Global Philosophies & Worldviews BA (Hons)
UCAS Code: Combined Honours only – see combinations tab|Duration: 3|Full Time|Hope Park
UCAS Campus Code: L46
International students can apply|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
Liverpool is a truly global city, shaped by centuries of migration, trade, and cultural exchange. Its diverse history and rich cultural mix make it the perfect setting for the Global Philosophies and Worldviews degree, where you will explore how different traditions, cultures, and religions shape the way people understand the world.
The Global Philosophies and Worldviews course takes you on a journey across traditions, examining Asian philosophical and religious thought, as well as Western, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian approaches to life’s biggest questions. You will investigate how people form and reform their worldviews, asking critical questions about secularism, scientism, and the challenges of pluralism in a media-saturated world.
Studying Global Philosophies and Worldviews develops your ability to critically engage with diverse perspectives and misunderstood traditions. This degree prepares you for careers that require cultural understanding and engagement with different communities, such as journalism, law, politics, education, policing, and human resource management.
Course structure
Year 1: 3 x 1- hour lectures; 2 x 1- hour seminars; 1 x 1-hour small group tutorial per week.
Year 2: 2 x 1- hour lectures; 2 x 1- hour seminars; 1 x 1-hour small group tutorial per week.
Year 3: 2 x 1- hour lectures; 2 x 1- hour seminars per week, plus regular research supervision (some in small groups, some one-to-one).
Assessment and feedback
Essays, presentations, vivas, exams (2nd and 3rd years), textual analyses and portfolios.
Year One
The first year lays the foundations for your studies by introducing you to some of the key ideas of the course:
- Starting points: Liverpool as a case study
- Globalisation, decolonization and ‘global ethics’
- Introduction to Worldviews
- Modernity and Post-Modernity: The Secular and the post-secular
- Challenging Eurocentrism
- Power, ideology and oppression
- Gender, the body and sexuality
Year Two
During the second year, the global dimension of the course becomes more prominent:
- Islamic Philosophy of Religion
- Introduction to Buddhism
- Global Christianity
- The Bhagavad Gita
- Introduction to Zen: the ‘Ten Bulls’ parable
- A shared planet? Ecology, hope and conflict
- Human flourishing
Year Three
The third year takes you into some of the most important issues at play today in this field, as well as offering in-depth studies in Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism and Islam:
- Advaita Vedanta
- Kabbalah
- Zen Buddhism in depth
- Violence and the Sacred
- Radical Islam
- Religion and nationalism
- Sufism: mysticism and philosophy
- Research Project
Entry requirements
| A-Levels | BCC - BBB |
|---|---|
| UCAS Tariff Points | 104 - 120 UCAS Tariff points must come from a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent). Additional points can be made up from a range of alternative qualifications |
| BTEC | DMM - DDM |
| Access to HE | 104 - 120 Tariff Points |
| IB | 26 |
| Irish Leaving Certificate | 104 - 120 Tariff Points from Higher Level qualifications only |
| Welsh Baccalaureate | This qualification can only be accepted in conjunction with other relevant qualifications |
| T-Levels | Merit |
| Subject Requirements | No specific subject requirements |
International entry requirements
| Specific Country Requirements | Select your country |
|---|---|
| IELTS | 6.0 overall (with reading and writing at 6.0) and no individual score lower than 5.5. We also accept a wide range of International Qualifications. For more information, please visit our English Language Requirements page. |
Careers
This degree has been designed to provide its graduates with a sound underpinning in dealing with a wide range of cultures and worldviews that would equip them for any job that required sensible and sensitive understanding of the complexity of world cultures.
Graduates are expected to go on to roles such as; teaching, policy bodies, charity sector, social sector, international organisations, working with global majority organisations both national and international, social marketing, heritage sectors, media and journalism, law and business or into paid or voluntary work in Churches or religious organisations - and to other professions that required an understanding of the role played by religion in contemporary society.
Enhancement opportunities
SALA
The Service and Leadership Award (SALA) is offered as an extra-curricular programme involving service-based experiences, development of leadership potential and equipping you for a career in a rapidly changing world. It enhances your degree, it is something which is complimentary but different and which has a distinct ‘value-added’ component. Find out more on our Service and Leadership Award page.
Study Abroad
As part of your degree, you can choose to spend either a semester or a full year of study at one of our partner universities as part of our Study Abroad programme. Find out more on our Study Abroad page.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2026/27 academic year are £9,535* for full-time undergraduate courses.
If you are a student from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, your tuition fees will also be £9,535*.
The University reserves the right to increase Home and EU Undergraduate and PGCE tuition fees in line with any inflationary or other increase authorised by the Secretary of State for future years of study.
*subject to Council approval.
Additional costs
As well as your tuition fees, you also need to consider the cost of key books and textbooks, which in total will cost approximately £150.
You will also need to consider the cost of your accommodation each year whilst you study at university. Visit our accommodation pages for further details about our Halls of Residence.
Scholarships
We have a range of scholarships to help with the cost of your studies. Visit our scholarships page to find out more.
International tuition fees
The International Tuition fees for 2026/27 are £14,500.
Visit our International fees page for more information.
Course combinations
This course is only available as a Combined Honours degree with the following subjects: