Department of Philosophy

Welcome to the Department of Philosophy at the University of Leeds. We have one of the largest and most dynamic departments of philosophy in the UK with high calibre staff who contribute their expertise across a broad range of areas of the subject - helping to create an international reputation for both teaching and research.

The world-renowned Leiter Report in Philosophy has ranked us as joint 12th overall in the UK for our research, joint 4th in the world in the philosophy of art, joint 8th in the world in metaphysics, and joint 11th in the world for philosophy of action. We are also known for our excellence in teaching, with staff holding both National and University Teaching Fellowships.

Notably, we also offer undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the History and Philosophy of Science (HPS).

Why study Philosophy or History and Philosophy of Science at Leeds?

Latest News and Events [event calendar]

* Matthew Kieran appointed Professor of Philosophy and the Arts
Congratulations to Matthew Kieran on his promotion to Professor.

* Kant Workshop, 13 June 2009
In June the Department hosted its first annual Kant workshop, featuring Jens Timmermann (St Andrews) and Seiriol Morgan (Bristol).

* Public Lectures in Philosophy: The Mangoletsi Lectures by Peter van Inwagen (May 2009)
Peter van Inwagen (Notre Dame) gave a series of four lectures entitled 'God, Science and Philosophy'.

* Conference: 'Themes from the Ethics of Bernard Williams', (30 June - 2 July 2009)
Major international conference featuring Michael Smith (Princeton), Philip Pettit (Princeton), and many others.

* Leeds metaphysicians sweep Oxford Younger Scholars competition
Leeds faculty received not only first place but also the two runner-up slots in the recent 'Oxford Younger Scholars in Metaphysics' competition.

* AHRC Major Grant Award in Aesthetics (jointly with Nottingham)
Leeds and Nottingham have been jointly awarded a major (£600k) research grant for a project entitled 'Method in Philosophical Aesthetics: the Challenge from the Sciences'.