Course summary

On our four-year BA Philosophy, Religion and Ethics (including foundation year), we work with you to develop your subject-specific knowledge, and to improve your academic skills. You receive a thorough grounding in these areas during your foundation year (known as Year Zero) to prepare you for a further three years of undergraduate study at Essex. Our five-year version of this course enables you to study abroad during your fourth year of study. This course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three or four years of study, depending on whether you choose to take the study abroad option. During your Year Zero, you study three academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory academic skills module, with additional English language for non-English speakers. You are an Essex student from day one, a member of our global community based at the most internationally diverse campus university in the UK. After successful completion of Year Zero in our Essex Pathways Department, you progress to complete your course with our School of Philosophy and Art History. Our course enables you to study philosophy, with a special focus on issues regarding religion and ethics, including momentous issues like the meaning of life, the relationship between faith and reason, arguments for and against the existence of God and the moral status of abortion and euthanasia. Study both classic texts and on-going debates in these fields, across a range of philosophical traditions. You will be equipped to engage with these discussions in an informed and critical way. We are involved in many exciting and interdisciplinary research projects, and have active links with other areas including political science, law, sociology, psychoanalysis, and art history. Our School of Philosophy and Art History has been ranked in the Top 20 in the UK for research excellence (REF 2014, mainstream universities, THE 2014).