Curriculum The Human Mind and its Complexities

The two-year Research Master's in Philosophy has a course load of 120EC spread over 2 years (4 semesters). It consists of the following elements:

• The Research Methods and Skills Seminar (20EC). This year-long course is a prime characteristic and staple of our programme, which all research master's students take in their first and second semester. It will help you develop the methodological, academic and presentational skills needed for a career in research.
• Four Research Master's Seminars in Philosophy (40EC), at least two of which are in your area of specialisation. Research Master's seminars are highly intensive and connect directly to the current research that is being done in the departments. For all specialisations combined, we offer a total of nine different Research Master's seminars. Their topics change yearly. You can also include Research Master's seminars from other universities. You take these seminars in your first, second and/or third semester.
• 20EC worth of elective master's level course work. This can be on any topic you want, and could include any of the courses from the research- and/or regular master's in philosophy, or master's level (philosophy or otherwise) courses offered at other faculties and/or universities. You can also host reading groups with fellow students for credits, take part in activities organised by the Dutch Research School of Philosophy (OZSW) or do an internship, either in or outside of academia.
• The State of the Art Paper (10EC). In the third semester, working directly with your supervisor, you choose a topic for your thesis and write a status quaestionis - preparing you for the thesis itself.
• Your final semester is fully devoted to the Research Master's Thesis (30EC), which consists of a publishable article and a research proposal. Being able to write these under the guidance of your supervisor gives students of our programme an excellent preparation for a career in research, and a flying start to a search for a PhD position. Those aiming for a career outside of academia can also opt to do an internship instead of writing the research proposal, to help them prepare for applying their research skills in a non-academic context.

Waivers based on previous Master

Students who already have a Master in philosophy, and who enroll in the Research Master’s, can fill their 20 EC of elective courses with their Master's, and also get a waiver for one semester of the Methods and Skills seminar (worth 10EC). Potentially, but only if the topic of their Research Master’s Thesis is the same as their Master thesis, they could get a waiver for the State of the Art Paper too.