feminist Ethics and KUN4232 – Philosophies of the Visual. The following courses are also recognized, but are only offered in Norwegian: KFL4010 – Feministisk vitenskapsteori, KUN4335 – Estetiske teorier, GRE4001 – Innføring i gresk I for masterstudenter og LAT4001 – Innføring i latin I for masterstudenter.

For students who started autumn 2018 or earlier

You can choose between two courses of study, the one with a master's thesis of 60 credits, the other with a master's essay and a second essay both of 30 credits.

If you choose to write a master's thesis

4. semester FIL4090 – Master's Thesis in Philosophy
3. semester FIL4090 – Master's thesis in philosophy 10 credit MA course in philosophy
2. semester Semester abroad / FIL4090 – Master's Thesis in Philosophy Semester abroad / 10 credit MA course in ancient history of ideas / 10 credit MA course in philosophy Semester abroad / 10 credit MA course in philosophy
1. semester FIL4080 - Thesis seminar in philosophy

FIL4561 – Ancient Philosophy and its key concepts
  10 credits 10 credits 10 credits

If you choose to write two essays

4. semester Course with essay *
3. semester Semester abroad / FIL4091 – Master's Thesis in philosophy Semester abroad / 10 credit MA course in philosophy
2. semester FIL4091 – Master's Thesis in Philosophy 10 credit MA course in ancient history of ideas / 10 credit MA course in philosophy 10 credit MA course in philosophy
1. semester FIL4080 - Thesis seminar in philosophy

FIL4561 – Ancient Philosophy and its key concepts
  10 credits 10 credits 10 credits

We recommend that you go abroad in your second semester.

* Students taking the course with essay in the fourth semester do so in connection with a course taught in the same semester. Please contact the student advisor for information. The exam is normally an essay of 25-50 pages. The supervisor is normally the teacher on the course. Students are entitled to a total of 5 hours of supervision.

Part-time studies

The programme does not have a special tailoring for part-time studies but it is possible to have a study progress of less than 100% based on application. Note that part-time students must be available at daytime. There are no evening classes.

Diploma and degree

This programme leads to the following degree: Master of Philosophy in Philosophy

The diploma is issued when you have completed the courses that meet the requirements for a degree. Read more about diplomas.

Published Feb. 1, 2019 12:14 PM - Last modified Oct. 13, 2023 11:04 AM