The Philosophy, History and Languages (PHL) major introduces students to key intellectual trends in the Humanities through a problem or theme-based approach drawing on diverse theoretical frameworks. It emphasises scholarly rigour and original critical thinking across its three disciplines, with course options spanning ethics, intellectual history, postcolonial studies, literary studies, ecological humanities, ethnomusicology, and political philosophy. A distinctive feature of the Major is its integration of language study, encompassing both classical and contemporary South Asian and European languages, including Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Sanskrit, Dutch, French, Japanese and German, tailored to each student's chosen theme or problem. Students develop advanced proficiency in their chosen language alongside their broader intellectual pursuits. The Major equips graduates for careers across a wide range of fields, including law, media, politics, journalism, government and civil services, the development sector, marketing, translation and research, as well as postgraduate study.

A central component of the Major is the study of languages relevant to a student’s chosen theme or problem. We hope that over time Philosophy, History and Languages will encompass the study of both classical and contemporary South Asian and European languages. These languages include Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Sanskrit, Dutch, French, Japanese, and German. Students in Philosophy, History and Languages tailor their language study according to their intellectual interests and acquire advanced competency in their language of study. The Philosophy, History and Languages programme will be developing high-quality study and research of these languages in the School of Arts and Sciences. This will be accomplished by linking these languages to faculty research and teaching so that students are able to study languages from beginning to advanced levels and in a variety of genres.

The Major in Philosophy, History and Languages is a customised programme in the Humanities and allows students to explore themes across disciplines. It has two major goals: (1) to open up a space for students who want to study the Humanities but are undecided between Philosophy, History and Languages/literatures; and (2) to create a space for students to work on a theme that lies at the interface of two or more disciplines in the Humanities, and therefore cannot be accommodated squarely within any of the traditional Humanities disciplines. Given its goals, Philosophy, History and Languages is a unique attempt to reorient and restructure the domain of the Humanities in the context of higher education in India.

Students study a minimum of two years of the same language. These languages will be offered at three levels: elementary, intermediate and advanced.

Students of the Philosophy, History and Languages Major will acquire the skills required to succeed in professions such as law, media, politics, the development sector, government service, the civil services, publicity and marketing, journalism, translation, research, and further studies in higher education. The skills they will develop include:

• Identify the structure of arguments, whether in the disciplines of history or philosophy, and apply it in a variety of contexts
• Paraphrase, summarise, compare, and contrast various interpretations, theories and methodologies in the disciplines of philosophy and history [100, 200 levels]
• Acquire reading, writing, and speaking skills in a new language and use it in various contexts, including translation, commensurate at least with CEFR level B1 (intermediate) competence [ https://www.fluentin3months.com/cefr-levels/]
• Write in accordance with the style and format prescribed in the disciplines of philosophy and history
• Analyse, evaluate and critique existing interpretations in the disciplines of history and philosophy
• Plan and construct new arguments in conversation with the state of a particular field in history and/or philosophy 
• Generate new knowledge that lies at the interface of the disciplines of philosophy and history, and communicate this knowledge in the form of a substantial piece of writing

Upon completion, the student will be able to:

• Engage with key intellectual trends in the Humanities through problem/theme-based frameworks
• Apply diverse theoretical frameworks: ethics, postcolonial studies, literary studies, ecological humanities, political philosophy
• Develop rigorous analytical and critical thinking across Philosophy, History and Language disciplines
• Attain advanced proficiency in a chosen classical or contemporary language (Sanskrit, Persian or German)

Upon completion, the student will be able to:

• Apply humanities knowledge to real-world careers in law, media, politics, journalism, civil services, development sector, and translation
• Engage with South Asian and global intellectual traditions to understand societal and cultural questions

Upon completion, the student will be able to:

• Pursue scholarly rigour and original critical thinking in independent intellectual work
• Develop language proficiency alongside broader interdisciplinary pursuits

To learn more about the Philosophy, History and Languages (PHL) programme at Ahmedabad University you may send an email to phl@ahduni.edu.in.

To know more about admission procedures, including lateral admission and about fees and financial aid​​​​​​, please visit our undergraduate admissions page or contact ugadmissions@ahduni.edu.in​​​​​​.