PPE, Human Sciences, HSPS, Social sciences...?

Hi,

I’m an international student currently planning on applying to uni in the UK for 2020 entry. I am considering Oxbridge, Edinburgh, UCL and maybe King’s College (or even another uni?).

I have been planning on applying to Oxford PPE for about a year, but I recently attended the open days and discovered Human Sciences, which I found fascinating, although a bit too scientific. I still love philosophy and politics, and think economics would be useful. Furthermore, I am looking to apply to a prestigious degree as I do not wish to study further and plan on starting a career in dramatic art (of course I am applying to all the major drama schools, this is my second choice), so I need a degree that could get me a job easily if things ‘go south’.

However, due to my interest in human sciences, I found some degrees such as HSPS at Cambridge (although I really really loved Oxford and had my mind set on it) and Social Sciences at UCL that incorporate anthropology and sociology and maybe a bit of psychology and human behavior into the course. The thing is, these degrees aren’t as prestigious and none of them offers philosophy. And I just found out about them, although I have been preparing for PPE, and I don’t know if this is just a phase or I really want to study this.

If I could apply to both Oxford and Cambridge I would apply to both PPE and HSPS but it is not the case sadly. I think I might apply to PPE at Oxford, Social Sciences at UCL, PPE or Social Sciences equivalent at Edinburgh. Yet I am still unsure... I kind of liked the idea of sociology and anthropology !

Maybe a fellow student might help me out 😅

Reply 1

screepadeep

Original post by aurelia.caz

I found some degrees such as HSPS at Cambridge (although I really really loved Oxford and had my mind set on it) and Social Sciences at UCL that incorporate anthropology and sociology and maybe a bit of psychology and human behavior into the course. The thing is, these degrees aren’t as prestigious and none of them offers philosophy

Firstly, Human Sciences at Oxford includes anthropology, sociology, psychology and human behaviour as well: in fact, i'd go so far as to say its 50% science and 50% humanities, seeing as the degree is all about examining things from all possible perspectives.The workload will mean that there will still be a lot of science, but equally there will be a lot of social science too. If you are after a more humanities approach though, HSPS is going to be much better.

I don't quite understand the desire for prestige: If you want to stand a chance of getting an offer, you shouldn't be chasing a subject for how well known or fancy it is. The nature of Oxbridge applications is that the few places on offer will go to those who have a real, deep desire to study the course for what it is and because they truly love the content. If you want a degree that will get you a job easily, then you are doing the degree for the wrong reason! If you attend a russell group/well rated university, achieve a good degree class and spend your time enriching your CV then finding a job really should not be a big issue.