The Department of Philosophy
LEVEL 2 PHILOSOPHY
HANDBOOK
2014-2015
Department of Philosophy
University of Sheffield
45 Victoria Street
Sheffield S3 7QB
Director of Second Year Studies: Dr Tom Cochrane [t.cochrane@sheffield.ac.uk]
The Director of Second Year Studies for 2014-2015 is Tom Cochrane. His room is B08 in
Victoria Street and his email address is: t.cochrane@sheffield.ac.uk
Senior Student Support Officer for Second Year Studies:
The Senior Student Support Officer for Second Year Studies is Anne-Marie Frisby. Her
email address is: a-m.frisby@sheffield.ac.uk, her working hours are 9.00am – 12.30pm
and 1.30pm – 4.30pm Monday to Thursday.
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Contents
1. Credit Requirements – Level 2
1.1 Single Honours
1.2 Dual Honours
1.3 Dual Honours with Arts
1.4 Dual Honours with Pure Science
1.5 Dual Honours with Social Science
1.6 Dual Degree Coordinator
2. Teaching
2.1 Lectures and Seminars
2.2 Seminar Contribution
3. Assessment and Degree Classification
3.1 Formulae for Degree Classification
3.2 Marking Procedures
3.3 Resits: Moving from Second Year to Third Year
3.4 Plagiarism and Unfair Means
3.5 Format of References
3.6 Coursework
3.7 Coursework Submission Deadlines
3.8 Submission by Post or Email
3.9 Coursework Late Submission Penalties and Extensions
3.10 Feedback on Essays
3.11 How to Write a Philosophy Essay
3.12 Examinations
3.13 Relation Between Coursework and Exams
3.14 Types of Exam
3.15 Feedback and Resits for Exams
3.16 The 100-Point Marking Scheme
4. After Graduation: Employment Prospects
5. Adding and Dropping Modules
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1. Credit Requirements – Level 2
1.1 Single Honours
Single Honours Philosophy students must take a total of 120 credits, all of which may
be from Level 2 Philosophy modules, or 100 credits from Level 2 Philosophy modules
plus 20 credits from Unrestricted Modules taken in any department.
1.2 Dual Honours
Dual honours Philosophy students must take three Philosophy modules (60 credits).
1.3 Dual Honours with Arts
Dual honours Philosophy students must take three Philosophy modules (60 credits).
Note: In each year, one of the Philosophy modules may be replaced by 20 credits of
Unrestricted Modules in any subject.
In general students taking Dual Degrees in Arts may pick any Philosophy modules they
choose, subject to timetable constraints. The following are advised as particularly
suitable choices:

Dual with English – Philosophy of Art and Literature (2nd yr)

Dual with Linguistics – Formal Logic (2nd yr), Reference and Truth (2nd yr)

Dual with Music – Philosophy of Art and Literature (2nd yr)
1.4 Dual Honours with Pure Science
Dual honours Philosophy students must take three Philosophy modules (60 credits)
Note: In each year, one of the Philosophy modules may be replaced by 20 credits of
Unrestricted Modules in any subject.
The following are advised as particularly suitable choices:

Dual with Physics – Formal Logic (2nd yr), Advanced Logic (3rd yr), Philosophy of
Science (3rd yr)

Dual with Pure Maths – Reference & Truth (2nd yr), Formal Logic (2nd yr),
Advanced Logic (3rd yr)
1.5 Dual Honours with Social Sciences
Dual honours Philosophy students must take three Philosophy modules (60 credits).
Note: In each year, one of the Philosophy modules may be replaced by 20 credits of
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Unrestricted Modules in any subject.
The following are advised as particularly suitable choices:

Dual with Economics – Political Philosophy (2nd yr), Theories of Rights (3rd yr)

