Philosophy, Politics and Economics

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Philosophy, Politics and Economics or Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (often abbreviated to PPE) is a popular interdisciplinary undergraduate degree which combines study from the three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in PPE was the University of Oxford. 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 1920's^[1] 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.^[2] Academics have argued that the introduction of the course had a profound effect on other academic disciplines within Oxford and more widely. It was 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.^{[citation needed]} 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^[3] 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.^[4]

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.

List of Universities offering PPE

• American University of Paris
• Bifrost University ^[5]
• Carroll University ^[6]
• Claremont McKenna College ^[7]
• Denison University ^[8]
• Duke University ^[9] (certificate)
• Durham University ^[10]
• Eastern Oregon University ^[11][12]
• Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Juniata College ^[13]
• Minnesota State University, Mankato ^[14]
• Obafemi Awolowo University ^[15]
• Open University ^[16]
• Pomona College ^[17]
• Queen's University Belfast ^[18]
• Stellenbosch University ^[19]
• Swansea University ^[20]
• The King's College (New York) ^[21]
• University of British Columbia-Okanagan ^[22]
• University of Cape Town ^[23]
• University of Exeter ^[24]
• University of Glasgow
• University of Hull^[25]
• University of Iowa ^[26]
• King's University College

^[27]

• University of Manchester ^[28]
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ^[29]
• University of Notre Dame ^[30] (minor)
• University of Oxford ^[31]
• University of Pennsylvania ^[32]
• University of Richmond ^[33] (upcoming: PPEL - with law)
• University of Southampton^[34]
• University of Stirling
• University of York ^[35]
• University of Warwick ^[36]
• Wesleyan University ^[37]
• Western Washington University ^[38]
• Wilfrid Laurier University ^[39]

References

See also

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