Breaking: All future undergrad PPLS assessments cancelled except dissertations

Most students will be assessed on the basis of work already submitted


Edinburgh University’s School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences (PPLS) has cancelled all future undergraduate assessments planned for semester two, bar independent and coursework dissertations.

In an email sent out to philosophy students tonight, Undergraduate Teaching Director for Philosophy, Dr Bryan Pickel, outlined the following:

“Pre-honours: You do not need to do any further assessment for any course.  Semester 2 courses will be assessed pass/fail on the basis of previous engagement with the course. For Philosophy, this applies to Logic 1Greats, and Knowledge and Reality.

“Honours: Semester 2 courses will be assessed pass/fail:  Most will be assessed on the basis of work already submitted. There will be no exams. You will need to do a further assignment (which may be a replacement for an exam) only if you have not yet done any assessment on a given course. For Philosophy, the only honours courses that may require further assessment are Theory of Virtue, Puzzles and Paradoxes, and Philosophy of Wittgenstein. If you are taking one of these courses, your course organiser will be in touch.

“Final-year Philosophy Dissertations: 4th Year students must still complete their Philosophy dissertations. This applies to both coursework and independent dissertations. The deadline for both remains 7 May by noon. Joint honours students writing their dissertations outside of Philosophy should follow the guidance of the relevant subject area.”

Dr Pickel clarified in his email that the above measures “apply to courses owned by PPLS (courses in CogSci, LEL, Philosophy, Psychology) only.

“Other schools may make different decisions regarding assessment, and you will need to refer to the guidance from the relevant School.”