Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (BA)

Cardiff University

United Kingdom, Cardiff

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186

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Cardiff University

United Kingdom , Cardiff

Key Facts

Program Level

Bachelor

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Course Code

VV65

Campuses

Main Site

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake DeadlinesSeptember-2026

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 3 year

Tuition Fee

GBP 23,700 / years

Next Intake September-2026

Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (BA)

About

Follow your interests

Choose from modules across a range of religious, ethical and philosophical traditions and engage with new areas of research.

Think for yourself

Critically and creatively engage with difficult problems in an independent and open-minded way.

Shape the future

Apply philosophical research to solve real-world social problems or engage with local communities about your studies.

Study at the frontiers of inquiry

Analyse contemporary research with staff who are leading researchers in their field.

Communicate effectively

Develop skills and experience in shaping and presenting your ideas and arguments.

How should you live your life and relate to others? How should we organise society? What is a religion? How have religious, philosophical, and ethical ideas changed over time? How do they continue to shape us as individuals and shape society? Who and what should you believe? How should characteristics like gender and race be taken into account in theoretical inquiry and social decision-making?

In our Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (BA) programme, you’ll tackle these types of questions, and more. You'll investigate topical and complex issues from a range of perspectives and address some of today’s great social challenges.

Our priority lies in developing your skills as an independent thinker. We’ll support you to engage critically and creatively with difficult problems in an open-minded and collaborative way, including on sensitive and controversial topics.

During your studies, you'll have the opportunity to engage with a broad range of religious, philosophical, and ethical topics and traditions. Religion modules guide you through the histories and legacies of religions around the world, which have shaped current conflicts and provided solutions for them. You'll explore and analyse religious identity in modern societies, the role of theological thinking, and the ethics that influence views on hot topics from the environment to sexuality and reproductive rights. In Philosophy, you'll develop a solid grounding in moral philosophy and will also study epistemology, philosophy of mind, and political philosophy. There's also the opportunity to study areas such as aesthetics, feminist philosophy, and phenomenology. In the final year of the programme, you can specialise in your preferred areas of study from across religious, philosophical, and ethical topics.

Many of our modules directly examine the practical implications of religious and philosophical thought, providing you with a clear link between theories and their application. This is emphasised in the final year of the programme with a collaborative project that applies philosophical research to develop policies or strategies aimed at solving a real-world ethical or social problem.

Alongside the research and academic skills you’lI develop, we offer opportunities for doing off-campus work placements or community outreach projects based on your studies.

You’ll graduate with a range of professional skills, including collaboration, communication and critical thinking. You will also have developed a deep appreciation of the ethical and social challenges that face contemporary society and industry, and have the ideas and confidence required to solve them. From here, you’ll be ideally placed to progress into a range of exciting careers.

Requirements

Entry Requirements

International Baccalaureate

32-30 overall or 665-655 in 3 HL subjects.

English Program Requirements

GCSE

Grade C or grade 4 in GCSE English Language.

IELTS (academic)

At least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subskill.

TOEFL iBT

At least 90 overall with a minimum of 17 for writing, 17 for listening, 18 for reading, and 20 for speaking.

PTE Academic

At least 69 overall with a minimum of 59 in all communicative skills.

Trinity ISE II/III

II: at least two Distinctions and two Merits.
III: at least a Pass in all components.

Other accepted qualifications

Please visit our English Language requirements page for more information on our other accepted language qualifications.

Career

Careers

Career prospects

We encourage our students to think about life beyond university from day one, offering modules and support to give you a competitive advantage on graduating no matter what path you follow.

Graduates from this programme possess a range of transferable skills and areas of knowledge that are sought after by many employers. These include the ability to independently analyse complex problems and identify workable and innovative solutions, to work effectively with others on large projects, to communicate effectively to different audiences, and to use reflection and feedback to further develop your skills. You’ll also acquire a broad knowledge base enabling you to understand and respond to a range of contemporary ethical or social problems. During your degree, you’ll gain experience of professional research, policy and strategy roles by working on a large collaborative policy project. This project showcases to employers how not only your skills but also your knowledge can be of huge value in the workplace.

University services and schemes are also available to you, providing additional ways to increase your professional skills and confidence. The Cardiff Award provides a framework through which to develop your employability further, and Student Futures is on hand to provide career advice and support in gaining placements specific to your degree. You can also take advantage of programmes like Languages for All and Welsh for All to improve your language skills, while support from the Enterprise and Start Up team can help to bring your ideas to life.

Due to the depth and breadth of skills and knowledge gained from their studies, our graduates can be found in a variety of sectors, including the civil service, local government, charitable organisations, small businesses, consultancy firms, and schools and colleges. They work in journalism, law, teaching, finance, marketing, human resources, public relations, and many other professions.

Placements

We ensure that placements can be incorporated into your learning. Opportunities for diverse, bespoke placements are offered via a second-year optional module which focuses on translating the skills you gain through your degree into the workplace.

Staff also have links with a range of organisations, which offer placement opportunities both in and outside semesters.

Through our connections with Student Futures, you can source placements and on-campus internships from part-time placements that fit around your studies to paid summer placements with full-time hours. In addition, our Career Confident team provides additional support to help you gain work experience.