Philosophy, politics, and economics

Philosophy, politics, and economics (often abbreviated to PPE) is a popular interdisciplinary undergraduate/graduate degree which combines study from the three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in PPE was the University of Oxford and this particular course has produced a significant number of notable graduates such as David Cameron, the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. According to the BBC, it "dominate[s] public life" (in the UK).^[1] It is now offered at several other leading colleges and universities around the world.

History

PPE was established in Balliol College, Oxford University, in the 1920s,^[2] as a modern alternative to Classics (known as Greats) because it was thought that a course in Philosophy and Ancient History was no longer relevant for those entering the civil service. It was thus initially known as Modern Greats.^[3][1] Christopher Stray has pointed to the course as one reason for the gradual decline of the study of classics, as classicists in political life began to be edged out by those who had studied the Modern Greats^[4] Dario Castiglione and Iain Hampsher-Monk have described the course as being fundamental to the development of political thought in the UK, since it established a connection between politics and philosophy, whereas previously at Oxford, and for some time subsequently at Cambridge, politics had been taught only as a branch of modern history.^[5]

Course material

The design of the programme emanates from the view that to understand social phenomena one must approach them from several complementary disciplinary directions and analytical frameworks. In this regard, the study of Philosophy is considered important because it both equips students with meta-tools such as the ability to reason rigorously and logically, and facilitates ethical reflection. The study of politics is considered necessary because it acquaints students with the authoritative structures that govern society and help solve collective action problems. Finally, studying economics is seen as vital in the modern world because political decisions often concern economic matters, and government decisions are often influenced by economic events.

Oxford PPE graduate Nick Cohen and former tutor Iain McLean consider the course's breadth important to its appeal, especially because British society values generalists over specialists. However, Geoffrey Evans has argued that the Oxford course's success is a self-perpetuating feature of the class system.^[1]

List of universities offering PPE

United Kingdom and Ireland

• Durham University ^[6]
• Lancaster University
• London School of Economics ("Government and Economics" and "Philosophy and Economics")^[7]
• Open University ^[8]
• Swansea University ^[9]
• Queen's University Belfast ^[10]
• Trinity College Dublin (PPES – with Sociology) ^[11]
• University College Dublin^[12]
• University College London (under the designation of BA "European Social and Political Studies", in addition to the MA "Philosophy, Politics and Economics of Health")^[13]
• University of East Anglia^[14]
• University of Essex^[15]
• University of Exeter ^[16]
• University of Glasgow
• University of Hull^[17]
• University of Manchester ^[18]
• University of Nottingham ^[19]
• University of Oxford ^[20]
• University of Stirling
• University of Warwick ^[21]
• University of York ^[22]
• Goldsmith's College, University of London

US and Canada

• Carroll University ^[23]
• Claremont McKenna College ^[24]
• Denison University ^[25]
• Duke University ^[26] (certificate)
• Eastern Oregon University ^[27][28]
• Harvard University (Under the designation of "Social Studies," an interdisciplinary honors-only undergraduate concentration.)^[29]
• Juniata College ^[30]
• The King's College (New York) ^[31]
• King's University College^[32]
• Minnesota State University, Mankato ^[33]
• Pomona College ^[34]
• University of British Columbia-Okanagan ^[35]
• University of Alabama-Birmingham ^[36]
• University of Akron ^[37]
• University of Arizona
• University of Iowa ^[38] (certificate)
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Minor) ^[39]
• University of Notre Dame ^[40] (minor)
• University of Pennsylvania ^[41]
• University of Pittsburgh ^[42]
• University of Richmond ^[43] (upcoming: PPEL – with law)
• University of Washington Tacoma ^[44]
• University of Western Ontario ^[45]
• Wesleyan University ^[46]
• Western Washington University ^[47]
• Wilfrid Laurier University ^[48]
• Yale University (under the designation "Ethics, Politics and Economics," abbreviated "EP&E")^[49]

Elsewhere

• American University of Paris
• Bifrost University ^[50]
• Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• La Trobe University, Australia ^[51]
• Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich ^[52]
• Obafemi Awolowo University ^[53]
• Peking University ^[54]
• Stellenbosch University ^[55]
• University of Bayreuth ^[56]
• University of Bern (under the designation of MA "Political and Economic Philosophy" abbreviated "PEP")^[57]
• University of Cape Town ^[58]
• University of Hamburg
• University of KwaZulu-Natal ^[59]
• Rangsit University
• University of Otago, New Zealand
• Waseda University ^[60]
• Witten/Herdecke University
• Free University of Bolzano

See also

• Notable people with PPE degrees from Oxford
• Greats degree course
• Interdisciplinarity

