Program Description

This combination of subjects gives students the chance to examine ideas about human nature and society that underpin political theory. Students will study modules in the Department of Politics and the Department of Philosophy. Half of their modules will be in politics, and the other half will be in philosophy.

Politics teaching includes international relations, governance and public policy, political theory and comparative politics. The geographical areas covered include Europe (Central, Southern and Eastern Europe and the European Union), the Americas, Asia (South) and Africa.

First-year modules include Introduction to Political Analysis and An Introduction to Western Political Thought. In the second and third years, students will take more compulsory and optional modules followed by a project module or a dissertation.

The philosophy side of the course is flexible. There are no compulsory modules. Students can develop their understanding of key areas such as ethics, philosophy of mind, theory of knowledge, political philosophy, metaphysics and logic.

The University of Sheffield also teaches courses on major figures in the history of philosophy such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes and Hegel.