Master’s degree in Philosophy is a two year duration course which is interdisciplinary in its outlook and is for those candidates who have completed their Bachelors in any stream. Candidates intending to do M.A. shall be admitted only at the beginning of the academic year.

Philosophy consists of a conceptual foundation and imparts knowledge in candidates to have the ability to cope with problems which always arise in our private, professional and public life. It helps to develop critical thinking through which an individual and a group of people those who can rationally and intelligibly proceed to take decisions that affect our practical life. A number of reputed institutes and universities in India are providing various courses in Philosophy at Under Graduate, Post Graduate and Post Doctoral levels.

Advantages or Benefits of Doing Master of Arts in Philosophy

The course M.A. Philosophy aims at providing students a general knowhow of the fundamental issues in ethics, law, politics, economics, human rights, gender and culture, helping them to identify and analyze the basic reasons those motivate the above dimensions of human life.

Students of philosophy master’s degree programs explore a number of topics, including the moral implications of human actions on society, the status of being and the examination of words, dialogues and idioms.

M.A. Philosophy degree holders can go for further higher studies and can achieve a career in very many areas such as Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of language, Cognitive Science etc. It counts a lot for those who study this subject as a passion as this comes along with basic ethics and moral values.

Eligibility Criteria for M.A. (Philosophy) program

The basic eligibility is that one has to complete his/ her Bachelor’s in any stream from a recognized University.

There will be some priority for those students who have completed his/ her graduation in Philosophy and those who have studied the same as a subject.

Some of the very reputed universities demand a minimum cut- off marks in Graduation as qualifying criteria.

Admission Procedure for M.A. (Philosophy) program

When one applies for M.A. Philosophy admission, he/ she shall have to submit the following things:

• Prescribed fees
• Transfer Certificate if applicable
• Eligibility Certificate
• Statement of marks, degree certificate, with attested photocopy of each.

Students those who are intending to do M.A. Philosophy shall be admitted only at the beginning of the academic year. There is generally no such fixed date for admission for a degree by research.

M.A. (Philosophy) Entrance exams in India

Universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University, Banaras Hindu University, Delhi University, conduct their own entrance tests for the selection of students and the details regarding their intake and entrance examination will be released through their respective sites at the time of admission

How to fill Application Form?

Candidates who are interested in M.A Philosophy Course can apply either through online or offline for entrance examination. Depending upon the entrance examination or the University/ Institution conducting the examination the formalities varies and students have to fill accordingly with the help of given manuals. While filling the online form or the OMR sheet the students need to be very much focused and should not make any kind of mistakes as it may result in reduction of marks. Along with the respective documents, submit the form to the examination body before the closing date of application.

Exam Pattern

The examination consists of 2 types of Questions:

Objective Type

Descriptive Type

Candidates who clear the written exam will be then notified about the interview.

Coaching Centres

• TIME, Kerala
• Brilliant Tutorial Pvt. Ltd, Delhi
• Aakash institutes, Tamilnadu
• Acme Zone, Delhi
• Miglani Tutorials, Chandigarh
• Edvantage Education Pvt. Ltd, Hyderabad
• Elite academy, Mumbai
• Arya Vidya Mandir College of education, Mumbai

Reference Books

• Literary Intelligence: A Virtue Theoretical Analysis with Special Reference
• The Athenaeum
• Minds, Brains and Science- J. Searle
• Rediscovery of Mind- J. Searle
• The Language of Thought- J. Fodor.
• Explaining Behaviour- F. I. Dretska.
• The Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence- M. A. Boden.
• The Problem of Consciousness- C. Mcginn.
• The Philosophy and Psychology of Personal Identity- J. Glover
• Plato- the man and his work .A. E. Taylor
• Philosophy of Plato-G. C. Field.
• History of W. Phil-Classical Mind .W. T. Jones.
• S.K. Belvalkar Vedanta Philosophy.
• P.S. Sivaswamy Aiyar . Evolution of Hindu Morals.
• History of Dharmashastra . P.V. Kane.
• A History of Indian philosophy Vol. II and III - Dr. S. N. Dasgupta.
• Brahma sutra Bhasya- Text with Tr. By- Swami Veereshwarananda Ramkrishna Mission, Mysore.
• Philosophy of Sankara- Dr. Rao Vihari Das.

Universities offering Master of Arts in Philosophy in India

• Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
• Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
• Andhra University, Vishakhapatnam
• Allahabad University, Allahabad
• Annamalai University, Chennai
• Amity University, Noida
• Visva  Bharati University, Santiniketan
• Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar
• University of Rajasthan, Jaipur
• Universityof Pune, Pune
• University of Mysore, Mysore
• University of Mumbai, Mumbai
• University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
• University of Calcutta, Calcutta
• Punjabi University, Patiala
• Panjab University, Chandigarh
• North Eastern Hill University, Shillong
• Manipur University, Imphal
• Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
• Jawaharlal Nehru University
• Jamia  Millia Islamia University, New Delhi
• Indira Gandhi National Open University, Delhi

M.A. (Philosophy) course curriculum

Moral Philosophy

Philosophy of Consciousness

Study On Personalities such as:

