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Graduate, University of Stirling
University of Stirling

International Politics vs PPE?

Hi there I've been accepted to study International Politics, PPE or Politics at Stirling uni. I've narrowed it down to IP and PPE but I just can't seem to make my mind up.

The trouble is i've been told by many that PPE has more job prospects/opportunities than IP? Because of this its swaying me towards PPE but I know nothing about Economics and Philosophy and I'm not sure if it's a gamble to take, also much more work than IP I'm guessing. I love Politics as a subject so I'm not sure if it would be a bad decision to take PPE and thus spend less time going into detail on it. I'm also not sure about what job prospects are like for IR graduates.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do? Or any experience with either course, much appreciated.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 1
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curtis97
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Bump :smile:
Graduate, University of Stirling
University of Stirling
Reply 2
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curtis97
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Bump
IT's a good question. I don't have direct experience of any but do know people how have done each and have some thoughts on the question!

I think you'd find that all the subjects in PPE feed into one another, forming web of connections. I therefore doubt that you'd be under a lot of extra strain as opposed the other two courses doing PPE (the'll be new concepts in all the streams after all). It might be worth thinking about that fact that emphasis in IP will be international politics and considering where your major interests lie (is it British, a particular region, certain theories, areas of politics?).

Have you looked into the flexible Scottish system much? Often models are shared between subjects in the first few years and you do not have to make a decision on your major until later. It may be worth (if you haven't yet) looking up the required modules for each course. Even if you can't take everything for all three perhaps you would be able to keep the option open for two of the them for a while longer.

Hope this helps :smile:
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curtis97
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Original post by isitisisitis
IT's a good question. I don't have direct experience of any but do know people how have done each and have some thoughts on the question!

I think you'd find that all the subjects in PPE feed into one another, forming web of connections. I therefore doubt that you'd be under a lot of extra strain as opposed the other two courses doing PPE (the'll be new concepts in all the streams after all). It might be worth thinking about that fact that emphasis in IP will be international politics and considering where your major interests lie (is it British, a particular region, certain theories, areas of politics?).

Have you looked into the flexible Scottish system much? Often models are shared between subjects in the first few years and you do not have to make a decision on your major until later. It may be worth (if you haven't yet) looking up the required modules for each course. Even if you can't take everything for all three perhaps you would be able to keep the option open for two of the them for a while longer.

Hope this helps :smile:


Thank you for the reply. I see what you mean about considering where my interests lie however that's whats bothering me as I'm not sure. The idea of having knowledge of Politics not just at home but internationally, of different organisations etc appeals to me. However what frustrates me is many have tried to downplay graduate prospects of Politics International to me. I mean they all say that PPE allows a wider variety of opportunities for graduates( is this true?) and although I like the look of the PPE course I have never studied Economics or Philosophy which might be a gamble for me? I have no idea! I certainly will do everything I can to do well. The maths entry requirement was only a C for Intermediate 2 for PPE, however i'm still not sure how much of an emphasis is put on the maths side of things in the course? Any idea?
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by curtis97
Thank you for the reply. I see what you mean about considering where my interests lie however that's whats bothering me as I'm not sure. The idea of having knowledge of Politics not just at home but internationally, of different organisations etc appeals to me. However what frustrates me is many have tried to downplay graduate prospects of Politics International to me. I mean they all say that PPE allows a wider variety of opportunities for graduates( is this true?) and although I like the look of the PPE course I have never studied Economics or Philosophy which might be a gamble for me? I have no idea! I certainly will do everything I can to do well. The maths entry requirement was only a C for Intermediate 2 for PPE, however i'm still not sure how much of an emphasis is put on the maths side of things in the course? Any idea?


Well I suppose people get that idea from Oxbridge PPE, which for a long time has been the gold standard for career politicians. I think it is fair to say the more broadly you study, the wider your options will be. However, if you don't much like economics it's unlikely you'll go into economy or finance. That said, it may be worth your while looking up reading lists online to see where the economics is at. You might find it useful to ring the uni can ask about flexibility - it's possible you could for instance start on PPE and move into IP later on with no hassle. Always good to know where the ground lies :smile:
You can change easily enough, after you've started. The 2 programmes will be pretty similar for the first year and a half anyway, so don't worry too much about it.

http://www.stir.ac.uk/undergraduate-study/course-information/the-stirling-degree-structure/

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