The Syllabus:

The Philosophy 'A' Level syllabus for students in the UK is published by AQA and can be obtained from the website (click here to go there). However, it is currently being revised, and as of Autumn 2009, the exam will have a new structure.

However, until then, this is a brief breakdown of the course content:

AS Modules

MODULE 1
Theory of Knowledge

MODULE 2
One theme chosen from:

Moral Philosophy
Philosophy of Religion

MODULE 3
One text chosen from:

Plato’s Republic
Descartes’s Meditations
Marx & Engels’ The German Ideology
Sartre’s Existentialism & Humanism

A2 Modules

MODULE 4
One theme chosen from:

Philosophy of Mind
Political Philosophy
Philosophy of Science

MODULE 5
One text chosen from:

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Mill’s On Liberty
Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil
Russell’s The Problems of Philosophy
Ayer’s Language, Truth and Logic

MODULE 6

Synoptic Study (a 3,000 to 4,000 word essay based on questions set by AQA). These consist in either assessing the relative contributions of two philosophers to a major debate, or assessing the impact of one philosopher on the development of ideas within a philosophical theme.