Academic Curriculum

The academic curriculum combines philosophy with psychology, sociology, cultural anthropology and education. Practical teacher's training is, in addition, offered for those who wish to pursue a teaching career in Secondary Education. In the first two years, studies are broadly based, allowing students to choose among a variety of disciplines, thus developing skills to address problems from a number of different standpoints. At the end of the second year, students are required to choose a major area of specialization, ie. Philosophy, or Theory and Methodology of Social Sciences. At the same time, they are encouraged to take optional courses that allow them to develop academic expertise in emerging intersections among disciplines, in response to the demand for new competencies.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES

The undergraduate Programme of Studies consists of 52 courses which must be successfully completed in a minimum of 8 semesters. The Study Programme is designed to promote theoretical and applied skills, as well as competence in scholarly research. It comprises of two types of courses: a) Lectures (the theoretical presentation of a subject of study), and b) Seminars (systematic research on a specific topic under the professor's supervision).

Students' foundamental training focusses on the following compulsory courses: Introduction to Philosophy, Ancient Greek Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Logic, Moral Philosophy, Political and Social Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, Social Theory, Introduction to Sociology, Epistemology of the Social Sciences, Sociology of Education, Introduction to Psychology I and II, and Methodology of Teaching. Students are also required to attend compulsory courses (history, philology) offered in the other two Departments of the Faculty of Philosophy.

Specialization starts with the students' fifth semester, when they choose the Division in which they will complete their studies. In addition to the basic compulsory courses, they attend more specialized, optional, courses offered by the Department's Divisions:

Specialized Optional Courses

Optional courses are offered by the Divisions of the Department in the following areas:

Division of Philosophy

I. Logic, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Philosophy of Science

Classical and Symbolic Logic
Metaphysics and Ontology
Epistemology
Philosophy of Language
Philosophy of Mind and Psychology
Philosophy of Religion
Philosophy and History of Science
Philosophy of the Life Sciences
Philosophy of the Social Sciences

II. Practical Philosophy

Ethics (Normative Ethics; Metaethics; Applied Ethics; Bioethics)
Social Philosophy
Political Philosophy
Philosophy of Law
Aesthetics-Philosophy of Art
Philosophy of Education

III. History of Philosophy

History of Ancient Greek Philosophy (Presocratics; Plato; Aristotle; Hellenistic Philosophy; Philosophy in Late Antiquity)
History of Mediaeval and Byzantine Philosophy
History of Modern Philosophy (Rationalism; Empiricism; Kant; German Idealism;
Marxism; History of Modern Greek Philosophy)
History of Twentieth-Century Philosophy (Phenomenology; Analytical Philosophy; Logical Positivism; Pragmatism; Existentialism; Critical Theory; Philosophical Hermeneutics)

Division of Theory and Methodology of the Social Sciences

I. Theories, Methodology, and Epistemology of the Social Sciences

Epistemology of the Social Sciences
Research Methodology in the Social Sciences
Educational Theories
Psychological Theories
Sociological and Anthropological Theories

II. Human development, Mind, Emotion, Values, and Learning
 
Educational Subjects (teaching methodology; life-long learning)
Psychology (cognitive psychology; psychology of emotions; developmental psychology; social psychology)
Sociology and Anthropology (sociology of knowledge; sociology of self and identity; moral sociology; sociology, and anthropology of emotions)
Interdisciplinary Subjects (human development; inter-personal relations; group processes and inter-group relations)

III. Culture, Education, and Politics
 
Educational Subjects (sociology of education; history of education; comparative education; culture and education)
Psychology (psychology of art; educational psychology; cultural psychology)
Sociology and Anthropology (sociology of culture; cultural anthropology; anthropology of art; sociology, and anthropology of deviance; political, and historical sociology)
Interdisciplinary Subjects (art; religion and ideology; communication; gender, identity, and roles)

Students can also choose a specified number of optional courses taught in other Departments of the University.

POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

The Department offers a Postgraduate Programme in Philosophy that was established in the academic year 1993-94. The Programme, entitled "Philosophy: Science, Values and Society", was restructured in 2001, so as to include two areas of specialization (a. Ancient and Byzantine Philosophy: Knowledge and Values and b. Philosophy and Modernity: Science and Society). It is jointly organised with the Division of Philosophy of the Department of Philosophy, Education and Psychology, University of Ioannina. During 2001-2 and 2003-3 it was funded by E.U. (see https://pms-phl.fks.uoc.gr/).

In September 2003, a Joint Postgraduate Programme in Bioethics, was established. This Programme, which is also funded by E.U. until 2008. It is a joint academic activity of the Departments of Philosophy and Social Studies, Biology, Medicine and Sociology of the University of Crete and is the first of its kind in Greece. It aims at research in methodological and epistemological problems in Bioethics, as well as the investigation of practical issues in Medicine and biological research (see https://bioethics.fks.uoc.gr/).

Since 2004 the Department participates in the interdisciplinary Postgraduate Programme "Brain and Mind", co-organized by the Departments of Medicine, Physics and Computer Science of the University of Crete and the Departments of Nursing and of Philosophy and History of Science of the University of Athens (see https://brain-mind.med.uoc.gr/). Its Degrees are awarded by the Department of Medicine.

The Postgraduate Programmes award:

a) Master's Degree in "Philosophy: Science, Values and Society" and Master's Degree in Bioethics, respectively, to those who successfully complete coursework and a Master's dissertation of 20.000 - 25.000 words.

b) Ph.D. Degree in "Philosophy: Science, Values and Society" and Ph.D. Degree in Bioethics , to those who successfully complete and defend publicly a doctoral thesis in the relevant areas of specialization. A Master's Degree obtained either in a Greek University or a University abroad is an essential requirement for application for the Ph.D. Degree.

c) Ph.D. Degree in areas of specialization in the Theory and Methodology of the Social Sciences, awarded by the relevant Division of the Department.

CAREER PROSPECTS FOR GRADUATES

Graduates seek employment:

• in academic institutions and research centres related to their field of specialized competence (i.e. philosophy, social research, bioethics, etc)
  
• in Secondary Education in a variety of areas (Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, History, and Classics)
  
• in publishing companies and organizations
  
• in public service
  
• as teachers or instructors in educational institutions (such as professional training institutes and centres, the national employment organization, colleges of studies in tourism, military academies, police academies, nursing colleges)
  
• in mass media