COURSE CURRICULUM

The Global and Comparative Philosophy master’s program is a unique opportunity in Europe, offering students a curriculum that combines methodological training, intercultural content, and independent research. The program begins with a mandatory introduction seminar, Methods of Intercultural Philosophical Scholarship, designed to provide students with the essential tools to critically engage with diverse philosophical traditions. Alongside this seminar, students select three optional courses in Global and Comparative Philosophy, each worth 10 EC, which allows them to tailor their studies according to their personal research interests. In the second semester, the focus shifts to the master’s thesis, a 20 EC independent research project supported by a mandatory thesis seminar. The thesis must present a substantive contribution to the field of philosophy, and students complete their degree with a final oral examination where they defend their thesis and may also respond to questions on related philosophical themes. Course assessments throughout the program are varied, including class presentations, assignments, and final research papers, all of which are aimed at developing advanced academic skills. One of the key strengths of the program is its intercultural approach. As lecturer Dr. Stephen Harris highlights, Leiden’s existing strengths in political and continental philosophy are complemented by perspectives from Asian and Islamic traditions. Students have the opportunity to study figures such as Plato, Heidegger, and Rawls, alongside the Buddha, Nagarjuna, Confucius, and Avicenna. In Dr. Harris’s courses, students explore pressing philosophical issues such as what it means to flourish as a human being, engaging with Greek notions of happiness, contemporary analytic work on well-being, Buddhist critiques of pleasure, and Daoist ideas about creativity and spontaneity. This combination of rigorous methodology, wide-ranging content, and independent research equips graduates not only with strong academic skills but also with the comparative and intercultural perspective needed to understand and respond to global intellectual challenges in the twenty-first century.