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Kelly, Jon (2010-08-31). "Why does PPE rule Britain?". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11136511. Retrieved 2010-09-02. 
2. ^ [1] "Balliol was the birthplace of the modern degree of PPE in the 1920s. A.D. Lindsay, who subsequently became the Master of the College, played a key role in the establishment of the degree and Balliol has long remained a major college for the study of PPE, and PPE has long been a major subject within Balliol."
3. ^ "History of Philosophy at Oxford – Faculty of Philosophy". Philosophy.ox.ac.uk. 2009-11-19. http://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/the_faculty/history_of_philosophy. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
4. ^ Christopher Stray, Classics Transformed: Schools, Universities, and Society in England, 1830–1960. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. Pp. xiv, 336. $85. ISBN 0-19-815013-X.
5. ^ Dario Castiglion and Iain Hampsher-Monk, The history of political thought in national context, Cambridge University Press, 2001, ISBN 0521782341
6. ^ "The PPE School at the University of Durham". Dur.ac.uk. 2009-04-07. http://www.dur.ac.uk/programme.specifications/?prog=vl52. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
7. ^ "LSE Website". http://www.lse.ac.uk. Retrieved 2011-06-04. 
8. ^ "PPE at the Open University comes under the Faculty of Social Sciences". .open.ac.uk. http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?Q01B45. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
9. ^ [2]^{[dead link]}
10. ^ "Queen's University Belfast | BA Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE)". Qub.ac.uk. 2010-03-03. http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofPoliticsInternationalStudiesandPhilosophy/ProspectiveStudents/UndergraduateDegrees/BAPoliticsPhilosophyandEconomicsPPE/. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
11. ^ http://www.social-phil.tcd.ie/PPES/
12. ^ https://myucd.ucd.ie/programme_info/firstyearexplained.ezc
13. ^ "New MA in Philosophy, Politics and the Economics of Health". Ucl.ac.uk. 2009-11-11. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0911/09111104. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
14. ^ http://www.uea.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.115499.1242810648!L0V0%20Course%20Guide%20%282009-0%29.pdf
15. ^ "University of Essex :: Course Finder :: BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics". Essex.ac.uk. 2010-05-14. http://www.essex.ac.uk/coursefinder/CourseDetails.aspx?course=BA++L0V0. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
16. ^ "Exeter University". Huss.exeter.ac.uk. http://huss.exeter.ac.uk/politics/undergrad/progspec.php?psp_prgc=UFA3HPSHPS14. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
17. ^ "BA (Hons) Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE)". University of Hull. http://www2.hull.ac.uk/FASS/politics_homepage/undergraduate_study/programmes/politics,_philosophy_and_econo.aspx. Retrieved 2009-11-02. 
18. ^ "PPE at Manchester". Manchester.ac.uk. Archived from the original on March 11, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080311061958/http://www.manchester.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/search/atoz/course/?code=00154. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
19. ^ "Philosophy and Economics – University of Nottingham". UofNottingham. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/ugstudy/course.php?code=000541. Retrieved 2011-08-06. 
20. ^ "Philosophy, Politics and Economics – University of Oxford". Ox.ac.uk. http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/philosophy_politics_and_economics/philosophy_politic_4.html. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
21. ^ "PPE at Warwick". .warwick.ac.uk. 2009-11-09. http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/philosophy/ugstudy/degreecourses/ppe/. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
22. ^ "The PEP School at York". York.ac.uk. http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/pep/. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
23. ^ "Carroll University :: Philosophy, Politics and Economics :: The Program". Carrollu.edu. http://www.carrollu.edu/programs/philpoleco/default.asp. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
24. ^ "Ppe At Cmc". Claremontmckenna.edu. http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/ppe/. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
25. ^ "About Philosophy, Politics and Economics – Denison University". Denison.edu. 2008-06-09. http://www.denison.edu/academics/departments/about_ppe.html. Retrieved 2010-06-02. ^{[dead link]}
26. ^ "PPE at Duke". Poli.duke.edu. http://www.poli.duke.edu/ppe/. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
27. ^ "EOU's General Catalog". Eou.edu. http://www.eou.edu/catalog/catalog_02/philpolecon.html. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
28. ^ "Eastern Oregon University". Eou.edu. http://www.eou.edu/%7Ejjohnson/ppehomejeff.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
29. ^ "Harvard College Committee on Degrees in Social Studies". fas.harvard.edu. http://socialstudies.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
