
Gillian Johnston
School Manager & Graduate Administrator
Newman Building Room D501
The Masters of Arts in Philosophy and Public Affairs is a one-year interdisciplinary programme (or two years part-time), designed to offer graduates of either philosophy or the social sciences (politics, economics, history) the opportunity to study some of the many areas of overlap between the disciplines, and especially to explore foundational questions in public policy formulation.
This innovative programme mixes the abstract and the applied, with half the modules from the School of Philosophy, and half from existing MA modules offered by the School of Politics and International Relations, and the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice.
The student must take six modules as follows.
(A) Three philosophy modules chosen from the following (descriptions of the philosophy MA modules are available here):
(B) Two social sciences modules, chosen from the following:
(C) One theoretical from the following list (which also includes the modules in section B):
In addition to the six modules, students must write a dissertation of 12,000–15,000 words, due in mid-August. The dissertation must be supervised by a staff member of the School of Philosophy, although students may consult staff in other schools for informal advice.
Any further questions should be directed to the programme director, Professor Brian O’Connor.
For eligibility criteria, please see the postgraduate admissions page.
All administrative enquiries should be sent to the School Manager.
Newman Building Room D501
UCD Philosophy is ranked among the Top 100 Departments of Philosophy worldwide (QS World University Rankings 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023–2025)