module specification

Successful Completion of the Philosophy Intermediate Level.

The graduate attributes focused on in the module are A1, A2 and A3. The main aims of this module are:
· To give students an opportunity define a topic for research, based on their individual interest and assessment of its importance (A1, A3);
· To require students to seek out relevant information and material from a variety of sources, and to make their own assessment of its value and importance (A1, A2);
· To require students to take account of a number of different approaches and viewpoints in relation to the chosen topic, and to identify and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments in support of each viewpoint. (A1, A2.)
· To require students think out, articulate and defined their own considered position on the questions at issue. (A1, A3)
· To develop their profile of personal and professional attributes of self-evaluation, performance in a variety of idioms and contexts and a creative and ethical approach.

The student selects and defines the topic for his/her Project dissertation, in consultation with a prospective supervisor. In principle, a student may select any topic within Philosophy which a member of staff is competent to supervise and assess, and willing to approve as philosophically coherent. However, although the topic chosen may fall within the syllabus area of a taught module the student has taken, there should not be substantial overlap with any piece of coursework the student has previously submitted for assessment.

Along with the Project dissertation, the student prepares a Project Log, reflecting on the process by which the dissertation is planned, researched, drafted and submitted.

Independent study guided by individual supervision.

Assessment related independent learning
(supported by individual tutorial supervision) 300 hours

As a result of having taken this module, the student should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge and understanding of a chosen topic. (A2)

2. Demonstrate a capacity for independent philosophical research (A1, A2)

3. Demonstrate an appreciation of the various dimensions - ethical, conceptual, pragmatic - from which a philosophical problem can be approached. (A2, A3)

4. Demonstrate the capacity to think through, articulate and defend a worked-out position of his/her own on the issues involved in the chosen topic. (A1, A3)

5. Demonstrate 1 to 4 above by submission of a dissertation, written articulately in appropriate discourse, and conforming to norms of academic scholarship. (A1, A2, A3)

6. Demonstrate the capacity to reflect in a reasoned, critical and positive way on the process by which the dissertation was planned, researched and completed, and on the skills, attributes and personal strengths thereby developed.(A1, A2, A3)

The production under tutorial supervision of a scholarly dissertation of 7,000 - 9,000 on a topic selected and defined by the student himself/herself furnishes a comprehensive assessment of the full range of skills and attributes which the course aims to develop. In addition, the production of a Project Log of 500-1000 words, reviewing and assessing the process of producing the Project and the skills and strengths thereby developed, demonstrates the student’s capacity to reflect in a critical yet positive way on his/her academic and personal development.

This depends entirely on the topic selected for the student’s Project