Philosophy of Mind

master’s degree programs | on-campus

The field of “Philosophy of Mind” at the master’s level is a complete educational course, in accordance with the regulations and approvals of the Supreme Planning Council of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of Iran. Philosophy of mind, as one of the branches of analytical philosophy, studies the human mind with a philosophical method. Ontology of the mind, what the mind is and the relationship between the mind and the body are the most important axes of the philosophy of mind. Analyzing and clarifying the issue of consciousness, mental events, functions of the mind, and mental characteristics are among the topics that philosophers of mind have focused their research on.

This branch of philosophy has a long history in the philosophical tradition of our country. The most important philosophical works in the heritage of Islamic and Iranian thought have dealt with the subject of self. From Ibn Sina’s Shafa’ to Mulla Sadra’s Esfar, all our important philosophical books have explored the subject of the soul in detail. This importance originates from the Platonic and Aristotelian philosophical tradition. Just as Muslim philosophers strengthened the foundation of Iranian Islamic metaphysics and theology by using Aristotelian philosophy, they raised philosophical anthropological issues in the form of psychology, and used the arguments of Aristotle and Plato and the Qur’an and the traditions of the Holy Prophet and Ahl al- Bayt in order to deepen the understanding of the problem of the soul.

Since contemporary studies in cognitive sciences and neurology depend on research with physicalist approaches, nowadays these approaches have grown in the field of mind studies and have challenged religious beliefs in some cases. Perhaps the most important challenge is the reductionism of the mind to its physical dimension and doubting the existence of the metaphysical dimension of the mind. Therefore, it is necessary to create the field of philosophy of mind and address new issues to deal with such challenges. The lack of resources and the lack of experts who are knowledgeable about the literature of this field to discuss and respond to the aforementioned controversies requires the training of experts in the field of philosophy of mind. It is clear that by educating the graduates of this field, while we can add to the richness of the literature and the content of the philosophy of mind in the philosophical atmosphere of Iran, we can deepen our understanding of religious and spiritual teachings by using new philosophical researches.

Having a bachelor’s degree or equivalent is enough to study in this field. This document must be approved by the Iranian consulate in the country that issued it. Foreign students applying to study in this field can study in this field regardless of their bachelor’s degree. Based on this, any person who has studied outside of Iran with any field of study at the bachelor’s level can study in this course if they have the academic qualification and the agreement of the faculty members of the scientific department. Of course, having books, scientific and journalistic articles and being interested in participating in these fields can have an impact on the approval of the faculty of the group.

The length of the Master’s course “Philosophy of Mind” is 2 years and equal to 4 semesters. Each semester is equal to 16 weeks and the hours of lessons based on each unit are one hour per week. If, according to the educational group, the 2-year period is not enough to pass compensatory courses or finish the thesis, a maximum of two and a half years will be added to the two-year educational period. The “Philosophy of Mind” master’s program consists of 32 effective course units, 12 of which are offered as core courses, and 16 as optional courses at the discretion of the group. Also, for those who need compensatory units, 6 units of compensatory courses will be provided at the discretion of the group. All students are required to submit a thesis, which is 4 units ineffective in the GPA. The student is required to complete all core, optional and thesis units, as well as a number of compensatory courses depending on the bachelor’s degree in which he/she has graduated, as determined by the educational department.

Courses such as “Ontology”, “Epistemology”, “Soul in Western Philosophy (from the beginning to Descartes and Cartesians)”, “Philosophy of Mind (1)”, “Philosophy of Mind (2)” and “New Logic” are specialized courses. which is taught in the field of philosophy of mind.

Also, courses such as “Generalities of Islamic Philosophy”, “History of Western Philosophy”, and “Philosophy of Language” are also included among the compensatory courses of this field.

Total cost of the course for Iranian students who are admitted through the national entrance exam or internal university exam (2021-2022): 18 million tomans (The fee covers the student’s educational costs and does not include living expenses such as food and accommodations.

Total cost of the course for Iranian students who are admitted through the national entrance exam or internal university exam (2021-2022): 4 thousand dollars (The fee covers the student’s educational costs and does not include living expenses such as food and accommodations.

The applicants must submit the following items to apply to the on-campus master’s programs of the University of Religions and Denominations:

A completed application form.
An electronic copy of the passport or a valid residence permit.
An electronic copy of the high school diploma and bachelor’s degree or their equivalent and a certified Persian, English, or Arabic translation of the transcripts.
The original high school diploma and bachelor’s degree or their equivalent and a certified Persian, English, or Arabic translation of the transcripts.
One recently taken photo of the applicant, size 30x40mm.
Applicant’s CV indicating education and work experience (optional).

By clicking on the “Apply now” button next to each program, you will be transferred to the registration portal, where you can upload and submit your application documents. Your application will not be complete until all the required items are submitted.