BA Politics, Philosophy and Economics

The BA Politics, Philosophy and Economics course will provide you with the knowledge of significant topics, problems and issues in all three disciplines. You will also join a vibrant intellectual community.

You will learn how key insights can be applied to pressing policy concerns, to gain a rich set of intellectual and critical skills.

You will critically evaluate competing arguments about political events, ideas and institutions. The PPE degree will give you the ability to effectively evaluate economic policies, and economics in its broader institutional and political context.

In Politics, you will analyse the behaviour of government from local, national and international perspectives, providing an understanding and rationale behind policy decisions that affect all of us.

Studying politics shows that you can research and reference your argument and use arguments from political theory to reinforce your position in a debate.

In Philosophy, you learn to develop and express rational arguments and use logical reasoning and critical analysis to defend your position and critique opposing viewpoints.

Economics gives you the tools to analyse the economic environment around us.

You gain a grounding in quantitative methods such as mathematics and statistics or econometrics.

You will develop an understanding of the wider economy from the reasoning behind macroeconomic government policy to the microeconomic behaviour of individual firms.

 You will: 

• learn how to analyse and evaluate competing arguments about political events, ideas and institutions;
• gain an understanding of economic systems and theories, and place the study of economics in its broader institutional and political context;
• develop the ability to formulate rigorous arguments and philosophical positions.

Leading research

We are proud to be a leading centre for research in all three disciplines of PPE: politics, philosophy and economics. We have expertise in all major areas of these topics, so you will be taught by academics at the cutting-edge of each discipline.

World-leading research and teaching in economics has been at the heart of higher education in Manchester since the early days of the University.

William Stanley Jevons (1835 to 1882), who helped build the foundations of modern economics, was one of the first professors at Manchester.

Connect with like-minded students

We have a very active student association, the PPE Society, which brings together students from all year groups, including alumni.

It is a very supportive community that hosts regular socials, as well as academic and career events.

Study abroad

If you would like to broaden your horizons and your degree, you can apply to study overseas for a year at one of our partner universities.

You apply in Year 2 to spend a year abroad in Year 3. If successful, you will put together a programme of study at the host university in consultation with your Academic Exchange Advisor, to complement your studies at Manchester.

You will then come back to Manchester to study for a fourth year and graduate with a degree title including ‘with International Study'.

See The University of Manchester Study Abroad pages for more information, including eligibility criteria, destinations, costs and funding.

Paid placement opportunity

You can apply for a paid Q-Step internship during the summer between Years 2 and 3.

Course units feature formal lectures and smaller tutorials or seminars where you explore the contents of lectures and recommended reading in greater depth.

Tutorials and seminars are key to improving your written and oral communication skills through group discussions, essay-writing, and presentations.

You are assigned an Academic Advisor who can advise you on selecting course units and career opportunities.

Methods are designed to promote in-depth learning and understanding, including:

• essays, coursework and other mid-term evaluations;
• dissertations;
• presentations and group projects; and
• exams.