Course Structure
PPES is a four-year degree built around a common first year and a process of gradual specialisation. You begin by studying all four disciplines, Philosophy, Political Science, Economics and Sociology, before choosing the combination that suits you best. By the time you graduate, you will hold one of a range of possible degree combinations across three degree types.
The Four Years: An Overview
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Year 1 | Junior Freshman
In your first year you study all four PPES disciplines, taking 60 ECTS credits of compulsory modules across Philosophy, Political Science, Economics (including mathematics and statists) and Sociology. There is no specialisation yet. First year is designed to give you a genuine experience of each discipline before you make any decisions about where your interests lie.
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Year 2 | Senior Freshman
At the start of second year you choose a pathway, Single Honours, Joint Honours, or Major with Minor, and begin to focus on two or three disciplines. This is your first opportunity to specialise, though in most cases it is still possible to adjust your pathway when you enter third year. The pathway you choose in second year will determine the options available to you in third year.
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Year 3 | Junior Sophister
In third year you confirm your final exit pathway and begin to specialise in depth, selecting from a wider and more advanced range of modules in your chosen discipline or disciplines. Your Junior Sophister year contributes 30% towards your final degree result. Third year is also when many PPES students have the opportunity to study abroad at partner universities in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.
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Year 4 | Senior Sophister
In your final year you focus on advanced study in your chosen subjects and complete a Capstone Project. This is an independent research project that gives you the opportunity to explore a topic of your choosing in depth, and to position yourself for a specific career path or for postgraduate study. Your Senior Sophister year contributes 70% towards your final degree result.
Your Degree Options
PPES offers three degree types, giving you a wide range of possible degree combinations in total.
| Degree Type | Description |
|---|---|
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Single Honours (4 options) |
You specialise in one discipline - Philosophy, Political Science, Economics or Sociology - taking the majority of your credits in that subject from second year onwards and completing your Capstone Project within it. |
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Joint Honours (6 options) |
You study two disciplines in equal depth throughout your degree, graduating with a qualification in both. Joint Honours combinations in PPES are: Philosophy and Political Science, Philosophy and Economics, Philosophy and Sociology, Political Science and Economics, Political Science and Sociology, and Economics and Sociology. |
|
Major with Minor (12 options) |
You take a primary discipline as your major and a secondary discipline as your minor, with the majority of your credits in your major subject. This gives you depth in one area and breadth across two, and offers the widest range of combinations of the three degree types. |
Choosing Your Pathway
Pathway selection takes place at the end of first year, when you are invited by the Academic Registry to register for your chosen pathway ahead of second year. This is an important decision, but not necessarily a final one, as students on the Major with Minor or Joint Honours pathways can in most cases adjust their pathway at the start of third year if their interests have shifted.
Students on the Single Honours pathway cannot change pathway after second year, so it is important to be confident in your choice before committing.
To help you make the right decision, the PPES course office holds pathway information sessions each year. You can also watch the pathway information video and download the pathway selection booklet below.
Pathway Information
Not sure which degree combination is right for you? This video walks you through the options and how the pathway selection process works.
Regulations
Pathway finalisation
Once your exit pathway has been confirmed, at the end of second year for Single Honours students, or at the start of third year for all others, it cannot be changed. Each degree pathway requires specific modules to be completed, and it is not possible to graduate without them. If you are unsure about your pathway choice, speak to the course office before your selection is finalised.
Transfers into PPES
Students may apply, through their tutor, to the Senior Lecturer for permission to transfer to another course. Transfer applications should be submitted to the Admissions Office using a standard form. While every effort will be made to allow adequately qualified students to change course, it will not be possible to permit a transfer into a course which already has a full complement of students. In no case may students register for a course until their application to transfer has been formally approved and they have received notification from the Senior Lecturer.
The categories of transfer applicants are as follows:
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Newly entered Junior Freshman students seeking to transfer in their first ter
A two-tiered system applies. Students seeking to transfer should apply by the end of the second week of Michaelmas teaching term. Decisions will be made on the basis of availability of places and entry qualifications. Requests received after this deadline are processed on a first come, first served basis against any remaining vacancies. Late acceptance of a transfer cannot be cited as grounds for poor performance at examinations.
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Continuing Junior Freshman students and non-Junior Freshman students seeking to transfer into the Junior Freshman year of a different course
Students in this category will be assessed on the basis of their original entry qualifications.
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Continuing Junior Freshman students and non-Junior Freshman students seeking to transfer into a year other than the Junior Freshman year of a different course
Students in this category should apply no later than the Friday before the start of Michaelmas teaching term and will be assessed, after consultation with the departments concerned, on the basis of original entry qualifications and results of College examinations.
Coursework and Attendance
In many modules, assessment and essay work completed during the year contributes to the overall annual examination mark. In others this is not the case, but students may still be required to attend classes and submit work. A student is deemed non-satisfactory in a term when more than a third of required work or attendance in that term is missed. Any student who is deemed non-satisfactory in each of the first two terms may, in accordance with University Council regulations, be refused permission to sit examinations in that year.
Off Books
The Senior Lecturer may permit students who are in good standing to go off books on medical or personal grounds where to do so would be in the best interests of the student. Students who go off books can be readmitted in a subsequent year only at the discretion of the Senior Lecturer. Students who have gone off books on health grounds can only be readmitted, even within the current academic year, at the discretion of the Senior Lecturer, who may require a satisfactory certificate from a nominated medical referee.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined by the University as presenting the work of others as your own without acknowledgement, and is considered academically fraudulent. The University treats plagiarism as a serious offence, subject to its full disciplinary procedures. TurnItIn software is available to all students to help ensure their work is properly referenced before submission.
Full Regulations
Full details of PPES programme regulations, including module requirements for each pathway, progression rules, assessment regulations, coursework and attendance requirements, off books provisions, and plagiarism policy, are set out in the PPES Handbook.
Further Queries
If you have a question about any aspect of the course structure or regulations, the course office team is happy to help.