The Education of Undergraduate Students

The Aims of Education: the department fosters undergraduate students majoring in philosophy. The students are required to be qualified in extensive and deep basic knowledge of philosophy and solid theoretical and methodological foundation, so that they will become well-rounded with the ability to innovate and to engage in philosophical study, teaching, translating and working for administrative agencies, international exchanges, media and the press, and other related organizations.

The Methods of Education:

From terms 1 to 3, the students will be in an experimental class in humanities so that they are trained in a comprehensive education in literature, history, and philosophy. Other than the required common courses demanded by the university, the students are required to study and read Chinese classics (12 credits), study and read Western classics (8 credits), ancient Chinese (6 credits), a biographical index of the humanities and the writing of an academic paper (2 credits), and an introduction of literature, history, and philosophy (3 credits). In the first academic year, the new students will be directed by their advisors in their academic studies and cultural thoughts.

From terms 4 to 8, the students are required to study courses including the introduction to philosophy, Marxist philosophy, Chinese philosophy, Western philosophy, the principles of ethics, logics, the principles of aesthetics, the principles of religions, and the philosophy of science and technology. The following elective courses are also provided: applied ethics, ancient Greek philosophy, the philosophy of the pre-Qin period, the School of Principle in the Song and Ming Dynasties, Western Marxism, Western modern philosophy, Chinese modern philosophy, first order logic, the philosophy of values, the introduction of the history of fine arts, among others. The students are also required to take courses in literature and history (more than 15 credits).

The comprehensive training of writing papers (starting from the third academic year).

Education of the Masters' Candidates

The Aims of Education: The department is qualified to confer masters' degrees in all eight areas of philosophy, so it can enroll students in all those areas. The purposes of education include: (1) the candidates who will continue to pursue their doctoral degrees will be required to establish an academic foundation for their further studies by deepening the study of basic theory of philosophy and fostering the ability of academic studies in philosophy; and (2) in the case of students who will be the backbone professionals in areas such as administration, management, and the cultural industry, the department will foster the ability of applying philosophy to the practices facing modernization and internationalization.

The Methods of Education:

The students will be directed by their supervisors. After the students pass the examination of philosophy, both the students and supervisors can choose each other. The supervisors will be responsible to direct their studies and supervise the writing of the papers for the degrees.

The teaching and researching system of philosophy is the platform, and the students are encouraged to choose courses and accept direction freely according to the requirements of their studying areas.

Other than the common courses demanded by the university and the required courses, the students need to choose two to three elective courses on the basic theories of philosophy based on their specializations: the study and reading of Chinese classics of philosophy, the study and reading of Western classics of philosophy, special topics in the history of Chinese philosophy, special topics on the history of Western philosophy, special topics in Western Marxism, special topics on the history of ethics, applied ethics, first order logic, the philosophy of fine arts, the ethics of religions and the culture of religions, the study and reading of the philosophy of religions, the introduction of Chinese and Western fine arts, the methodology of philosophy, the study of logical problems, special topics in cultural philosophy, among others.

The students may choose three to four elective courses of philosophy according to the requirements of their specializations: special topics in Western modern ethics, the history of Western ethics, comments on Western modern values, the history of Western metaphysics, German philosophy, the history of Western political thought, special topics in religion, studies in the natural philosophy of Plato, studies in the philosophy of life in China, studies in the original ethical thoughts of Confucianism, modal logic, the theory of social development of Marxism, studies in the ethics of life, special topics in Western modern cultural philosophy, modern culture and fine arts, and so on.

If a student did not major in philosophy when he/she was an undergraduate student, he/she will be required to take some related courses of philosophy on the undergraduate level based on the requirements of his/her area of study (not fewer than four courses; please refer to the program for undergraduate students majoring in philosophy in the department)

Writing of papers for masters' degrees: a student must spend no less than one year after passing the report of submitting the topic for their defence, under the supervision of his/her advisor. )

The Education of Doctoral Candidates

The Aims of Education: The department is qualified to confer doctoral degrees in all eight areas of philosophy. The purposes of education include (1) the fostering of high-level scholars who will perform academic studies in philosophy; and (2) in the case of the students who will be highlevel professional workers in areas such as administration, management, and the cultural industry, the department will foster their ability of applying philosophy to the practices facing modernization and internationalization.

The Methods of Education:

The supervisors will be responsible for the study of the students. To incorporate the supervision of the advisor a supervisory group of three to five members including the supervisor will be organized to direct a student, with the supervisor as head. All members should be professors, fellows, or experts in the area, and, if necessary, one to two part-time professors or guest fellows from other departments at Tsinghua University or other universities can be invited to join the group.

The students must finish the required courses (refer to “the Methods of Education” for masters' candidates regarding the catalog of the required courses) according to procedure. At the same time, they should actively participate in deeper academic studies and the study of important projects in applied philosophy. The educational plans of the students will be made according to the requirements on the education and dissertations from the university.

The students should learn to develop a broad foundation for academic studies, as well as to develop the ability of doing high-level theoretical research, to develop original and creative thinking, and to develop the capability of innovation in applied philosophy. The full-time students may take the posts of instructors or assistant researcher, and the tasks and requirements will be stated in the contracts applying to the relevant regulations of the university.