Dual with Politics – Political Philosophy (2nd yr), Theories of Rights (3rd yr)
1.6 Dual Degree Coordinator
The Dual Degree Coordinator timetables Philosophy modules, consulting with dual
departments to avoid clashes when possible. He also looks into problems with clashing
essay and assessment deadlines between philosophy and dual departments (though
with 16 different dual degrees, some clashes are inevitable). Third, the Dual Degree
Coordinator ensures that students from a given Dual programme are all tutored by a
single individual, where possible. The Dual Degree Coordinator for 2014-2015 is Niall
Connelly.
2. Teaching
2.1 Lectures and Seminars
Teaching in the department is normally by a mixture of lectures and seminars – often
with a formal division between two hours a week devoted to lecturing, and one hour of
seminar or discussion; but sometimes with lecturing and discussion mixed into each
session.
Note that discussion/seminar sessions are an important part of the course;
participation in them is just as important for learning as is attendance at lectures. You
also have an obligation to others on the course to share with them your knowledge,
understanding, and opinions.
Department policy is that modules containing 30+ students should divide into two
seminar groups for one hour a week after Week 2, with an additional timetabled hour
made available for one of the seminar sessions. Modules of 45+ students will divide into
three seminar groups.
Please ensure that you arrive on time for the start of each lecture/seminar. Late arrival is
both discourteous and disruptive of the learning of other students, and in most cases
can easily be avoided.
2.2 Seminar Contributions
Seminars provide an important forum in which to test out your views, explore the
strengths and weaknesses of the theories and positions under study, and to develop
your communication skills.
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Often the best way to arrive at an understanding of a philosophical position is to engage
in critical discussion of it; and frequently one only discovers what one thinks in the
course of saying what one thinks. Students are encouraged not only to express views,
but to think of justifications for those views and to be sensitive to objections to them.
Seminars should be exploratory and co-operative in spirit, rather than confrontational.
Within some 2nd and 3rd year modules, there are opportunities for students to give
seminar presentations (i.e. short talks to introduce a seminar discussion, using whiteboard, overheads, etc). Students are advised to ensure that they take at least one such
module during the course of their degree, and that they give a presentation, receiving
feedback from the lecturer on their performance. ‘Communication skills’ should be
listed separately on your CV.
3. Assessment and Degree Classification
3.1 Formulae for Degree Classification
a) At the end of your programme of study, your degree will be classified on the basis
of a calculation which takes account of both the weighted average of the grades
you obtain in modules at Levels 2 and above and the class within which the best
50% of these weighted module grades fall.
b) In the calculation, grades are weighted both according to the credit value of each
module (e.g. grades for 20 credit modules are worth twice as much as 10 credit
modules in the calculation) and according to the Level at which the module was
studied (i.e.. your Level 3 grades are counted twice relative to those obtained at
Level 2).
3.2 Marking Procedures
In accordance with University policy, all essays and exam scripts are marked
anonymously where possible, the student being identified only by his or her registration
number. This is intended to prevent unconscious bias (either in favour of or against a
student) in the marking process.
The procedures for second-marking are as follows: The first marker reads each essay or
script and assigns a mark. He or she then provides a colleague – the moderator – with
all the essays or scripts, in rank order, together with any comments returned to
students, a summary of the proposed distribution of marks across the scale, and a note
drawing the moderator’s attention to any cases of uncertainty, where a second opinion
is needed.
The moderator reads a sample of the essays or scripts (at least 20% of the total),
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including all those with fail marks and those near a class borderline. The moderator
then considers that proposed distribution of marks providing advice where needed.
Modules taught by new lecturers are fully second-marked by another lecturer, with 2nd
marker looking at every essay or script.
3.3 Resits: Moving from 2nd to 3rd year
Students must pass their 2nd year (i.e. awarded at least 100 credits) before proceeding
to 3rd year. Examiners may allow a student to proceed provided they have failed no
more than one of six 2nd year modules. However, this will not be automatic. Examiners
can require a student to retake any or all failed modules in August. Equally, students
have the right to re-sit a failed module in order to improve their grade, if they wish to do
so. However, they cannot get better than a bare pass (i.e. ‘40’) for the module after resitting it.
3.4 Plagiarism & Unfair Means
