Philosophy, Politics and Economics What would I study and how do courses differ? The degree of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) is a fiercely competitive Joint Honours degree providing an exciting possibility of exploring the three subjects in all their connections and depth. Historically, the three subjects are inextricably linked with Economics, for instance, being an offspring of Moral Philosophy, and Politics having been informed in theory and in practice by Political Philosophy and Political Philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx PPE at Oxford, which is where the degree originated, serves as a typical example of the content of a PPE course: Year One: • Philosophy: at least two of: general Philosophy; Moral Philosophy; Elementary Formal Logic. • Politics includes the study of current political institutions of Britain, the USA, France and Germany, in light of their recent history and sections on political theories and thinkers and on non-democratic movements. • Economics includes an introduction to Macro- and Micro-Economic Theory; optional study of elementary Mathematical Economics and Statistics. Years Two and Three: • Students may continue with all three branches or concentrate on two (and even then major in one). • Philosophy core: History of Philosophy from Descartes to Kant; ethics. • Politics core: two of: Comparative Government; British politics and Government in the 20th century; Theory of Politics; International Politics since 1945; Political Sociology. • Economics core: Macroeconomics; Microeconomics, Quantitative Economics. Optional subjects are drawn from a wide range. There are variations of emphasise in the content covered by the different universities so make sure to visit their websites and read the course content. Also note that York University offers two routes through the PPE programme with one of the routes focusing on Statistics and Economics. What are the typical requirements? PPE is a fiercely competitive degree. The requirements for the five most popular universities that offer PPE are as follows: Oxford requires AAA. Warwick and Durham require A*AA. York requires A*AA or AAA including Maths. Manchester requires AAB.
57
