Course details

This MA relates discourses and developments in modern and contemporary philosophy to current debates regarding (but not restricted to) the challenges of globalization, post-secular societies (Habermas), democratic development, etc., as well as to their philosophical foundations. Possible answers to these questions rely upon the philosophical notions of the nature of knowledge and human understanding, identity, plurality, and the human condition. This MA thus aims at carrying out a serious philosophical analysis of some of the underlying cultural themes and philosophical presuppositions of contemporary society. The MA degree (Mode I) in Philosophy is taken by examination (100% continuous assessment) and by minor thesis, the topic of which must be in the subject areas of Modern or Contemporary Philosophy and approved by the Head of the Department. The dissertation comprises a maximum of 15,000 words, and is assessed by the supervisor and the external examiner.

Entry Requirements

  • Admission for candidates with relevant degrees normally with at least a 2.2 (Second-Class Honours, Grade II) overall (or equivalent), or at the discretion of the Philosophy Department. Applicants must have a recognised primary degree which is considered equivalent to Irish university primary degree level.

Minimum English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6.5 minimum overall score
  • TOEFL (Paper based test): 585
  • TOEFL (Internet based test): 95
  • PTE (Pearson): 62

Module

Year 1

  • DISSERTATION
  • THE EARLY PHILOSOPHY OF EDITH STEIN
  • PHILOSOPHICAL SEMINAR
  • NIETZSCHE AND HIS LEGACY
  • READING MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
  • READING AQUINAS
  • METHODS IN PHENOMENOLOGY
  • NEW POLITICS IN THE RENAISSANCE: MACHIAVELLI
  • PG510 THE NATURAL LAW: CONTEMPORARY CONVERSATIONS
  • PG466 CULTURE AND RELIGION: A CRITICAL READING OF CHARLES TAYLORÂ’S SOURCES OF THE SELF
  • PG471 THE ETHICS OF WAR AND CONFLICT
Updated on 08 November, 2015

About Maynooth University

This means that students at Maynooth benefit from an international outlook, and those of you who wish to study abroad for a semester or an academic year during yTheir degree have a network of connections to tap in to. During the cTheirse of their academic degree students from Maynooth have studied subjects such as Law at Boston College, Mandarin Chinese at Beijing Foreign Studies University and Music in the University of Vienna.

Maynooth has many shared research projects with universities around the world.

  • In the Dept of Psychology, Prof Dermot Barnes-Holmes is working with academics in Columbia University in New York to predict the success of cocaine abuse treatment.
  • Mathematician Dr. Ken Duffy is working with immunologists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in MelbTheirne, Australia to analyse cell behaviTheir in a study that could have significant implications for Their understanding and treatment of diseases like Coeliac disease, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.  
  • Historian Dr Tom O Connor is working with colleagues from the University of Alcala and the Irish Colleges in Spain, discovering the hidden stories of Irish people who got caught up in the Spanish Inquisition.
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