Bachelor of Philosophy

Bachelor of Philosophy (B.Phil., B.Ph., Ph.B. or PhB; Latin Baccalaureus Philosophiae or Philosophiae Baccalaureus) is the title of an academic degree. The degree usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Despite its name it is, in most universities, a postgraduate degree.

The B.Phil.'s earliest form is as a University of Oxford graduate degree, first awarded in 1682. Originally, Oxford named its pre-doctoral graduate degrees the Bachelor of Philosophy (B.Phil.) (a two-year degree, partly taught and partly by research) and the Bachelor of Letters (B.Litt.) (a two-year research degree). After complaints, especially from overseas students, that this naming convention often meant that graduate degrees were not being recognised as such, the University renamed them Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) and Master of Letters (M.Litt.). However, the Philosophy Faculty (then a Sub-Faculty) argued that its B.Phil. degree had become so well known and respected in the philosophical world that it would be confusing to change the name. In philosophy, therefore, the degree continues to be called the B.Phil. Those who pass the degree are given the choice of taking a B.Phil. or an M.Phil.; few if any choose the latter. (Note that Oxford also offers a number of other graduate degrees labeled as baccalaureate degrees: the law faculty's BCL; and the music faculty's B.Mus)

Today's Oxford B.Phil. course is a two-year programme of seminars, six essays (of up to 5000 words each) and a research thesis (max. 30,000 words). The B.Phil. is regarded as a very demanding degree, and an academic background in philosophy is a prerequisite for admission.

The Oxford B.Phil. was designed to be a preparation for teaching philosophy at university level. Today it often also provides a foundation for doctoral (D.Phil. or Ph.D.) work in philosophy. Notable graduates of the B.Phil. include: Daniel Dennett, Peter Singer, George Boolos, Thomas Nagel, Gerald Cohen, Patricia Churchland, J. J. C. Smart and Galen Strawson.

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