• Shankara
• Plato
• Ramanuja
• Aristotle
• Madhva
• Kant
• Vallabh
• Hegel
• J. Krishnamurthi
• Wittgenstein
• Aurobindo
• Heidegger
• Jnyaneshwar
• Husserl
• Textual Study in Yoga
• Textual Study in Jainism
• Hathayoga Text
• Textual Study in Buddhism
• Ancient Greek Philosophy
• Medieval Philosophy
• Islamic Philosophy
• Contemporary Continental Philosophy
• Aesthetics
• Shaivism, Shaktism
• Environmental Ethics
• Current Trends in Analytical Philosophy
• Jaina Metaphysics
• Samkhya Yoga Metaphysics
• Philosophy of feminism
• Buddhist Metaphysics

Specializations in M.A. (Philosophy)

Available specializations are:

• Culture and Tourism
• Indian Culture
• Philosophy, Religion & Culture
• Saiva Siddhanta
• Theology
• Gandhian Thought
• Temple Administration
• Tourism & Philosophy

M.A. (Philosophy) Course Evaluation

40% marks based on continuous Internal Assessment by Faculties.

60% marks based on Semester End External Examination.

M.A. (Philosophy) Text Books

• B.G. Tilak Gita Rahasya - B.S. Sukhtankar.
• The Ethics of Hindus - S.K. Maitra
• Development of Moral Philosophy in Indian Orient - Surama Dasgupta
• The Philosophy of the Upanisads - S.C. Chakravarti
• Ethical Philosophies of India - I.C. Sharma
• Quest after Perfection - M. Hiriyanna
• Indian Conception of Values
• S.K. Belvalkar Vedanta Philosophy
• Evolution of Hindu Morals - P.S. Sivaswamy Aiyar
• History of Dharmashastra - P.V. Kane.
• Ethics -P. H. Nowell Smith
• The Theories of Ethics  - Phillippa Foot
• Ethics since 1990 OUP  - Mary Warnock
• Modern Introduction to Philosophy - Edwards and Pap
• Ethics  -  J. L. Mackie
• Ethics. - Frankena
• Modern Moral Philosophy. - W. D. Hudson
• Indioh William . M. Consciousness in Advaita Vedãnta
• The Metaphysics of experience in Advaita Vedãnta - Debabarata Sinha
• Patanjala Yoga Sutra. - Ramaprasad
• Yoga and Western Psychology. - Jeralelin Costner
• Yoga Psychology. - Swami Abhedananda
• Philosophy of Mind- J. Shoffer
• Philosophy of Mind- An Introduction- Peter Smith and P. R. Jones
• Concept of Mind- G. Ryle
• Philosophical Investigations- Wittgenstein
• Consciousness Explained- D. Dennett
• Sensations and Brain Processes- J.J.C. Smart
• Consciousness: The transmutation of a concept- P. Churchland
• Mental Events. in .Actions and Events.. D. Davidson
• What is it like to be a bat.- T. Nagel
• Philosophy of Advaita- M. K. V. Iyer, Asia/ Allied Publication
• Brahmavada of Sankara - Dr. Naulakh
• Mary Lutyens : The years of Awakening
• J. Krishnamurti : Freedom from the known
• J. Krishnamurti : The Awakening of Intelligence
• J. Krishnamurti : Tradition and Revolution
• Pupal Jayakar and Sunanda Patwardhan
• Women.s Writing in India (Vol. I) by Sussie Tharu and V. Lalitha
• The Science Question in Feminism- Sandra Harding
• Feminism and Methodology-edi by Sandra Harding and Mer 11 Hintikka.
• Feminist Theory: The Intellectual Traditions of American Feminism by Josephine Donovan
• Feminist Thought: A Comprehensive Introduction by Rosemarie Tong
• The Polity Reader on Gender Studies
• Introducing Contemporary Feminist Thought-Mary Evans
• Gender within the Human Rights Discourse- Veena Ponnacha

What to do after M.A. (Philosophy)?

All those higher study aspirants can go for

• M.Phil in Applied Philosophy
• PHD in Philosophy
• Research in Philosophy

There are many colleges and universities across the country that offers 6-year dual Masters and Ph.D. programs.

Job and Career options for M.A. (Philosophy)

Students those who have completed a Master’s course in Philosophy can easily find better high profile job opportunities both in India as well as abroad. They can select their career path in areas such as Public service, Law, Teaching, Diplomacy, Ministry, Research, Publishing, Journalism, Insurance, and Student Affairs etc. Those who have conducted research studies in the area can go with a teaching job in various Colleges, Institutions or Universities. Some other job types in this area include clergy person survey, lobbyist, ethics advisor, diplomat, critic archivist, interviewer, consultant, human resources specialist etc.

Employment Areas

• Businesses
• Community, Social & Personal Service
• Diplomacy
• Divinity
• Finance Departments
• Health & Social Work
• Hotels & Restaurants
• Insurance Industry
• Journalism
• Law
• Public Administration
• Publishing Houses
• Public Service
• Research
• Retail Sector
• Student Affairs
• Teaching

Remuneration after M.A. (Philosophy)

Remuneration after the course starts from Rs.15,000 month. And the pay scale varies depending upon the area in which the person specializes.