Learning outcomes

By the end of their bachelor's degree, students will have acquired :

I. General knowledge and interdisciplinary skills

• Vast general and interdisciplinary knowledge by opening up to other disciplines and understanding the connections between them
  • A grounding in the fundamentals of the humanities and social sciences (principal theories, vocabulary, methods and challenges)
  • The ability to build an interdisciplinary dialogue between the different humanities and social sciences and to problematise their relationship to philosophy
    
    All general course units (CUs) and optional CUs in the humanities, e.g. Critique des sources d'information, Littératures européennes comparées, Linguistique générale, Histoire des sociétés occidentales, Sociologie; Histoire de l'art du moyen âge à nos jours, Psychologie, Religions d'occident (judaïsme, christianisme, islam) et société; Droit naturel (in French or English)
     
• Knowledge in areas which are complementary to philosophy
  • In-depth knowledge in one or more subject areas by choosing a minor subject and learning to examine it through the lens of philosophy
    
    All CUs in the chosen minor subject (English, Literature, History, Political Science) and the possibility to take other CUs as part of an additional bachelor's degree

II. Specialised knowledge

• Specialised knowledge in fields related to philosophy and an understanding of the challenges of the discipline
  • In-depth knowledge of the major disciplines which philosophy is based on (principal theories, vocabulary, concepts, methods and challenges) and an understanding of their practice
    
    All thematic courses introducing the major disciplines of philosophy, e.g. Philosophie morale, Métaphysique (Year 1); Philosophie de la culture et de l'histoire, Phénoménologie, Anthropologie philosophique, Epistémologie des sciences humaines (Year 2); Philosophie de l'art et de la littérature, Philosophie politique, Ethique, Logique, Philosophie du langage (Year 3)
     
  • Knowledge of the main streams and authors in the history of philosophy, as well as its practice, methods and challenges.
    
    All history of philosophy courses, e.g. Histoire de la philosophie de l’Antiquité, Histoire de la philosophie moderne, Histoire de la philosophie médiévale (Year 2); Philosophie contemporaine (Year 3)
     
• Knowledge of the methods of critical text analysis and their application to philosophical texts
  • The ability to situate a philosophical work in terms of a problematic and a historical context
  • The ability to produce a personal commentary on a philosophical text
  • The ability to draw on a text to construct a philosophical argument
    
    Séminaire de lecture de textes philosophiques (Year 1); Séminaire d’histoire de la philosophie de l’antiquité, Séminaire d’histoire de la philosophie moderne (Year 2); Séminaire d’esthétique, Séminaire de philosophie contemporaine (Year 3)
     
• The skills to undertake personal research on a question of philosophy, including the proper and effective use of the discipline’s specific research resources and working methods
  • The ability to engage in a personal dialogue with the philosophical tradition
  • The knowledge and ability to use the main reference tools in the various disciplines of philosophy
  • The ability to construct a research question (defend a personal philosophical interpretation) and support it using the appropriate methodology in a personal work of up to 50 pages (in preparation for the master’s dissertation)
  • The ability to summarise the current scholarly state of investigation on a philosophical issue
  • The ability to follow the instructions for a significant piece of work (including respecting deadlines) and an ability to discuss and interact constructively with a supervisor
    
    Méthodologie de la philosophie et exercices, Séminaire de lecture de textes philosophiques (Year 1); séminaires associés aux cours d’histoire de la philosophie (Years 2 & 3; see above); Final paper (10 credits)

III. A grounding in the scientific method (‘transferable skills’)

• Critical thinking and scientific reasoning skills
  • The ability to undertake scientific inquiry according to the scientific method and critically examine any type of information or document
  • The ability to construct a clear and sophisticated reasoned argumentation involving a problem, a hypothesis and its verification
    
    All CUs for the bachelor's degree in philosophy
     
• Expertise in the analytical methods for understanding complex reasoning as well as academic reasoning and communication skills
  • The ability to summarise and identify the issues in any complex text or line of reasoning
  • The ability to take a personal position in a debate about ideas and to construct reasoning to defend it, including vis-à-vis those who do not share its assumptions
    
    All CUs for the bachelor's degree in philosophy

IV. High-level written and oral communication skills (‘transferable skills’)

• A grounding in scientific communication in keeping with referencing and publication norms
  • The ability to produce a piece of academic work in accordance with the norms and ethics of academic writing (bibliographical references, use of quotations, notes, etc.)
  • Sufficient knowledge of how to use the different means of communicating research results (oral presentation, written essay, commentary, review, etc.)
    
    Méthodologie de la philosophie et exercices (Year 1)
     
• Communication skills in at least one language other than French
  • Oral and written proficiency in at least one modern language other than French
  • Comprehension of a written text in at least one ancient or modern language other than French
  • Comprehension of basic academic vocabulary in at least one language other than French
    
    English (Year 1) Students may choose between the following language CUs (Year 2): Traduction et explication de textes latins, Initiation à la langue latine, Espagnol, Italien I, Allemand, Néerlandais, Anglais: Introduction to English Literature