Plagiarism
The following examples of unfair means are serious academic offences and may result in
severe penalties, up to and including expulsion from the University.
Plagiarism, Intentional or Otherwise
is using ideas or work of another person (including experts and other students) without
proper acknowledgement. It is considered dishonest and unprofessional. Plagiarism
may take the form of cutting and pasting, taking or closely paraphrasing ideas, passages,
sections, sentences, paragraphs, drawings, graphs and other graphical material from
books, articles, Internet sites or any other source (including lecture hand-outs) and
submitting them for assessment without appropriate acknowledgement.
Submitting bought or commissioned work
(for example from internet sites, essay “banks” or “mills”) is an extremely serious form
of plagiarism. This may take the form of buying or commissioning either the whole
assignment or part of it and implies a clear intention to deceive the examiners. The
University also takes an extremely serious view of any student who sells, offers to sell or
passes on their own assignments to other students.
Double submission (self-plagiarism)
Is resubmitting work for which credit has already been given (without proper
acknowledgement). This may take the form of copying either the whole assignment or
part of it.
Collusion
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Is where people work together to produce a piece of work, all or part of which is then
submitted by each of them as their own individual work. This includes passing on work
in any format to another student. It is not collusion when students involved in group
work are encouraged to work together to produce a single piece of work as part of the
assessment process. Nor is it collusion for student to discuss their ideas among
themselves or read each other’s drafts – though if you end up using an idea you owe to
another student, you should acknowledge this in the essay.
A University tutorial on what counts as plagiarism and how to avoid it is available here
(https://librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/shef-only/info_skills/plagiarism.html).
Unfair Means
Other types of unfair means include
Submitting bought or commissioned work (e.g. from internet sites, essay “banks” or
“mills”) is an extremely serious form of plagiarism. This may take the form of buying or
commissioning either the whole assignment or part of it and implies a clear intention to
deceive the examiners.
3.5 Format of References
There are many acceptable ways of citing references, e.g. in the form of footnotes. All
references should include author, work, and the page numbers from which the passage
or idea is taken. Here is a standard method of indicating sources:
For citing books:
Author, Title [Translator, trans. if applicable] (Place of Publication: Publisher, Date of
Publication), page number/s.
For example:
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations Elizabeth Anscombe, trans. (Oxford:
Basil Blackwell, 1953), p. 5.
For journal articles:
Author, “Title”, Journal Journal number (Date of Publication), page number/s.
For instance:
Marie McGinn, “The Writer and Society: An Interpretation of Nausea”, British Journal of
Aesthetics 37 (1997), pp. 118-28.
For chapters of edited books:
Author, “Chapter Title,” in Editor, ed., Title (Place of Publication: Publisher, Date of
Publication), page number/s.
For example:
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J.W. Allard, “Degrees of Truth in F.H. Bradley,” in W. Mander, ed. Perspectives on the
Logic and Metaphysics of F.H. Bradley (Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 1995), p. 138.
For lecture hand-outs:
16,” PHI254, University of Sheffield, Spring Term 2003.
For websites:
Author, “Title,” Source of Publication (Date of Publication). Available at: Web Address.
For example:
C. Collins, “Critiques of Humanitarianism and Humanitarian Action,” Report for the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (1998).
Available at:
http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/stock.html#F.
3.6 Coursework
Coursework Essays
All coursework essays will be marked anonymously. These essays should not be headed
with your name but only with your student registration number. The plagiarism slip
you submit should contain both your name and your student registration number (for
office use only).
Two Copies of each essay (or essay equivalent) should be submitted. One paper copy
to be handed in to the Departmental Office ‘dropbox’ (not to any member of staff). The
dropbox for all essays is situated on the wall outside the reception area together with a
plagiarism declaration form which must be completed, signed and stapled to every piece
of coursework. Please ensure that essays are submitted by the deadline. One
electronic copy to be submitted through the relevant module page on MOLE, which can
be accessed through your MUSE web page. Go to the Assignments link of the relevant
modules, and upload your essay there. Be sure to press the submit button.
The paper copy will be returned to the student with comments and a mark, the
electronic copy will be retained by the department and made available to the External
Examiner. Students should collect essays from the student pigeonholes.
