Course details

Summary

Are killer drones immoral? What about genetic engineering? Should rich countries give substantially more in overseas aid? Are there objective moral truths? Does God exist? Could we survive death as computer uploads? What is consciousness? Can machines think? What is the difference between science and myth? Why do we enjoy art? Is time travel possible? These are a few of the questions that are studied in UC Philosophy classes.

Philosophy teaches you how to think about such questions rationally, carefully, and clearly. These skills are of real value in the workplace, and also when dealing with more theoretical aspects of other disciplines, including professional subjects such as Law, Nursing, and even Engineering.

UC offers world-class expertise in specific areas of Philosophy and a broad-based degree. The department is a tight-knit group who go the extra mile to help students.

The Philosophy degree is flexible, allowing Philosophy students to pursue very different pathways. This flexibility also allows students majoring in other subjects to add Philosophy courses to their degree, and this distinctiveness gives an edge in the job market.

Areas of specialisation in Philosophy at UC include ethics, bioethics, epistemology and metaphysics, logic, history of philosophy, history and philosophy of science and technology, cognitive science and philosophy of mind, philosophy and foundations of computing, philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, philosophy of language, and political philosophy. There are also specialised courses on famous figures such as Plato, Descartes, Wittgenstein and Turing.

This diploma offers people who hold a bachelor's degree in a major in an unrelated area the opportunity to study science in-depth. It is designed to provide a qualification for graduates seeking to qualify for entry to postgraduate qualifications in science, change career direction, or to extend or upgrade their existing qualifications.

The GradDipSc may be awarded with Distinction.

Qualification structure and duration

Students take courses from the Bachelor of Science schedule and are required to pass courses totalling a minimum of 120 points including 90 points at 300-level.

Further study

This qualification is an ideal pathway into postgraduate study.

Higher level study can be in Mathematics, Statistics, Mathematics and Statistics, Computational and Applied Mathematical Sciences, Economics and Mathematics, Finance and Mathematics, Finance and Statistics, Mathematics and Philosophy, and Mathematical Physics.

Career opportunities

The intellectual skills that Philosophy teaches lead to success in many different careers. Philosophy graduates are sought after by industry, government, education, and the financial sector. Many sectors increasingly require people who can think independently and creatively, write clearly, apply logic, solve abstract problems, and communicate precisely. This is what Philosophy students learn to do.

Internationally, Philosophy has been recognised as providing excellent preparation for careers in medicine, business, and law.

Recent UC graduates in Philosophy have become policy analysts, lawyers, web developers, teachers, environmental and sustainability advisors, research managers, popular science writers, claims analysts, computer game designers, e-learning executives, engineers, filmmakers, doctors, business analysts, publishers, editors, science journalists, software engineers, technical writers, university administrators and university lecturers. Many of our graduates have gone on to further study in New Zealand or overseas.

Entry criteria

Graduate diplomas require a bachelor's degree. If you gained your qualifications overseas, these will need to be assessed to ensure they are of an equivalent standard.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 550 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum C+ grade; CAE or CPE minimum score of 169 with at least 162 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 57 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50.