Philosophy

Do you have a strong desire to sharpen and clarify the loose arguments and vague concepts we all encounter in newspaper articles, textbook readings and everyday conversations? Are you as interested in questioning answers as answering questions? The research Master in Philosophy is a challenging, two-year programme that prepares you to participate in the current debates in the international philosophical community and to develop your own research contributions to the field.

Explore core themes, texts, and specialisation opportunities

The programme integrates a strong foundation in the core themes and texts of philosophy with extensive opportunities and flexibility for specialisation. You can explore issues, methods, and philosophers central to your own research project by participating in elective seminars, specialized tutorials, and seminars at other universities in the Netherlands or abroad.

Why this programme in Utrecht?

Developing your career plans

In this research Master's programme, you'll cultivate the knowledge and skills to engage in the global philosophy research community. Our coursework emphasizes analytical rigor, conceptual clarity, expressive precision, compelling argumentation, and historical context. We provide career guidance and offer research internship opportunities.

Active research community

You will conduct research within an active community of postdocs, PhD researchers, and senior staff, gaining hands-on experience and engaging in current international philosophy discussions. Utrecht University's Philosophy researchers excel in the following areas:

• History of Philosophy: Plato and Greek political thought; Hellenistic philosophy (Stoicism and Epicureanism), 17th century (Descartes and Spinoza, and their contemporaries) and 18th and early–19th centuries (Kant and German Idealism); continental philosophy (Nietzsche, Arendt, Habermas, and the Frankfurt school).
• Theoretical Philosophy: Metaphilosophy, social and formal epistemology, philosophy of logic and language, contemporary analytic metaphysics, philosophy of reasoning, agency and AI.
• Ethics Institute: Ethical justification, theories of political justice, moral psychology, and the ethics and politics of public health.

Collaboration and interdisciplinarity

Much of the philosophy research done in Utrecht has a strong interdisciplinary emphasis. This interdisciplinary approach and collaborative effort is evident in:

• Research done via the Ethics Institute, which is particularly involved in the University-wide strategic research focus areas Institutions and Sustainability.
• Research performed through the Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and Humanities.
• University-wide research in artificial intelligence.

After graduation

Philosophers can be found in a surprisingly wide range of careers, from journalism and politics to banking and consulting. Those who go on to do a PhD in Philosophy can pursue numerous different roles that professional philosophers play in society. 

The internship gave me first-hand experience on what a research project looks like from the inside.