The Centre for Philosophy was set up in 1999 in the School of Social Sciences. For a long time, the School and the University had felt the urgent need for an independent Department of Philosophy. This was driven by the understanding that Philosophy must have a central place in an institution of higher learning and research. Further, that an engagement with Philosophy would strengthen the ongoing research in the various fields of knowledge in the University. It was this concern that lead to the creation of the Centre for Philosophy in the School of Social Sciences.

The academic programmes of the Centre are intended to provide students with a deeper and more rigorous foundation in the discipline in Philosophy while simultaneously encouraging an engagement with substantive issues. The teaching and research work is designed to train students to read and engage critically with original philosophical texts, both classical and contemporary, with a high degree of methodological awareness; and to reflect systematically on concepts and problems central to Philosophy. The primary purpose of this is to create a body of scholarly work that can yield newer and richer reflections on philosophical problems and debates. The Centre would like to encourage research students to study issues and concerns in Philosophy cutting across diverse traditions and narrow disciplinary boundaries. It would also like students to move from exegesis to a problem-oriented study where philosophical reflection addresses concerns of present day society and polity.

The Centre offers a Direct admission to Ph.D. programme as well as an M.Phil. / Ph.D. programme.

(i) Direct Admission to Ph.D.Programme : The Centre for Philosophy welcomes applications in all major areas of      Philosophy, such as, Ethics, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Legal and Moral Philosophy, Social and Political      Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Action, Philosophical Psychology,      Logic, Philosophy of Social Sciences, and History of Ideas.

(ii) M.Phil/Ph.D. : The M.Phil. programame carries a total of 24 credits - 16 credits for the course work and 8 credits      for the Dissertation. The course work consists of 2 compulsory papers of 4 credits each and 2 optional papers,      also of 4 credits each. Every students is required to take two compulsory courses in the first semester of the      programme, and they must successfully complete the entire course work in the first year of admission.

The two compulsory courses are: (i) Concepts in Philosophy, and (ii) Philosophical Analysis. The aim of these courses is to critically engage with some of the core concepts of philosophy and to systematically introduce students to methods of philosophical enquiry by an in depth study of identified essential text in Philosophy. In addition to this, the Centre offers a range of optional papers in the fields of Ethics and Moral Philosophy, Epistemology and Metaphysics, Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind and consciousness, Philosophy of Science including Social Science, Studies in Analytical Philosophy, and Phenomenology and Existentialism. The choice of the two optional courses will be determined by the research interest and field of specialization selected by the student.

The course work for the M.Phil. will consist of a combination of lectures, preparation and presentations of seminar papers, and participation in discussions on work in progress.