Detail from "The School of Athens" by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino)

Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)

We have a large Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) team at Merton. We provide extensive 'in-house' teaching, and this gives students a diverse experience from tutors who are at the forefront of their own particular fields. In our experience excellence in research and teaching quality go hand in hand. We are often asked by potential applicants how to get into PPE and whether we regard Mathematics at AS level or equivalent as essential to study PPE at Merton. While most students at Merton have this qualification, not all do. However students do need an aptitude for doing Mathematics to cope with first year economics and the logic component of the philosophy course.

Key Information

Subject Intake: Six.

Course Duration: Three Years.

Course listing and admissions criteria: Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford.


Teaching Team

Course Structure

We have a dedicated team of tutors for Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at Merton. We provide extensive 'in-house' teaching and this gives students a diverse experience from tutors who are at the forefront of their own particular research fields. In our experience excellence in research and teaching quality go hand in hand.

Benefits of Studying PPE at Merton

Our students' exam performance is very strong: a good 2.1 is the norm and many of our undergraduates have achieved firsts. However, tutorials are not primarily designed with exam performance in mind. Our main goal is to help students increase their knowledge of each subject and to see how this can add to their understanding of the world around them.

While our students take their subjects seriously, this doesn't prevent them taking a full role in other college and university activities. For example, JCR presidents and committee members are often PPE students. The Neave Society is a student-run group which holds discussions on politics and current affairs, and also attracts well known external speakers.

Although a majority of our students come from the UK, PPE is also a popular choice for overseas students. In recent years students from Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore have studied PPE at Merton.

Student Profiles

Careers

Most of Merton's students get a job straight after their Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree, although a significant number go on to do postgraduate courses. Recent career destinations include working for the civil service, financial institutions, management consultants, accountants, working as teachers. Those continuing in education have done the MPhil in Economics at Oxford among other degrees.