Students should note that the mark given can only be provisional, and may later be
altered by the Examining Board on the advice of the External Examiner.
3.7 Coursework Submission Deadlines
 In Autumn Semester the deadline for mid-term assessments is 12.00 noon on
Wednesday 5th November 2014 (middle of week 6), and the deadline for end of
semester coursework is 12.00 noon on Wednesday 17th December 2014 (middle
of week 12).
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
In Spring Semester the deadline for mid-semester assessments is 12.00 noon on
Wednesday 18th March 2015 (middle of week 6), and the deadline for end of
semester coursework is 12.00 noon on Wednesday 20th May 2015 (middle of
week 12).
3.8 Submission by Post or Email
Students who have been granted extensions may send in their coursework to the office
by post [if the date of the extension is during vacation times]. These must be sent, one
paper copy of each essay by recorded mail (so that they will have a record of when
they sent it and we can read the postmark). The date of the postmark will count as the
submission date. Students should also attach a submission slip (plagiarism declaration,
downloadable from Philosophy Online on MOLE) for each essay and attach them to the
essays. They must also submit one copy electronically through MOLE.
Students who have not been granted extensions may submit by post and electronically
only in exceptional circumstances, and only after getting permission from the Senior
Student Support Officer, Anne-Marie Frisby. As above, they must also send the paper
copy by recorded mail, and should also attach a signed submission slip for each essay
submitted.
Students will be permitted to submit their essays by email only in the most exceptional
circumstances, and then only with prior approval of the Senior Student Support Officer.
3.9 Coursework Late Submission Penalties and Extensions
If an essay is submitted late and you have not been granted an extension, a penalty of
5% of the mark will be deducted for each working day after the submission date. The 5
working day deadline for late submission is absolute and any work submitted after the
5 working day period, without a special dispensation will receive zero.
Note that information concerning late submissions of coursework is held on marksheets
and student record cards. Potential employers will often ask about a capacity to meet
deadlines when requesting a reference.
Number Penalty
of days applied
late
1
-5%
Examples
Original
60
Original
50
57
47.5
9
2
-10%
54
45
3
-15%
51
42.5
4
-20%
48
40
5
-25%
45
37.5
6
-100%
0
0
Format
All philosophy essays are subject to specific word-limits and should be accompanied by
an accurate word count. The bibliography does not count toward the word count,
though footnotes do. Both over-length and under-length essays may be penalised, and
the limit is a strict one. Penalties will of course depend on severity of the violation.
Word limits are as follows:
1st year
: 1000-1500 words
2nd year
: 1500-2000 words
3rd year
: 3000-4000 words
Extensions
An extension will be granted for a major and clearly unforeseeable or unavoidable
incapacity to do the normal academic work.
Students making a request for an extension who have been ill for up to seven days
should obtain a Medical Self-Certificate from the Student Services Information Desk; for
longer periods a medical certificate should be obtained from the UHS or a personal
physician.
Students who believe they may need an extension are well advised to speak to the
Senior Student Support Officer as soon as possible. Requests for extensions when
already past a deadline are not normally granted.
3.10 Feedback on Essays
Level 2 Feedback Prior to Submission
Second year students should feel very free to consult lecturers (either during office
hours or at other times) about their plans for essays. Lecturers cannot read draft essays
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or essay plans for 2nd year modules, but they can answer any questions such as, “Is this
a good objection or is it just confused”? or “Here’s what I think I’ll say, is that too much
to try to do in an essay of this size”?
Level 2 feedback on Marked Essays
Marked coursework essays will be returned to you [via your pigeonhole in the
Department] with written feedback. This may take the form of a feedback form, or it
may be written in another format. In addition to the summary sheet you’ll receive, you
are also likely to be given marginal comments written in on the actual essay.
How to use feedback
One thing you can do with the feedback is simply to understand why you got the mark
that you did. But this isn’t very good use of the feedback. Used properly, the feedback
will also tell you how to do better in the future. And that is true even if the module is
now over. If, for example, you learn that you had a good original idea but didn’t
adequately explain the paper you were discussing, you’ve learned what to work on for
the next time.
If you don’t understand the feedback you’ve been given, or you’re not sure how to use it
to improve, ask someone! It usually makes best sense to ask the lecturer/tutor who
gave you the feedback. But if you’re concerned with more general issues, or if for some