30. ^ "Juniata College Catalog". Juniata.edu. http://www.juniata.edu/services/catalog/section.html?courses+ppe. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
31. ^ [3]^{[dead link]}
32. ^ "The King's University College – FAQ". Kingsu.org. 2010-02-06. http://www.kingsu.org/academic-departments/phe/faq.html. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
33. ^ "Department of Philosophy – Minnesota State University, Mankato". Mnsu.edu. 2006-10-11. http://www.mnsu.edu/philosophy/ppe.html. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
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35. ^ "Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) – Bachelor of Arts Programs – Faculty of Arts and Sciences – Faculties, Schools, and Colleges – Okanagan Calendar 2010/11 – UBC Student Services". Okanagan.students.ubc.ca. http://okanagan.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=18,282,857,1255. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
36. ^ "The PPE Concentration". Dept. of Philosophy, University of Alabama-Birmingham. http://www.uab.edu/philosophy/PPE.html. Retrieved 2011-06-24. 
37. ^ "Philosophy, Political Science, Economy Curriculum". Academic Advising Center, University of Akron. http://www.uakron.edu/advising/docs/3904.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-19. 
38. ^ http://www.registrar.uiowa.edu/registrar/catalog/CollegeofLiberalArtsandSciences/PhilosophiesandEthicsofPoliticsLawandEconomics.html
39. ^ [5]
40. ^ "Department of Philosophy // University of Notre Dame". Philosophy.nd.edu. http://philosophy.nd.edu/undergraduate-program/minor/#politics. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
41. ^ "PPE at The University of Pennsylvania". Sas.upenn.edu. http://www.sas.upenn.edu/ppe/index.html. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
42. ^ "Politics and Philosophy Major". honorscollege.pitt.edu. http://www.honorscollege.pitt.edu/courses/politics-philos.html. Retrieved 2010-09-08. 
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44. ^ [7]
45. ^ "The University of Western Ontario : THE POLITICS, PHILOSOPHY, AND ECONOMICS (PPE) PROGRAM". Westerncalendar.uwo.ca. http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2009/pg1219.html. Retrieved 2010-06-02. ^{[dead link]}
46. ^ "Wesleyan University – College of Social Studies". Wesleyan.edu. http://www.wesleyan.edu/css/about.html. Retrieved 2011-04-17. 
47. ^ "Politics/Philosophy/Economics Curriculum Overview". Cbe.wwu.edu. http://www.cbe.wwu.edu/econ/curriculumPhilEcon.asp. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
48. ^ "Wilfrid Laurier University – Student Recruitment Office – Academic Programs – Faculty of Arts – Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE)". Wlu.ca. http://www.wlu.ca/page.php?grp_id=65&p=1372. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
49. ^ "Program in Ethics, Politics and Economics | Yale University". Yale.edu. http://www.yale.edu/epe/. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
50. ^ "Háskólinn á Bifröst – BA in PPE". Bifrost.is. http://www.bifrost.is/english/academics/faculty-of-social-sciences/ba-in-ppe/. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
51. ^ "La Trobe University Courses – Politics, Philosophy and Economics". La Trobe University. 2010-05-06. http://www.latrobe.edu.au/coursefinder/local/2011/Bachelor-of-Politics,-Philosophy-and-Economics.6982.html. Retrieved 2010-06-30. 
52. ^ "Executive-Masterstudiengang Philosophie, Politik, Wirtschaft". lmu.de. http://www.ppw.philosophie.lmu.de/index.html. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
53. ^ oauife.edu.ng. "Department of Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife". Oauife.edu.ng. http://www.oauife.edu.ng/faculties/soc_sciences/pol_sci/index.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
54. ^ http://yuanpei.pku.edu.cn/shownews.php?nid=400
55. ^ http://sun025.sun.ac.za/portal/page/portal/Maties/English/Undergraduate%20Prospectus/Arts/Specialised%20Programmes/BA_PPE
56. ^ "Philosophy & Economics – Bachelor and Master programmes". Faculty of Law, Business Administration and Economics, University of Bayreuth. http://translate.google.de/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpe.uni-bayreuth.de%2F&act=url. Retrieved 2011-02-02. 
57. ^ "Master Political and Economic Philosophy (PEP)". Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bern. http://www.philosophie.unibe.ch/content/studium/studienprogramme/masterprogramme/pep/. Retrieved 2011-08-22. 
58. ^ "Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) Programme". School of Economics, University of Cape Town. http://www.commerce.uct.ac.za/Economics/Programmes/undergraduate_programmes/ppe.asp. Retrieved 2009-04-21. 
59. ^ "University of KwaZulu-Natal – Faculties – Humanities, Development and Social Sciences". Ukzn.ac.za. http://www.ukzn.ac.za/faculty/hdss.asp. Retrieved 2010-06-02. ^{[dead link]}
60. ^ "School of Political Science and Economics | WASEDA University". Waseda.jp. http://www.waseda.jp/seikei/seikei/english/index-e.html. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 

External links

• PPE, Oxford University – Official Website
• Politics Student – Political opinion from students and young activists