What to do with a Philosophy degree

Explore the careers you might be interested in going into after studying a Philosophy degree.

Students sitting taking notes at the tate.

What can you do with an undergraduate Philosophy degree?

Philosophy degrees help prepare you for your future career by teaching you to work independently and may help you develop your analysis and research skills. Find out more about our courses and course content.

Already at Sussex? Visit our careers site.

What jobs can you get with an undergraduate Philosophy degree?

Jobs may include, but are not limited to: 

  • advertising executive
  • [jobs in] the arts
  • civil service officer
  • communications officer
  • [jobs in] non-governmental organisations
  • health and social worker
  • human relations officer
  • journalist and writer
  • local government officer
  • manager
  • marketing executive
  • [jobs in] the media
  • public relations officer
  • [jobs in] politics 
  • [jobs in] publishing
  • school teacher. 

If you haven’t studied a degree yet, and you’re considering a Philosophy course, you may want to browse our:

Skills

You may develop skills including:

  • attention to detail 
  • research
  • written communication
  • self-confidence
  • flexibility (such as adapting your research and working iteratively)
  • teamwork. 

At Sussex, you can further develop your study skills by signing up for a range of workshops, tutorials and online resources.

Work experience and placements

You can gain work experience by doing a placement with an organisation. 

At Sussex, during your degree, you can choose to apply for one of the below: 

  • a professional placement
  • an integrated placement if it is a requirement for a course.

This may help you gain skills and work experience before you graduate. Find out more about placements and internships at Sussex. 

You might also want to look for work experience opportunities in your own time at:

  • charities
  • the civil service
  • local government
  • marketing agencies
  • public relations agencies
  • secondary schools, colleges or universities.

What can you do with a Masters in Philosophy?

You might want to pursue a career in any of the above jobs. Or you could think about continuing your education further. At Sussex, we offer research (PhD) degrees in Philosophy.

You may then be able to go into an academic career, including roles such as:

  • researcher
  • higher education lecturer 
  • professor. 

For more information about careers after a Philosophy degree, see the Prospects website. 

If you’re a current Sussex student, see more advice from our careers section.

What do you want to do next?