Bachelor of Philosophy

From Freepedia

Bachelor of Philosophy (B.Phil.; occasionally B.Ph. or Ph.B.) is the title of an academic degree. Despite its name, in most universities it is a graduate degree taken only by those who have already gained an undergraduate degree.

University of Oxford

The B.Phil.'s best-known, and perhaps earliest, form is as a University of Oxford graduate degree. Originally, Oxford named its pre-doctoral graduate degrees the Bachelor of Philosophy (a two-year degree, partly taught and partly by research) and the Bachelor of Letters (B.Litt.) (a two-year research degree). After complaints, especially from overseas students, that this naming convention often meant that graduate degrees were not being recognised as such, the University renamed them Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) and Master of Letters (M.Litt.). However, the Philosophy Faculty (then a Sub-Faculty) argued that its B.Phil. degree had become so well-known and respected throughout the world that it would be confusing to change the name; thus in philosophy, and only in philosophy, the degree continues to be called the B.Phil.. (Those who pass the degree are given the choice of taking a B.Phil. or an M.Phil.; few if any choose the latter.)

Today's Oxford B.Phil. course is a two-year programme of three taught courses and a research thesis (max. 30,000 words). The taught courses are all examined by essays chosen from prescribed lists; candidates submit two essays for each course, or six essays in total, in addition to their theses. The pass mark is equivalent to the first-class honours borderline for undergraduate degrees. The B.Phil. is not suitable for those with no academic background in Philosophy; its entrance requirements are very high — a first-class honours undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in philosophy is normally needed.

The Oxford B.Phil. was designed to be a preparation for teaching philosophy at university level and a foundation for the D.Phil. course.

See the Oxford University Graduate Studies Prospectus: Philosophy.

Outside Oxford

Some universities have adopted the Oxford model of the B.Phil. as a graduate degree, either as originally intended (in a variety of subjects) or as it has developed (in philosophy only); for example, Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Others use the term Bachelor of Philosophy in a more intuitive way, to refer to an undergraduate Bachelor's degree in philosophy; for example, The Australian National University, Northwestern University, and Pennsylvania State University). Even when it is at undergraduate level, however, the degree is frequently non-standard, being research-based or involving a considerable amount of independent study. This is the case, for example, at the undergraduate Honours College of the University of Pittsburgh; the B.Phil. degree programme requires the oral defence of a thesis.