reason you don’t want to do that, you should ask your personal tutor. Be sure to bring
both essay and feedback with you if you want this sort of guidance.
3.11 How to Write a Philosophy Essay
Preparation
1 Allow yourself enough time. When the questions are set and you have decided which
one to answer, try to do some preliminary reading as soon as possible. Give yourself
time to write both a rough copy and a final neat finished copy.
2 Use reading lists intelligently (and remember that books have indices). Decide
whether the book is one to be read right through or whether sections will meet your
purpose. When the essay topic concerns a text or an author’s views, read the
original, not merely comments upon it.
3 It is not wise to do research for an essay by searching the Web. Not all on-line
resources are reliable or relevant (though some are excellent, for example the
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, plato.stanford.edu). Start with sources listed in
the course material, and use the library if you need more.
4 You will find discussion (particularly of your rough copy) with others to be very
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useful. It is part of the purpose of a university and in particular of a degree in
philosophy to give students opportunities for argument and the exchange of ideas.
5 Plan your essay carefully beforehand. Read over the topic carefully and decide what
exactly it means. Then consider what thesis or view you are trying to demonstrate in
regard to the topic. Finally try to work out what are your arguments for your view. In
this way, when you come to write your essay, you will be less likely to write
unphilosophically or beside the point.
Writing the Essay
6 The introduction to your essay should mirror your plan by succinctly stating your
overall strategy. Do not give enormous vague meandering introductions; get down
quickly to the set topic.
7 The core of philosophy is learning how to argue your case coherently and validly, and
the core of a philosophy essay is its arguments. Those who mark your work (in both
essays and examinations) are more likely to be interested in the reasons you have
given than in the truth of your conclusions. If, however, you feel you must offer a
conclusion and cannot give reasons for it, give reasons why you feel that it is
impossible to give reasons!
8 You cannot be too clear in a difficult subject like philosophy. Write your essay (or
examination paper, for that matter) as if you were explaining your position, and the
arguments for it, to an intelligent person from another course who knows nothing
about philosophy.
9 An indispensable tool for both good argument and clear expression is sensitivity to
the correct use of words. Use words carefully. Do not use words about whose
meaning you are uncertain. Do not adopt the vocabulary of some book you have just
consulted. Use your own vocabulary; avoid jargon.
10 Avoid just stringing together quotations. Indeed you should be extremely careful in
your use of quotes. At most a quote can illustrate a point for you; it cannot prove it,
no matter what great thinker you are quoting from. Again, do not just paraphrase or
summarise views without comment. This is of no value. Anyone can read. If you refer
to someone’s views on the topic under discussion, you should aim to critically assess
the worth of that person’s view.
11 If your argument depends on facts, do not invent them. Find out what really are the
facts. Do not engage in economics or sociology or history or psychology... without a
licence. Do your homework, by asking an economist, sociologist, etc, or by consulting
a reputable book on economics, sociology... and so on.
You may also want to consult the very helpful guidance Jim Pryor composed for his
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students at Harvard, Princeton, and NYU. You can find it here:
Jim Pryor [http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/writing.html]
3.12 Examinations
All modules are examined in the end of the semester in which they are taken. The
examination will normally be of two hours’ duration, and will normally require
candidates to answer two questions. The rubric will require you to write your answers
into two separate answer books, and the marks for your two answers will be treated
separately for purposes of averaging with coursework marks.
Forms of exam
The department permits a variety of forms of final examination, ranging from longrelease seen exams (where the exam questions are released to students well in advance,
perhaps even at the start of the semester) to traditional unseen exams. (Between these
two poles can fall a variety of other forms of exam, including: short-release seen exams in
which the questions are only made available at the end of week 11.
It is departmental policy that the mode of exam chosen for a module should be justified
in light of the aims and objectives of that module. Given our modularised course
structure, it is also departmental policy that teachers should give detailed information,
in writing, concerning the structure of the final exam; as well as giving advice on exam
preparation if the exam is of an unfamiliar kind.
Exam Techniques
There are a number of simple Do’s and Don’ts that should be observed when sitting any
exam.

