Philosophy, Politics and Economics

The course

The PPE degree offers students the opportunity to study philosophical, political, and economic theories in order to better understand the world around us. Students study all three subjects in their first year to gain an introductory understanding of each subject’s key issues, culminating in an exam at the end of the year. In their second and third year, most students then choose to concentrate on two of the branches of PPE, pursuing a combination of core and optional modules. PPE is thus a highly flexible degree and allows students to study a range of subjects—from the narrowly empirical to the highly abstract—within a coherent overall structure.

Why study PPE at Lincoln

PPE is one of the largest subject-groups within Lincoln College with an intake of 9 students each year. Being part of a robust cohort within Lincoln’s intimate college setting allows students to experience the best Oxford has to offer—the benefits of a smaller college community, matched with the vibrancy of a dynamic, supportive, and diverse group of PPE students. Unique within Oxford, we have a dedicated Director of Studies for PPE whose role it is to organise PPE-wide events and to oversee the academic welfare of students on the course. This means that even within this complex and multi-disciplinary subject, PPE’ists at Lincoln always have a central point of contact and appropriate support in their pursuit of academic excellence.

Lincoln’s PPE tutors are experts in their respective fields, and in tutorials we help students to acquire the necessary theoretical and methodological tools to succeed in each relevant discipline. At the same time, we are committed to helping students engage with these subjects beyond the classroom and across individual disciplines. This starts from your first week at Lincoln, when we organise a ‘policy challenge’ for Freshers to explore the links between subjects and their application to the real world. We also organise visiting speakers whose experience spans across these disciplines; for example, we have a regular alumni event that brings alumni back to Lincoln to discuss how PPE has shaped their career. On the social side, we hold a termly PPE meet-up that brings students and tutors together for some lighter discussion.