Teaching and Learning > DOCUMENTS
For Students
The resources on this website are developed to help lecturers and tutors improve the learning experience of all students in philosophy, theology, religious studies, history and philosophy of science and related subjects.
We also think that many of these resources will be of direct value to you in finding out the different ways learning and teaching techniques are developing for your discipline(s) so that you can better engage with your own learning experience and take full advantage of the opportunities available from higher education. Additionally, you might also find that you want to disagree with some of the thinking behind these developments and make your own voice heard: we certainly want to make sure that we incorporate student needs in our future development, so do contact us if you have any suggestions.
The materials are free for use by all students and staff in UK higher education. Feel free to browse through any of the materials on the website and use them as part of your reflection on your learning.
Most of the resources below are aimed at undergraduates and postgraduates already in higher education, but we have also produced two leaflets designed to help sixth form or further education students thinking about reading philosophy, theology or religious studies at university. They give an overview of the subjects, including the likely content of courses, learning and teaching methods and employability advice:
Undergraduates
National Student Survey (NSS)
The NSS has been run every year since 2005, and it collects information about student experiences of higher education in the UK. It aims to inform the choices of future students, and to contribute to public accountability by supporting external audits of institutions by the QAA. See our NSS page for more information, and the results from previous years for Philosophy and TRS.
Student focus groups
Each autumn we run a student focus group, where we invite students on Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies courses across the country to come to Leeds to tell us about their experiences in HE. Below you can find reports of what happened at each focus group for the past few years.
Student Essay Competition
Each year we run a student essay competition, sponsored by Continuum publishing, open to all students enrolled on taught Philosophy, Theology, or Religious Studies degrees at a UK university. Details of the 2011 competition can be found at http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk/studentcomp.
In 2011 the question was 'What is a University Education For?'. The winning essay was by Thomas Hancocks, a philosophy student at Manchester Metropolitan University. A runner-up prize was also awarded, to Joseph Lack, a Philosophy and Politics student at the University of East Anglia. These essays, along with a selection of other entries which the judges wanted to commend, are available below.
Winning essay, 2011:
Runners-up prize essay, 2011:
Commended essays:
- Mathew Basford, Durham University
- Andrew Grey, University of Oxford
- Daniel Kohout, University of Cambridge
- Leo Mercer, University of Manchester
- Joshua Roe University of Wales, Trinity St. David
- Alex Ross, University of East Anglia
- Thomas Wyatt, University of York
In 2010 the question was 'What is the good of your discipline?'. The winning essay was by Callum Ward, a philosophy student at Liverpool University. His essay, along with a selection of other entries, are available below.
Winning essay, 2010:
Shortlisted essays:
- Francesca Blando, University of Edinburgh
- Ross Drummond, King's College London
- Bradley Hillas, Liverpool University
- Dino Jakusic, University of Warwick
- Sophie O'Mahony, University of Edinburgh
- Daniel Rey, University of Oxford
- Laura Solomons, University of Cambridge
Employability
We hope you find our Employability Guides useful. They are practical tools for students to use when thinking about how to identify and demonstrate to potential employers the skills their degrees have developed in them. You can download a presentation about employability that was given in the Department of Philosophy at Sheffield University in November 2010.
Personal Development Planning (PDP)
You might also find the information we have about Personal Development Planning useful. PDP has been defined as 'a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development'. When used well it should greatly enhance your learning experience.
Dissertation writing
The JISC-funded 'Awesome' project provides information about dissertation writing that we hope you find useful. Whether you're wondering how to use supervision, write an introduction or achieve clarity through the 'fog index' you will find advice on these and many other vexing tasks. We hope you will enjoy the content already contributed by philosophy tutors and students and that you feel able to add content yourself.
Introductory reading
Our book, Doing Philosophy: a practical guide for students, should be useful to A level students deciding whether studying philosophy at university is for them, and for undergraduates once they have made the leap and started their degree. Chapter 1, Introduction to the study of philosophy, is now available to read on our website free of charge.
We also have a similar article about studying theology and religious studies at university:
Why study theology and religious studies
Postgraduates
Postgraduates are often given opportunities to teach, generally tutoring small groups, but occasionally giving lectures as well. This puts PGs in the interesting position of being both students and teachers at the same time. As such, we hope that you will find the resources on the rest of this site useful, which are aimed at academic staff, as well as some of the resources for students above.
We run events each year aimed at 'aspiring academics', which offers an opportunity for postgraduates to gather and share information and advice, and to develop the skills necessary for a successful academic career.
You might find the pages about our AHRC-funded doctoral training programme useful.
This page was originally on the website of The Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies. It was transfered here following the closure of the Subject Centre at the end of 2011.