As far as possible allot the same amount of time to questions that have the same
weight – and in particular, allow exactly one hour to each of the two questions on
a standard two-hour paper.

Answer the question! Irrelevance will be severely penalised (especially in a prereleased exam).

Do not use the same material twice in answers to different questions.

Make sure your handwriting is as clear as possible. A script, which is barely
legible will tend to seem philosophically unclear too, and is apt to make markers
less sympathetic.

If you incorporate quotations or other material from the writings of others or
from lecture hand-outs, these must be explicitly acknowledged as such. The
rules about plagiarism apply in exams too (though you are not expected to
memorise the full bibliographical references you would give if it were a
coursework essay).
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In addition, when sitting any form of unseen exam you should:

Read the instructions at the head of the examination paper carefully, and follow
them absolutely. E.g. if the instructions require you to answer a question from
each of two sections. Make sure that you do so.

Read and give a little thought to every question on the paper, before attempting
to answer any one of them. Make sure that you select the questions, which will
enable you best to display your philosophical skills and understanding.
In order to do well in an unseen exam you must not only know your material, have a
capacity to argue cogently, and so on – you must also have the capacity to think quickly,
to organise a complex body of material so far as to answer a specific question, and to
plan and write a good essay in just one hour. These are skills, which you should practise
in advance. Obtain copies of exam papers from previous years and yet yourself to
answer some of the questions under a strict time constraint.
3.13 Relation between coursework and exams
The department has a policy of ‘no overlap’ between essay and exam questions and
answers with a module. That is:

No credit will be given for re-use of material previously examined in a
coursework essay or in another exam answer (where ‘re-use’ means ‘reproduction of
material with substantially similar content’). However, it is perfectly acceptable for
students to refer to conclusions established in answering one exam question when
answering a second question on the same examination paper when this is done with
a view to building on (rather than repeating) those conclusions.

Answering questions on the same topic across modules and/or years: It has been
agreed that while material cannot be copied across in this way, the same topics can
be tackled across modules and year (e.g. if a student has written on induction in the
first year, they may write on induction in the third year). However, staff will aim to
avoid setting questions that deal with the same topic in the same way across
modules in the same year
Advice on Examinations
The essays you write in answer to exam questions should be good essays. In particular,
they should be written in good, clear English; they should be well organised; they should
avoid dogmatism (evidence, reasons, analyses, justifications, arguments, objections, and
the like should be provided); they should be relevant (their content should comprise all
and only what is needed to answer the question); they should display sophisticated
understanding and wide knowledge of the subject matter; they should avoid jargon,
repetition, mere paraphrase of the views of others, and (of course) they should avoid
falsity and invalidity and should be legible.
3.14 Types of Exam
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Seen examinations
You should approach a pre-released exam in exactly the way that you would approach
the writing of a coursework essay. Decide which questions to answer. Consult your
lecture notes, lecture hand-outs, and notes made from books and articles you have been
reading to remind yourself of the layout of the issues. Perhaps do some further reading
if necessary. Then set yourself a plan, draft and polish an answer. Having written an
essay, ensure that you have a firm grasp of its structure so that you can reproduce
essentially the same content in the exam hall. Remember that you will be expected to
write rather longer answers in a seen exam than in an unseen one, and that the markers
will expect essays which are well structured and polished, with critical material well
developed.
Unseen examinations
Preparing for an unseen exam is a rather different sort of exercise. You should have
received advice from the lecturer on the range of topics to be covered and the kinds of
question you might expect. Select three or four of these to work up in preparation. Do
not just prepare two topics for a two-answer unseen exam. Since one or more of the
topics in question may not come up, or may come up in a form, which you do not know
how to answer, to do so is to take a big gamble with your overall module mark.
In preparing a topic it can be helpful to assemble a variety of essay components
(explanations of important doctrines or ideas, outlines of important arguments,
developed criticisms or arguments of your own), which you can then assemble in a
variety of different ways in answering the actual question set.
3.15 Feedback and Resits for Exams
Feedback on exams
Unfortunately, exam scripts cannot be returned to students, and time pressures prevent
examiners from writing comments for the student on exams. Students who are puzzled
about their exam marks may see their exam scripts and discuss them with their
personal adviser (in order to find out which answer got which mark, for instance). To
do this they should arrange a meeting several days in advance, to allow time for their
adviser to get hold of the scripts. Students are not allowed to take their scripts away or
to copy them. Please note that examiners do not write comments for students on exam
scripts. Students are in any case encouraged to discuss their exam performance, and
how it may be improved, with their Personal Adviser or the module lecturer.
Resit Information for Levels 2 & 3
Students must pass their second year before proceeding to the third. Normally this
means earning 120 credits at level 2. In special circumstances the examiners may allow
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a student to proceed with only 100 credits. Otherwise any failed modules must be resat
over the summer. Equally, students have the right to re-sit a failed module in order to
improve their grade, if they wish to do so. However, they cannot get better than a bare
pass (i.e. 40) for the modules after re-sitting it.
3.16 The 100-Point Marking Scheme
The mapping between the percentage scale and degree classes is given below:
100-point scale Degree class
70-100
1st
60-69
2.1
50-59
2.2
45-49
3rd
40-44
Pass
0-39
Fail
4. After Graduation; Employment Prospects
What can you do with a degree in philosophy? What does study of the subject equip you
for? The answer is: almost anything.
Those who are academically most able may wish to go on to do research work at
postgraduate level, either at Sheffield or another university. If you are thinking along
these lines at the start of your 3rd year, you should get a copy of the department’s
Graduate Prospectus and discuss the possibilities with the Director of Graduate
Admissions (in 2014-15 is James Lenman). In recent years our department has
developed a strong programme of graduate studies, emphasising research in philosophy
of mind, philosophy of psychology, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and political
philosophy – while also aiming to give postgraduates a sound professional training in
tutoring and general philosophy. If you are thinking of going elsewhere to pursue work
at postgraduate level, members of staff will be happy to give you the benefit of their
advice. Of course, competition at the postgraduate level, particularly for funding, is
pretty keen. So normally only students who are heading for a First or a strong Upper
Second would be advised to set their sights on postgraduate work in philosophy.
For those leaving the academic world after graduation, employment prospects are
similar to those for other Arts subjects. A recent survey of our graduates showed that
six months after graduation 97% of respondents were either employed or studying for a
further degree. The most common jobs for our graduates have been in teaching,
journalism, marketing and public relations, and accountancy. Others grads have found
employment in IT, law, civil service, the NHS, publishing, and many other areas. 88% of
respondents to a recent survey said that their Philosophy degree had helped to qualify
them for their job. They mentioned many important skills that their Philosophy degree
had helped them to acquire, including problem solving, independent and logical
thinking, clear expression of ideas in writing and in discussion, precision of language,
critical reading, analysis, and understanding complex issues. You can find further
information about employment prospects, as well as survey data, on the Department
website: follow the links for ‘undergraduate programme’ and ‘current students’.
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In making applications for employment you may encounter misconceptions about
philosophy and even sometimes a degree of prejudice against the subject. Be prepared
for this when writing your CV and in interviews.
Analytical philosophy should provide you with a range of skills and abilities that will be
valuable in many different careers (see departmental teaching Aims b, c and d in §2):

