Philosophy with French

Philosophy is the oldest of the academic disciplines, concerned with the most fundamental questions that human thought can raise: what exists, how we can know it, what we should do, and what makes a good life or a just society. It is a discipline that develops your capacity for precise argument, careful analysis, and sustained critical reflection, training you to identify assumptions, evaluate evidence, and construct positions that can withstand scrutiny. Combining philosophy with French adds a linguistic and cultural dimension that enriches both subjects, connecting you to the French and francophone philosophical tradition, which has been one of the most influential in the world.

At the University of Dundee, this four-year full-time programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to spend time studying at a partner institution in a French-speaking country. For a degree that combines philosophy with French, the year abroad serves a dual purpose: it immerses you in the language and culture you are studying while also exposing you to a different academic tradition of philosophical inquiry, one shaped by a different set of assumptions and methods than the dominant Anglo-American analytic tradition. French philosophy has its own distinctive approaches to questions of consciousness, language, society, and ethics, and engaging with these in their original language and cultural context deepens your philosophical as well as your linguistic understanding.

Across the programme you will develop your French proficiency to an advanced level, study French literature and culture, and work through the major areas of philosophical inquiry, including epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy. Dundee has a tradition of engaged, reflective teaching in philosophy, and the department values both the analytic and continental philosophical traditions.

Graduates of philosophy and modern languages degrees move into careers in law, the civil service, journalism, education, consultancy, international organisations, and a wide range of other fields where critical thinking and communication are valued.