Thank you for your interest in the Master of Arts in Philosophy at Bielefeld University. Regardless of whether you are already studying for a Master's degree with us or are just thinking about it - you will find all the information you need on this page.
Do you still have questions about the Master's degree programme in Philosophy?
Then you have several options:
Have you already studied Philosophy at Bielefeld and are wondering what our Master's degree programme can offer you?
Specially designed courses
Sometimes Master's programmes are simply a continuation of the Bachelor's course. Not so with us. Our Master's students benefit from graduate seminars designed especially for them in small groups. Workshop seminars give you the chance to practise developing your own ideas and to discuss your work in a constructive atmosphere. You will practise how to communicate your ideas convincingly in presentation seminars. As a result, our Master's graduates are able to write texts independently, work on them intensively with peer feedback and are well equipped for public presentations.
Proximity to research
During your bachelor's course, you will probably have already learnt that the Department of Philosophy offers a wide range of additional courses in addition to regular teaching. As a Master's student, you can take full advantage of this offer - you are welcome to work on topics independently in small groups in the satellite seminar, participate in the development and improvement of new research contributions in research colloquia, take part in our many international workshops, discuss with internationally renowned philosophers in the annual masterclass or learn how to publish your work in relevant journals in our annual publication workshop.
Transition into the professional world
A Master's degree programme gives you approval for a wide range of career opportunities. This is not just true on paper - you will actually learn things here that will be very useful to you in different areas. These include the ability to work intensively on texts in an address-oriented manner, to express complex issues in a generally understandable way and to communicate your ideas and arguments confidently and effectively and defend them against criticism. We will be happy to help you find out how you can use these and other skills you have learnt to find a challenging career that suits you. We offer a wide range of career guidance with and without internships and this is one of the core ideas of our tried-and-tested mentoring programme: as a Master's student, you choose a mentor from the professorate as a personal point of contact for all aspects of your studies, from reading recommendations to job applications. Are you consdiering doing a doctorate after your Master's programme? Then you can also benefit from excellent counselling opportunities with us - just get in touch.
Have you already studied Philosophy and are wondering whether Bielefeld is a good place for your Master's programme?
Teaching and research at the highest international level
Bielefeld is an excellent location for your Master's programme in Philosophy, which also enjoys an outstanding international reputation. Our academic staff combine academic excellence and depth in research with balance and breadth in teaching - so you can be sure that you will receive a rich and well thought-out curriculum in almost all areas of Philosophy. Our research colloquia, the many international workshops, the regular guest lectures and the annual masterclass also give you approval for cutting-edge international research at the highest level. Our good network abroad enables us to provide our students with advice and support when travelling abroad.
Familiar atmosphere
Our students know that they are not just matriculation numbers here in Bielefeld. We cultivate a family atmosphere - we know and help each other. As a Master's student, you choose a mentor from the professorate as your personal point of contact for all matters relating to your studies. Our extremely active departmental student representative committee will be happy to advise you on all matters relating to your studies. Would you like to see for yourself? Then don't hesitate to get in touch with our students (see above for contact details).
Sophisticated teaching formats
Sometimes Master's programmes are simply extensions of the Bachelor's course. Not so with us. Our Master's students benefit from graduate seminars designed especially for them in small groups. Workshop seminars give you the chance to practise developing your own ideas and to discuss your work in a constructive atmosphere. You will practise how to communicate your ideas convincingly in presentation seminars. The result: our students are well equipped for public presentations and have the ability to work intensively on their texts, taking peer feedback into account.
Inclusion and diversity
We value an intellectually stimulating environment in which you can work optimally without feeling excluded - regardless of origin, gender, family situation or physical impairment. We offer a range of programmes and support options designed to enable you to complete a course of study that is exactly right for you. Why not give it a try!
Here, students from the department report on their experiences and impressions of studying philosophy in Bielefeld.
Bielefeld University has shown great commitment in helping me not only to combine family and university, but also to be able to work part-time. I would like to thank all the teaching staff at the Faculty of Philosophy, the staff and fellow students for their continuous support, patience and the great understanding they have shown me. Bielefeld University is a safe space for me and my family and a role model for all other institutions.
Sonja
I have already completed my Bachelor's degree here in Bielefeld and have been a member of the Philosophy departmental student representative committee for almost seven years. The Master's in Philosophy suits me above all with its flexibility, as I don't have or aim to specialise in one or two main topics. This allowed me to look into a wide range of topics such as the history of science, social discrimination and the theory of normativity, while at the same time gaining insights into seminars in literature, media and art studies, which complemented my main degree programme not only in terms of content, but also in the form of credit points. For me, this is precisely where the strengths of the Master's programme in Bielefeld lie: flexibility and interdisciplinary work.