to digest, summarise and extract what is important from discussions, reports,
surveys, and other sources of information

to define tasks and objectives

to distinguish between what is relevant and what isn’t

to write well-reasoned memoranda, and formulate clear proposals

to communicate effectively and cogently

to master complex and detailed arguments

to think critically and flexibly
In the meantime, make sure you take advantage of the opportunities the university has
to offer for acquiring ancillary transferable skills – for example, expertise in wordprocessing through drafting and redrafting your coursework and oral skills developed
in seminar discussions and presentations. It would be wise to approach potential
referees in the department before you leave so that they can be prepared to write in
your support thereafter.
Our Departmental careers advisor is Yonatan Shemmer in Autumn and Rosanna Keefe
in Spring. And don’t forget to make use of the University Careers Service. You needn’t
wait until your final year before seeking their help.
Note also that Personal Development Planning is designed specifically to help students
to think of their studies as preparing them for employment. It encourages students to
identify and develop ‘transferable skills’ learned in their studies that can help them later
in life. An elaborate and sophisticated set of personal development tools are available
on MUSE under the name ‘E-Portfolios’.
Careers Events for Second Year Students
Internships – Find Your Perfect Internship – 22nd October 2014 2-4pm
A session discussing the value of internships and where to find vacancies.
Careers Day – Wednesday 19th November 2014 3-6pm
Your Career Philosophy – 25th February 2015 2-4pm
Career planning and self-awareness session.
Capitalising upon your Philosophy in the City and volunteering experience – 11th
or 18th March 2-4pm
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Using your extra-curricular and volunteering experiences to create winning
applications and succeed at interviews.
5. Adding and Dropping Modules
At the beginning of each semester, there is an Add/Drop period of three weeks during
which you may change your chosen modules. If you decide that you have chosen a
module that you would prefer not to take, you must use the online Add/Drop system in
your MUSE account.
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