Philosophy
About
Postgraduate community
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We have a large, supportive and thriving graduate culture, and offer a high level of individual supervision. As a postgraduate student you will be encouraged to participate, and perhaps even present, in the many departmental research seminars, work-in-progress discussions and reading groups. Our postgraduate community is very active and organises its own seminars and workshops, with support from the Department.
The Department places a strong emphasis on professional training and development. There are courses of formal training in research and teaching skills and there is ample opportunity for many of our graduate students to be involved in paid undergraduate teaching. We also offer extensive careers support and many of our PhD graduates have gone on to academic positions both in the UK and the USA (including Birmingham, Bristol, Miami and Sydney). The Department frequently hosts events including small specialist workshops and large national or international conferences.
Postgraduate seminar
All postgraduates are strongly encouraged to attend this weekly seminar, which provides an opportunity to present their work to an audience of their postgraduate peers (academic staff are also invited).
Department seminars
A series of Departmental seminars take place during term-time. All members of staff and postgraduate students gather to engage with presenters who reflect the full range of research interests covered by the Department. The speakers are leading academics from the UK and international institutions.
Research centre seminars
A series of regular specialist seminars are hosted by each of the Department's research centres: Aesthetics; Ethics and MetaEthics; History and Philosophy of Science and Metaphysics and Mind.
These seminars offer postgraduate students the chance to engage with visiting speakers, as well as Leeds researchers, who present material within the sub-disciplines most relevant to their own study.
White Rose Partnership seminars
The University of Leeds is involved in the White Rose Network with the nearby Universities of Sheffield and York. Department of Philosophy collaborations include the White Rose seminars in Aesthetics and in History of Philosophy.
Reading groups
The Department's postgraduate students run a number of informal seminars and reading groups.
- Philosophy postgraduate reading group - studies and discusses both recent and classic papers
- PG Tips discussion group - focuses on both teaching and other issues that concern the professional development of postgraduate students, especially in History and Philosophy of Science.
The society, which is run by undergraduates, combines social and academic events, such as invited speakers, balloon debates, parties. Email for further information about the Society.