Oxford Law or PPE?

IDK, but you can always do a conversion to law after PPE.

Hi. I'm a British citizen, but I'm living abroad in the US and have been there for the duration of high school. I'm entering my senior year after the summer holidays and I've been thinking about applications. I've worked out my plan for the most part, but I can't decide what subject I want to apply for at Oxford. PPE has always seemed the natural choice, but I'm worried by what I've heard about economics and how mathematical it's become -- I've done maths right through high school, and I'm doing AP AB Calculus next year, but I'm interested primarily in ideas of economic theory and what makes a just economy rather than econometrics. Law is enticing, as it offers cleaner qualifications and an actual career path. I like the idea of law as a BA in Jurisprudence, given that I'm principally interested in ideas of justice, and many of the courses in law at Oxford seem attractive -- but several, like contract law and trusts, do not. Regarding personal ambition, I'd quite like to be a barrister but above all want to get into policy and politics. Law seems like it might provide more of an actual grounding in real policy issues, whereas PPE is the classic politics degree. I hear it's gone a bit out of style, though. I performed strongly on a practice LNAT, but haven't done a TSA yet. Obviously, this is a particularly difficult decision given that there's nobody in the world who knows enough about PPE, law, and me personally well enough to give a full and holistic assessment of what'd be best. What would you recommend?

Hi. I'm a British citizen, but I'm living abroad in the US and have been there for the duration of high school. I'm entering my senior year after the summer holidays and I've been thinking about applications. I've worked out my plan for the most part, but I can't decide what subject I want to apply for at Oxford. PPE has always seemed the natural choice, but I'm worried by what I've heard about economics and how mathematical it's become -- I've done maths right through high school, and I'm doing AP AB Calculus next year, but I'm interested primarily in ideas of economic theory and what makes a just economy rather than econometrics. Law is enticing, as it offers cleaner qualifications and an actual career path. I like the idea of law as a BA in Jurisprudence, given that I'm principally interested in ideas of justice, and many of the courses in law at Oxford seem attractive -- but several, like contract law and trusts, do not. Regarding personal ambition, I'd quite like to be a barrister but above all want to get into policy and politics. Law seems like it might provide more of an actual grounding in real policy issues, whereas PPE is the classic politics degree. I hear it's gone a bit out of style, though. I performed strongly on a practice LNAT, but haven't done a TSA yet. Obviously, this is a particularly difficult decision given that there's nobody in the world who knows enough about PPE, law, and me personally well enough to give a full and holistic assessment of what'd be best. What would you recommend?

There is in my opinion nowhere better in the UK to study law if your primary interest is in politics and ideas of justice. The way the doctrinal courses are taught includes plenty of consideration of these questions. Jurisprudence (the philosophy of law) is a compulsory subject, and includes a mini-option where you choose a short course from several, some of which (e.g.Justice and Taxation; Freedom of Speech) will be heavily political. There is also the option of taking a course in Moral and Political Philosophy as one of your options in your final year. Another consideration is that the bar is extremely competitive. One way to mark yourself out is to do the BCL (1 year taught Master's) after your law degree. This course includes courses such as Jurisprudence and Political Theory, Advanced Property and Trusts (including economic analysis of property law - trusts is more interesting than you think if you're interested in political economy), Constitutional Theory (which is basically legal and political philosophy), and Private Law and Fundamental Rights.

Now, PPE. It is true that economics demands a good level of mathematics. I'm afraid I don't know what 'AP AB' is (I'm neither a mathematician nor familiar with US schooling) but if you have done maths up to leaving school and done well in it you shouldn't have a problem. If your interest is primarily in the justice of economies and the theory of economics, rather than in pure economics then I wouldn't worry that you'll be mired in too much mathematics. If you do PPE you can drop one of the subjects after the first year. Depending on just what you mean by what makes a just economy, your first-year grounding will probably be enough to do the kind of study you're interested in. Political Theory (including theories of justice) is compulsory in the first year, and also an option for finals. There is also a paper on Social Policy and another specifically on Theories of Justice.

I know a fair bit about both degrees, but not so much about you so I don't think I can make a recommendation. But I hope the extra information can help you decide.