Religions, Philosophies and Ethics
BA (Hons)
Undergraduate degree - single honours
- UCAS codes: Institution B20, Course VV65 or VV66 (with professional placement year)
- Religions, Philosophies and Ethics - Programme Document
- Award
- BA (Hons) Religions, Philosophies and Ethics
- School/s
- School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities
- Campus or location
- Newton Park
- Course length
- Three years full time, or four years full time with professional placement year. Part time available.
- UCAS codes
- Institution Code: B20
- Course Code: VV65 or VV66
- Campus Code: A,BSU
Entry requirements
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed under 'Typical offers' in the main column below. For combined courses, please check both subjects. If your qualification is not listed, please email admissions@bathspa.ac.uk with your specific details.
Explore the world and the challenges it faces through different traditions of thought, belief, and values.
- Combine professional skills and opportunities with subject knowledge in an innovative Religions, Philosophies and Ethics course.
- Develop practical and professional skills and apply them to contemporary challenges, issues and debates.
- Explore the next stage in your career - our graduates have gone on to work with leading employers and in a wide range of roles.
Our innovative Religions, Philosophies and Ethics degree has been designed to enable you to acquire specialised subject knowledge while developing practical and professional skills that you can apply to contemporary challenges, issues and debates.
This course invites you to explore the connections between different disciplines and traditions of thought, as well as examine them individually. You’ll gain insights into fundamentally different ways of seeing and explaining the world, reflecting on your own beliefs, values and assumptions. You’ll consider practical, intellectually challenging responses to current issues, through projects with environmental charities, faith groups, and community organisations.
What you'll learn
Religious and philosophical thinking is dynamic and ever-changing, and so is our course. It demands - and helps you to develop - rigorous and systematic thinking.
You’ll explore religions, philosophies and ethics from a global perspective, not just a Western one. We'll examine the philosophies and ethics of the Indian subcontinent and China, and a range of religious traditions, from Buddhism to Christianity to Paganism.
You'll engage with topical and emerging contemporaty issues such as: gender, identity, our relationship to the natural world and environmental crisis, through the lens of different belief systems and traditions.
Year One
Introductions and foundations: develop your understanding of the global dimension of religious, philosophical and ethical thinking, and follow a broad curriculum which allows you to ask questions, challenge your own assumptions, interrogate evidence, data and opinions.
Year Two
Practical, applied, relevant: this year combines the academic study of non-Western and Western traditions of thought with the acquisition of professional skills and the application of your knowledge and understanding to a defined problem or idea.
Year Three
Achievement, consolidation, creativity: your final project in the third year brings all this together. You’ll identify your own area of study, develop your proposal and put it into practice. This might be an extended piece of academic writing, an exhibition, community project, or the creation of digital resources.
Optional modules explore issues in contemporary religion, philosophy and society. You can opt to undertake detailed research or an employment-related project through the Dissertation and Advanced Project modules.
Assessment is primarily by coursework such as essays, reports, presentations, and online discussion boards. There are some timed assessments, as well as opportunities to work on creative projects such as making a film or designing a website.
We offer lectures, seminars and workshops, and support you throughout your degree with individual tutorials. Visits and encounters with people from different religious backgrounds and traditions of belief form an important part of our teaching.
To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.
Course modules
This course offers or includes the following modules. The modules you take will depend on your pathway or course combination (if applicable) as well as any optional or open modules chosen. Please check the programme document for more information.
- Truth and Reality
- God and Reason
- Worlds of Ideas
- Narratives of Belonging
- Protest and Persuasion
- Thinking Together: Humanities in the 21st Century
- Religious Ethics in the Contemporary World
- Asian Philosophies (Level 5)
- Digital Humanities
- Transformative Communities
- Ecology and Nature (Level 5)
- Working Together
- Reading Philosophy
- Atheism and Unbelief
- Applying Philosphy
- Year in Professional Practice
- Religions, Philosophies and Ethics Project
- Asian Philosophies (Level 6)
- Ecology and Nature (Level 6)
- Making Sex
- God and Genes
- Comparative Philosophy
- Life and Meaning
- Spiritual Revolution
- The Placement: Putting Your Subject Into Practice
Opportunities
As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.
Fieldwork and visits are an integral part of the course. We visit religious communities, mosques, temples, gurdwaras and churches.
We have excellent links with third sector organisations, working with environmental and educational charities, as well as others. These links support your study, as we’ll explore how religious, philosophical and ethical perspectives can be applied to current issues.
Our graduates have careers in:
- The police service
- Health administration
- Education
- Social work
- Journalism
Many graduates go on to train as teachers – the course is widely respected as a foundation for a career in education.
If you’re a full-time undergraduate student starting your first year at Bath Spa University, you can apply for the Certificate in Global Citizenship, which you’ll study alongside your degree.
You’ll gain global awareness and add an international dimension to your student experience, and funding is available. On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be awarded a Certificate in Global Citizenship. This is in addition to your degree; it doesn’t change your degree title or results.
Develop a wealth of indispensable digital skills that you can take into your future career. One of only three Adobe Creative Campuses in the UK, we provide all Bath Spa students with access to the full Adobe Creative Suite, giving you the tools to communicate creatively, whatever your course or chosen professional field.
Professional placement year
This optional placement year provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.
By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.
Before your Professional Placement Year, you'll work to secure your placement, constructing a development plan with your module leader and your placement coordinator from our Careers and Employability team.
On your return to University for your final year, you'll submit your Placement Portfolio, detailing your development on your placement.
Facilities and resources
The course is based at our Newton Park campus, which combines outstanding modern facilities with a beautiful setting.
The Library provides many core resources, both in print and online. We draw on a wide range of resources, and encourage the use – and creation – of different materials.
Fees
Student | Annual tuition fee |
---|---|
UK full time | £9,250 |
UK part time | £4,625 |
International full time | £15,750 |
Professional Placement Year
During the placement year, the fee is reduced to 20% of the full time fee. This applies to UK and EU/International students.
- UK: £1,850
- International: £3,150
Interested in applying?
Our students come from a range of different backgrounds. We look for individuals with an enquiring mind and a willingness to explore new areas of thought and belief.
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed below:
- A Level – grades BBB-BCC preferred.
- BTEC – Extended Diploma grades from Distinction Distinction Merit (DDM) to Distinction Merit Merit (DMM) accepted in any subject.
- T Levels – grade Merit preferred.
- International Baccalaureate – a minimum of 32 points are required.
- Access to HE courses – typical offers for applicants with Access to HE will be the Access to HE Diploma or Access to HE Certificate (60 credits, 45 of which must be Level 3, at Merit or higher).
If you don’t meet the entry requirements above, we may be able to accept your prior learning or experience from outside of formal education. See our Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) page to learn more.
English Language Requirements for International and EU Applicants
IELTS 6.0 - for visa nationals, with a minimum score of IELTS 5.5 in each element.
Course enquiries
For further information about the programme or entry requirements, please email us at admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.
Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page.
Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply pages.
Programme Coordinator: Dr Paul Reid-Bowen
Email: p.reid-bowen@bathspa.ac.uk