History of Philosophy and Science (specialisation)

Entry requirements

1. A completed Bachelor's degree in Philosophy or in a related discipline (in the latter case, students must have acquired at least 60 EC in Philosophical disciplines).

The applicant must have a degree with merit or distinction or equivalent. Meaning: a student’s weighted grade-point average in philosophy in the 2nd and 3rd year of their Bachelor's programme must be the equivalent of 7.5 or more (on the Dutch scale of 10).
On the page "Conversions of international grades" you will find an indication of what the equivalent of a Dutch 7.5 or 8 might be in the country where you obtained your Bachelor’s degree.

2. A proficiency in English

In order to take part in this programme, you need to have fluency in both written and spoken English.This requirement has been satisfied when the student meets the conditions, listed on our website.

3. Highly motivated

An applicant must be able to demonstrate to the Examination Board that they have serious research interests and skills. Applicant must write a motivation letter and send a writing sample which can help evaluate their research and writing skills.

Months of entry

February, September

Course content

Programme overview

There is no other academic discipline in which the past is so important as in philosophy: today's philosophers are still responding to, and conversing with, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger and Wittgenstein. The specialisation History of Philosophy and science covers the entire history of philosophy from the Presocratic philosophers up to today, divided into four periods: ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary. The programme g the development of philosophy from Antiquity to early modern and modern times, with a particular emphasis on the genesis of modern scientific disciplines such as psychology, physics or chemistry out of the traditional body of Aristotelian natural philosophy.

Key authors for this specialisation are, in alphabetical order, Aristotle, Descartes, Epicurus, Galileo, German idealists, Hegel, Hobbes, Hume, Leibniz, Lucretius, Merleau-Ponty, Plato, Pomponazzi, Sartre, and Thomas Aquinas.

Career prospects

This programme is designed for graduates that wish to pursue a research career. A majority of students will pursue a PhD, and more than 75 percent of graduates obtain one within two years of graduation.

Other graduates may choose different paths:

• Teacher of philiosophy
• Journalist
• Science policy
• Politics
• Other research careers

If you have any questions, email us here: study-information@ru.nl

Learn more via the Radboud University contact form.

Fees and funding

There are various scholarships available for studying at Radboud University. Some of the opportunities are described below. A full list, including detailed information, can be found on our website.

• Radboud Scholarship Programme
• Fulbright-Radboud Scholarships