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The University of Edinburgh

Edinburgh , Scotland ,United Kingdom

Philosophy PhD

We are one of the world’s leading philosophy departments for research.

In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014), Philosophy research at Edinburgh is ranked 2nd in Scotland and joint 7th in the UK (Times Higher Education, Rank order by GPA).

The department has close links with other subject areas within the University, such as psychology, linguistics, informatics, jurisprudence, politics and classics.

We are also home to EIDYN, a philosophical research centre that hosts multiple international conferences, workshops and visiting scholars every year.

Our research and teaching spans most areas of philosophy, but we have particular expertise in the following research areas:

  • Epistemology
  • Ethics
  • History of Philosophy
  • Logic and Language
  • Mind and Cognition
  • Philosophy of Science

Intakes

  • Jan
  • Sep

Application Processing Time in Days: 30

Minimum English Language Requirements

English Level Description IELTS (1.0 -9.0) TOEFL IBT (0-120) TOEFL CBT (0-300) PTE (10-90)
Expert 9 120 297-300 86-90
Very Good 8.5 115-119 280-293 83-86
Very Good 8 110-114 270-280 79-83
Good 7.5 102-109 253-267 73-79
Good 7 94-101 240-253 65-73
Competent 6.5 79-93 213-233 58-65
Competent 6 60-78 170-210 50-58
Modest 5.5 46-59 133-210 43-50
Modest 5 35-45 107-133 36-43
Limited 4 32-34 97-103 30-36
Extremely Limited < 4 < 31 < 93 < 30

PSW Opportunity

  • 2 years

Admission Requirement / Eligibility Criteria

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in philosophy.

Your application will also be considered if you have a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in another subject and a postgraduate masters level degree in philosophy.

Your academic achievements will be assessed by a panel of academics along with the research proposal submitted as part of your application.

Minimum academic requirements

For entry to the Ph.D. program, applicants must meet the following minimum academic qualifications.

A postgraduate master's degree from an accredited institution in the UK or overseas showing evidence of above-average academic achievement. This includes:

a degree classification with a mark of 65% or more overall (University of Edinburgh level, or overseas equivalent)
normally a masters dissertation at the distinction level (University of Edinburgh level, or overseas equivalent) in accounting, finance, or related disciplines
Degrees in quantitative disciplines (e.g. economics or mathematics) or business studies will be considered if you can demonstrate a strong background in accounting and finance throughout your degree.

Applications may be accepted from those still currently studying for a master's degree; however, any offer will be conditional on the successful completion of the degree at the required standard.

Applicants with significant industry experience in the accounting sector, or with relevant professional qualifications will be given due consideration on a case-by-case basis. However, these applicants must also have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related discipline.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

  • IELTS (International English Language Testing System): total 7.0 (at least 6.0 in each module)
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Special Home Edition): total 100 (at least 20 in each module). We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • CAE and CPE: total 185 (at least 169 in each module)
  • Trinity ISE: ISE III with a pass in all four components

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL or Trinity ISE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.