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As a philosopher, I am obviously concerned that, as fees increase and the economy flatlines, prospective students with a passion for philosophy may find themselves drawn by the siren voices of those who say philosophy is an impractical, “head in the clouds” subject of little relevance to real life.
I have been teaching philosophy at
Heythrop College for seventeen years. This was my first full-time teaching
appointment after leaving Oxford. Unlike many academics keen to climb the
career ladder - and who consequently tend to migrate from one institution to
another at the beginning of their careers - I have stayed put. I have stayed
here at Heythrop for my entire career. Why?
The answer lies in what I discovered
when I arrived here. I quickly discovered just how unique and valuable an
institution Heythrop College is.
We are small, which means
that students and staff are known to each other. This is no vast and anonymous
academic factory. This is a friendly place populated with familiar faces.
We are also a specialist college
focussing on just philosophy and theology.
Wander the corridors of Heythrop and
you’ll find people deep in conversations about philosophy and theology.
Irrespective of their religious belief - or lack of religious belief – all the
students and staff at Heythrop are bound together by shared, deep interested in
fundamental questions about reality, morality, and the human condition. Despite
our obvious differences, we form a closely-knit intellectual family.
Coming straight from Oxford, I also very much valued Heythrop’s Oxbridge-style one-to-one tutorial system and the opportunity it gives students to really explore a topic with someone who knows it inside out. When the New College of the Humanities was announced, Dominic Lawson wrote in the Guardian newspaper that what the New College was charging 18 thousand pounds a year for was, in essence, the tutorial system offered by Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Lawson said that the Oxbridge tutorial system was "the single most valuable aspect of their educational offering". But Lawson was wrong to claim that the tutorial system is only otherwise available at colleges of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The tutorial system also form a significant part of Heythrop College’s undergraduate programmes.
Heythrop is a hive of intellectual activity and world-class research is being done, but when I arrived soon learned that the staff also have that rare quality: they actually enjoy teaching. And they are skilled at it too.
Coming straight from Oxford, I also very much valued Heythrop’s Oxbridge-style one-to-one tutorial system and the opportunity it gives students to really explore a topic with someone who knows it inside out. When the New College of the Humanities was announced, Dominic Lawson wrote in the Guardian newspaper that what the New College was charging 18 thousand pounds a year for was, in essence, the tutorial system offered by Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Lawson said that the Oxbridge tutorial system was "the single most valuable aspect of their educational offering". But Lawson was wrong to claim that the tutorial system is only otherwise available at colleges of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The tutorial system also form a significant part of Heythrop College’s undergraduate programmes.
Heythrop is a hive of intellectual activity and world-class research is being done, but when I arrived soon learned that the staff also have that rare quality: they actually enjoy teaching. And they are skilled at it too.
These two facts - the fact that we
offer an Oxbridge style tutorial system, and the fact that staff here really enjoy
teaching – show themselves in the results our students achieve. Yes, we are
less well-known than, say, Kings College London or University College London,
and so we have more modest entry requirements. Nevertheless, our students do exceptionally
well in their final exams. In fact, Heythrop actually has been known on
occasion to achieve a greater number of first class honours degrees in
philosophy than of those two better-known London-based colleges.
And of course, if you take your
degree at Heythrop, you will be graduating with a degree awarded by the
University of London, which is one of the most prestigious and respected
universities in the world.
Heythrop is a unique and valuable institution. And philosophy and theology are unique and valuable subjects. Of course these are “challenging times" for humanities degrees.
Heythrop is a unique and valuable institution. And philosophy and theology are unique and valuable subjects. Of course these are “challenging times" for humanities degrees.
As a philosopher, I am obviously concerned that, as fees increase and the economy flatlines, prospective students with a passion for philosophy may find themselves drawn by the siren voices of those who say philosophy is an impractical, “head in the clouds” subject of little relevance to real life.
Yet the irony is that, by choosing
the subject they love, philosophy students are also choosing one of the most
career friendly degrees. The skills it fosters are highly transferable and
valued within, for example, the business sector.
In support of this, consider the GRE exam scores of those pursuing fifty different science and humanities degrees in the United States. The GRE exam is sat in the third undergraduate year, and has three parts: verbal, quantitative (mathematical) and analytical. How do philosophers fare?
In support of this, consider the GRE exam scores of those pursuing fifty different science and humanities degrees in the United States. The GRE exam is sat in the third undergraduate year, and has three parts: verbal, quantitative (mathematical) and analytical. How do philosophers fare?
Out of fifty science and humanities
undergraduate degree programmes, philosophy ranks first on the analytic
component. No surprise there you might think. You’d expect philosophers to be
great analytic thinkers.
But philosophy also ranks first
on the verbal component of the GRE exam. It outperforms English, as you see on
this graph.
Notice also how well those studying
religion do on these tests.
Philosophy also ranks first
out of all humanities degrees on the maths component (with only maths-heavy
science subjects scoring better).
Philosophy also ranks first
out of all fifty degree programmes on the law school entry exam.
Philosophy graduates are smart
all-rounders. They possess a wide range of highly transferable skills that
employers value. Do spread the word about that, please.
Heythrop is an extraordinary place and it’s time the college received the recognition it deserves. That is something we are now working on vigorously. Heythrop is one of British academia’s best-kept secrets and we are going to ensure that it is a secret no longer.
Heythrop is an extraordinary place and it’s time the college received the recognition it deserves. That is something we are now working on vigorously. Heythrop is one of British academia’s best-kept secrets and we are going to ensure that it is a secret no longer.
Next year, this college is, believe
it or not, 400 years old. Our 400th anniversary gives us an excellent
opportunity to promote and celebrate this college. I very much hope to see many
of you here to celebrate our anniversary with us.
If and when you join us, you will
discover, as I did, just how unique and valuable an institution Heythrop
College truly is.
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