Philosophy of knowledge (MA)

Career prospects

Where do our graduates work?

The one-year master’s programme in Philosophy prepares you for any career in which reasoning skills, high levels of abstraction and critical thinking are valued. Our graduates are currently employed in a wide range of professions in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Successful completion of an MA can also lead to 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 Philosophy. We can attribute this both to the high quality of the programme and the talent and ambition of our students.

Examples of the diverse roles of our graduates include:

• Policy Officer at a ministry
• Copywriter at a media company
• Freelance editor
• PhD candidate at an foreign university
• Editor at a communications consultancy firm
• Consultant at an IT consultancy firm
• Editor at a company specialising in reviewing theses and dissertations
• Coordinator at an international human rights watch organisation
• PhD candidate at a university in Sweden

Teacher qualification

If you are interested in a career in teaching, you can apply for the Dutch-taught teacher-training MA at the ICLON Graduate School of Education after graduating from the master’s programme. To be admitted, you need to have a master’s degree in the  relevant discipline. Fluency in Dutch is mandatory, and additional entry requirements may apply.

Michael Hegarty

Graduated in MA History and Philosophy of the Sciences

Flexibility of the programme “My first degree was in chemistry, so I needed a program with the flexibility to allow me to change paths. Leiden offered that, and I was able to take additional undergraduate courses in philosophy as preparation for the master. This flexibility was one of the big attractions for me about the program. I also liked the broad scope of the courses offered, which allowed me to take master courses in philosophy of language and philosophy of mind as part of the MA programme.”

 “I'm currently a PhD student in philosophy at the University of Connecticut in the United States. I'm building on the work I did in philosophy of mind and cognitive science at Leiden for my PhD research here, and the courses I took at Leiden were crucial preparation both for the PhD application process and for the doctoral work I am doing now.”

Inspiring professors at Leiden University

“As I am continuing with my study of philosophy at the doctoral level I make direct use of the skills and knowledge I acquired during my master at Leiden. I think Leiden was an excellent place to study theoretical philosophy, and the rigour of the work I did during my master - under the supervision of some inspiring professors - was excellent preparation for doctoral study. 

In which sector do students find jobs?

The graphs below are based on alumni data from the MA in Philosophy (60EC) 2016-2020.

• 31 % Education
• 25 % Government and semi-government
• 13 % Research
• 6 % Non-profit (e.g. at an idealistic organization)
• 6 % Media and journalism
• 6 % Business services
• 6 % Financial organisations
• 6 % Consultancy
• 1 % Other

Career preparation

Find out how this programme exactly prepares you for your future career and check our career preparation activities.