Online philosophy courses
Study from anywhere in the world with an online short course.
Our short online courses in philosophy include live-time weekly classes, lecture series, day and weekend schools, and flexible online courses.
Credit earned from some of these courses is transferable towards our Certificate of Higher Education – a part-time undergraduate course in which you study a main subject discipline, but also undertake study in other academic subjects.
Browse below to find the online philosophy course for you.
Upcoming courses
Online - flexible • Short courses
Political philosophy contains some of the greatest writings in the Western intellectual tradition. This online course introduces you to the central questions concerning the state, by means of classical and contemporary texts.
- Wed 07 May 2025 – 18 Jul 2025
Online - flexible • Short courses
An introduction to metaphysics, the most general investigation of reality. It has been at the centre of philosophy since the beginning of the Western tradition in ancient Greece, and many of its concerns are the same as those of Plato and Aristotle.
- Wed 07 May 2025 – 25 Jul 2025
Online - flexible • Short courses
This course introduces key issues in the philosophy of science, including debates about the nature of the scientific method, theories of confirmation, the demarcation of science from non-science, the rationality of theory change, and scientific realism.
- Mon 12 May 2025 – 25 Jul 2025
Online - flexible • Short courses
Do you think reproductive cloning is morally permissible? Do you check food labels to exclude buying any with GM ingredients? Would you worry if the government introduced compulsory depositing of DNA in the national DNA bank?
- Mon 19 May 2025 – 01 Aug 2025
Online - flexible • Short courses
Reasoning enables us to acquire knowledge, to persuade others and to evaluate their arguments. But only if we reason well. We shall be learning how to recognise, evaluate, construct and analyse arguments, and how to recognise common fallacies.
- Mon 19 May 2025 – 01 Aug 2025
Online - flexible • Short courses
In this introduction to ethics, we shall examine four important ethical theories, applying them to two practical questions: the rights of animals and euthanasia. There will be plenty of opportunity to engage in debate and test your own thinking.
- Mon 19 May 2025 – 01 Aug 2025
Also available:
Philosophy
Short courses, summer schools and graduate courses in philosophy and ethics at the University of Oxford.MSt in Practical Ethics
A highly interdisciplinary course focusing on the application of rigorous philosophical analysis to real-life ethical problems