Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

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Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) is a popular interdisciplinary degree which combines study from the three eponymous disciplines. It used to be most strongly associated with the University of Oxford – the institution that first offered the degree – but is increasingly being offered at other universities across the English-speaking world.

In the past, this was a programme taken seriously by those who sought a career in politics or public life – and quite a few who subsequently achieved it – but now only by those seeking a broader range of subjects for their first degree. The degree is currently offered by universities in the United Kingdom (such as Oxford, York, Durham, Warwick, UEA, Manchester, Lancaster, Essex, Hull Hull and Open), in the United States (such as Yale, Penn, Wesleyan, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Eastern Oregon and The King's College), in South Africa (at Stellenbosch and Cape Town), in Canada (at Wilfrid Laurier) and in New Zealand (at Otago). Oxford's famous PPE graduates include Harold Wilson, Imran Khan, Edward Heath, Wesley Clark, David Cameron, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and Benazir Bhutto, among others.

PPE was established in Oxford in 1920 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. It was also the first opportunity for students to study philosophy at Oxford without having to learn Ancient Greek or Latin and hence sparked a huge growth in the number of students studying philosophy at Oxford.

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. Moreover, the study of political science is thought to put students in a position to evaluate the choices political systems and regimes regularly make. 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. Additionally, the analytical framework of economics (the rational actor model) is an important approach to studying social phenomena and, as such, students ought to be familiar with it.