Global and Comparative Philosophy (MA)

Why study Global and Comparative Philosophy at Leiden University?

Leiden is the only Dutch university—and one of only a few in the world—to offer a master’s programme that combines Western perspectives with those of India, Africa, East Asia, and the Arab world, taught by internationally renowned experts in their fields. Leiden University is also home to various institutes dedicated to studying these traditions. In addition, the Leiden University Library has world-famous collections of East Asian, African, and Arabic manuscripts and materials. This programme is philosophy at its broadest, drawing from traditions from around the globe and combining conceptual analysis with hermeneutics and phenomenology, historical contextualisation with cross-cultural comparison. In this way, you will learn from the world’s traditions of thought and how they mutually inform and enrich each other. 

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What are your career prospects?

Our graduates are currently employed in a wide range of professions in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Successful completion of an MA prepares you for PhD research and a career in academia. Currently 100% of our students find employment at university-graduate level within one year of completing our one-year MA in Global and Comparative Philosophy. We can attribute this both to the high quality of the programme and the talent and ambition of our students. 

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Is Global and Comparative Philosophy the programme for you?

The Global and Comparative philosophy specialization offers students advanced training in philosophy beyond the confines of the academic West. This programme is suitable for you if you want to enrich your philosophical perspectives beyond the confines of mainstream European and North American philosophy. It will train you to be a truly global philosopher for the 21st century, capable of interrogating received ideas and engaging in philosophical dialogue across different traditions.  

Do you want to find out if you are eligible for this Master's programme? 

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Chiara Trauttmansdorff

Student

"The Global and Comparative Philosophy Master's first and foremost taught me that philosophy is not geographically bound, as love for wisdom is not exclusive to one particular people. In the course of studying the philosophy of different world traditions, I learnt how to read and write critically, to detect faulty arguments, and slowly but surely also formulate my own line of thought. All of this was embedded in an intimate learning environment, where students know one another and students and professors also."

Naomi Grooteboer

Graduated in the MA Philosophy specialization Global and Comparative Philosophy

"Having finished my bachelor’s in philosophy, this master’s has offered me the deepening of my studies that I was looking for. I was able to focus my studies on those contexts that I found most interesting, whilst also keeping an eye on philosophies from other cultures. Especially the discussions with teachers and fellow students were wonderful; those were exactly the intercultural philosophical debates that this program wants to accentuate."