Overview
Our PhD research programmes will allow you to explore your interests in philosophy, supported by the expertise of our staff.
Full description
You’ll be allocated two supervisors, with additional staff members available if necessary. Our supervisors are experienced in most areas of philosophy, including modern European philosophy, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, feminist philosophy, ancient philosophy, philosophy of art, philosophy of religion and ethics.
We’ll provide you with a rich and stimulating research environment with strong links to research networks in Anglia Ruskin and the wider community, including the University of Cambridge's Centre for Research into Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH). Our department hosts the Labour History Research Unit and contributes to the Policing Institute for the Eastern Region (PIER) and the StoryLab Research Institute.
We also host and take part in many research events, including regular Faculty and departmental research seminars, where you’ll be able to present your research in a safe and supportive setting. These events, along with our online environment, will help you connect with other research students from a range of disciplines.
All your subject-specific studies will be enhanced and supported by our University-wide training sessions, where you’ll gain important research expertise in areas like ethics, presentations, intellectual property and digital scholarship.
Supervision and Support
Our permanent supervisory staff are recognised as international experts in their fields. They’ve produced a large number of influential books, journal articles and edited collections, and won funding for a variety of prestigious research projects. Our philosophy expertise includes:
Dr Alison Ainley: modern European philosophy including phenomenology; psychoanalysis; ethics; feminist philosophy; weakness of will in Aristotle and Davidson; Adorno and aesthetics; Simone de Beauvoir and old age.
Dr Tristan Moyle: modern European philosophy, especially Heidegger; ethics; philosophy of religion; history of philosophy, especially ancient philosophy; philosophical botany, zoology and anthropology; historical and contemporary ways of conceptualising plant movements; metaphysical realism; the concept of 'to kalon' in Aristotle.
Dr Mike Wilby: philosophy of mind; philosophy of cognitive science; philosophy of sociality and social cognition; intersubjectivity; epistemology; the philosophy of perception; attention and joint attention, collective intentionality and collective action; folk psychology; embodied theories of mind; developmental psychology; social cognition; the philosophy of P F Strawson.
Your department and faculty
At the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, we believe in thinking critically about the past, present and future to challenge perceptions and better understand communities and people.
With expertise from gender issues to literary analysis to exploring how the past has shaped our modern world, all our staff members are active researchers. This is reflected in our teaching, allowing us to support our students with the latest theories and practices, as well as essential employability advice.
My name is Kavisha Prince Anthony, and I always had a dream of studying abroad. Thankfully, that dream came to life since I applied to the Study Advisor. I was able to receive my visa within four days. I also had some visa refusals in the past; I had about six UK visa refusals in the past, but thankfully, it was not an issue since the Study Advisor was able to make things work this time. I highly recommend Study Advisor for your dreams of going abroad, whether it be the UK or any other European country there is.