Quay
Here you will find information on the structure of the Master's degree programme in the subject of Philosophy. The following is a general description of the degree programme, the fold-out elements contain a detailed description of the individual modules and at the end there is a diagram showing the structure of the Master's degree programme.
Detailed information can also be found in the subject-specific regulations and in the module handbook:
The MA programme usually lasts four semesters. It can be divided into three phases.
In the first phase of the programme, you will take the foundation module in Practical Philosophy and the foundation module in Theoretical Philosophy (15 ECTS credits each). The first phase takes place in the first and second semesters.
One basic module in Practical Philosophy and one in Theoretical Philosophy must be completed. A basic module consists of two graduate seminars (2 SWS each) and one workshop seminar (2 SWS, see below). The seminars must be thematically relevant to the module (theoretical or practical). The module is completed with a seminar paper of 6,000 words. Please note the further information on the supervision of seminar papers and hand in the booking form with your seminar paper.
In the second phase of the programme in the second and third semesters, you will complete three further modules (15 ECTS each). You can choose between the following modules, but you must choose three different modules and take at least one specialisation module and one lecture module. You can choose from the following modules:
The specialisation modules in Practical and Theoretical Philosophy are structured in the same way as the foundation modules. The only difference is that the modules are completed with a seminar paper of 8,000 words. The further information on the supervision of seminar papers also applies here and please hand in the booking form with your seminar paper.
The lecture module can be theoretical or practical. It consists of two graduate seminars and a presentation workshop. The graduate seminars must either both be assigned to the area of practical Philosophy or both to the area of theoretical Philosophy. The module is completed with a graded presentation in the presentation workshop. The lecture should last approximately 20 minutes and the subsequent discussion should also last 20 minutes.
The practical module serves both to provide career guidance and to acquire additional key qualifications such as teamwork, planning management, conflict management and practical problem-solving skills. An internship of approx. 300 working hours is planned for this. The work placement colloquium (1 SWS, block course) provides a forum for the exchange of work placement experiences and the discussion of other career guidance issues. In addition, a short work placement report (1,500 words) must be completed.
The third phase of the programme is the Master's thesis module (30 ECTS). The fourth semester is reserved for this.
In addition to a basic education in practical Philosophy and theoretical Philosophy, you will have the opportunity to specialise in one of the two areas by choosing modules in the second phase and the thematic focus of your Master's thesis. The academic advisor and teaching staff, instructors, lecturers from both areas will be on hand to advise you.
The specialised studies are accompanied by the individual subsidiary subjects (15 ECTS), in which you can also study non-specialised courses.
At least one complete module must be studied in the individual subsidiary subjects area; the remaining credit points can be earned through individual courses. The modules and courses can be freely selected from the courses offered by Bielefeld University. Detailed information on the individual subsidiary subjects can be found in the following document.
The workshop seminar is a fixed and regular part of the MA programme. While conventional philosophy degree programmes usually focus on the reception of philosophical literature, the workshop seminars are designed to provide targeted and systematic training in the development of students' own ideas and arguments and the production of their own philosophical texts.
In a workshop seminar, all students present their own text for discussion. (The text is thematically related to one or both graduate seminars). The texts are distributed before the meeting and prepared intensively by all participating students. After the discussion in the workshop seminar, the text can be revised again based on the discussion. The finished, revised text is the final result of each workshop seminar (and the basis of the module grade).
Every semester, the Department of Philosophy offers a colourful range of courses on all topics related to Philosophy. These include seminars and lectures that are generally assigned to Philosophy as well as those that are specific to your degree programme. Special features of the Academic Master Degree Programme are the workshop seminars for discussing seminar papers and the presentation workshop for preparing lectures. There is also a regular course on career orientation as well as courses in which Philosophy as public philosophy is discussed and students create projects such as podcasts or blog posts.
You can access the current course programme for the Master's degree in Philosophy here.
It is possible to start the course in the winter or summer semester.
Here you will find all the information for application and enrolment Please note that there may be special requirements for applicants with a foreign certificate of education. There are also special requirements for professionally qualified (person).
If you have any questions about the Master's programme, please contact the Master's representative of the Department of Philosophy, Prof. Dr Benjamin Kiesewetter, or the student counselling service.