BA or MSci in Psychology, Philosophy & Linguistics

Psychology, Philosophy & Linguistics

Students apply to study two out of these three subjects:

• Psychology
• Philosophy
• Linguistics
  

In exceptional circumstances it is possible to study all three subjects together, with college approval, once you have commenced your studies with us.

Students who have study psychology as part of their course are accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Charted Membership of the British Psychological Society, provided they study sufficient psychology and the minimum standard of a Second Class Honours (2.2) is achieved. 

What is Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics?

Psychology includes subjects as diverse as social interaction, learning, child development, schizophrenia and information processing. Philosophy is concerned with a wide range of questions including ethics, knowledge and the nature of mind. Linguistics is the study of language in all its aspects, including the structure of languages, meaning (semantics), how children learn language, pronunciation, and how people understand, mentally represent and generate language.

Students can elect to graduate after three years with a BA degree. Alternatively, they can decide to remain for an optional fourth year composed of a research-intensive, clinically-focused or translation-focused extended project in Experimental Psychology and allied disciplines. Students who complete the fourth year will graduate with a Master’s degree in PPL.  Please note that the 4th year has a Psychology focus and is only available to students taking Psychology as a part of their PPL degree.  Philosophy and Linguistics PPL candidates will graduate after 3 years with a BA degree.

Why study Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics at Oxford ?

Psychology at Oxford is essentially a scientific discipline, involving the rigorous formulation and testing of ideas. It works through experiments and systematic observations rather than introspection. The Oxford Department of Experimental Psychology is widely regarded as one of the leading psychology departments in the United Kingdom. At present there are particularly strong research groups and labs in the fields of human cognitive processes, neuroscience, language development and social psychology.

The Oxford Philosophy Faculty is the largest philosophy department in the United Kingdom, and one of the largest in the world. Many faculty members have a worldwide reputation, and the library and other facilities are acknowledged as among the best in the country. Philosophy at Oxford has active interests in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of science, and has very close links with working in neuroscience and psychology.

The Faculty of Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics is the newest faculty in Oxford; it brings together internationally-renowned scholars working in theoretical and descriptive linguistics (especially syntax, historical and phonology), experimental phonetics, psycholinguistics, linguistics of romance languages, historical linguistics and comparative philology. Unlike other subjects in humanities, it includes the two scientific research laboratories; The Language & Brain Laboratory and The Phonetics Laboratory.

If you have any further questions, please email admissions@psy.ox.ac.uk.