Why is there so much hate around a PPE degree?

I know some absolute knobs have come from the degree course but is there anything wrong with the actual degree course e.g.
The lack of specialisation?
Would it be better to,say, take an Econ or Politics degree?

Any answers will be much appreciated(I'm a bit on the fence about the degree itself haha)

Reply 1

gjd800

20

I've never encountered any hate towards it, this is new to me. It is a versatile course.

Reply 2

Aribe

OP

12

Original post by gjd800

I've never encountered any hate towards it, this is new to me. It is a versatile course.

That's what I thought when I read about it but apparently there's some issues around it.

To quote a guardian article about it:

"In the girls bathroom, written on top of the toilet roll was the phrase "PPE degree; please take one"
(This is in Oxford for some context)

Reply 3

Aribe

OP

12

It was just weird imo to read about hate around what is essentially a pretty nice degree

Reply 4

aliferra

10

I think the problem is now, is that everyone has realised the type of jobs people go onto after graduating with a PPE degree, especially from Oxford (Cameron, Hammond, Stewart etc). It is also critical to point out, unless you attend Oxford to study PPE, the same course at other institutions is not going to be looked on by employers as an excellent degree to have. The problem with a degree like PPE, is that you are not able to tightly specialise in a specific area of study, where in and individual Politics or Economics degree l, you have the chance to develop an interest and specialise, which for many employers provides a stronger set of skills. Unless you attend Oxford, I would personally suggest that a degree in a single or joint honours degree may be more appropriate, and more employable.

Reply 5

Aribe

OP

12

Thank you very much for the advice!

Original post by aliferra

I think the problem is now, is that everyone has realised the type of jobs people go onto after graduating with a PPE degree, especially from Oxford (Cameron, Hammond, Stewart etc). It is also critical to point out, unless you attend Oxford to study PPE, the same course at other institutions is not going to be looked on by employers as an excellent degree to have. The problem with a degree like PPE, is that you are not able to tightly specialise in a specific area of study, where in and individual Politics or Economics degree l, you have the chance to develop an interest and specialise, which for many employers provides a stronger set of skills. Unless you attend Oxford, I would personally suggest that a degree in a single or joint honours degree may be more appropriate, and more employable.

Reply 6

gjd800

20

I don't think that is strictly true. Oxford of course always has the added pizzazz, but I'm not at all convinced that employers think so deeply about this. Not in my experience, anyway.

Reply 7

Notoriety

22

Ask @Fullofsurprises.

Are you PPE lot looked down on compared to pure econ, when looking for econ jobs? Or is it a case of proving your expertise by indicating which papers you sat?

Reply 8

Aribe

OP

12

It would be wonderful to hear an experienced opinion :h:

Original post by Notoriety

Ask @Fullofsurprises.

Are you PPE lot looked down on compared to pure econ, when looking for econ jobs? Or is it a case of proving your expertise by indicating which papers you sat?

Reply 9

HoldThisL

21

Original post by aliferra

The problem with a degree like PPE, is that you are not able to tightly specialise in a specific area of study

wrOng

Reply 10

Aribe

OP

12

mind stating why?

Original post by HoldThisL

wrOng

Reply 11

HoldThisL

21

Original post by Aribe

mind stating why?

mainly because it's a undergrad degree so there's not much specialisation anyway, unless you're comparing to an A level, because you have to take a wide variety of modules as you do with all degrees. you can't take BEng Computer Science and just study ML - you also have to study databases, maths, security etc - so what's the difference with taking PPE and studying mathematical economics, economic history and political philosophy (for example)?

but also because most PPE students will drop one of the honours to do an effective join honours. many more will decide to major in one honour and or even graduate with a skill set similar to a pure degree with a couple of 'outside' modules (modules taken outside the home department) for example taking a BSc Economics degree but also doing some politics modules

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 12

Fullofsurprises

20

Original post by Notoriety

Ask @Fullofsurprises.

Are you PPE lot looked down on compared to pure econ, when looking for econ jobs? Or is it a case of proving your expertise by indicating which papers you sat?

I guess it's a little harder for me to say from personal experience than some, I don't think I've applied for jobs where I was specifically competing with 'pure' Economics people or similar as a thing. I don't think it's really true though that PPE people are 'looked down on'. Various friends of mine from the course are all I have to say doing pretty well career wise, or if not, it's their choice not to. I know people who without doing further PGT courses obtained very good career tracks in places like banks and consultancies. That suggests that at least as far as Oxford PPE goes, there isn't an anti-PPE bias. I don't know how much that applies to PPE at other universities.

There's no doubt though that PPE is a broader degree course and people who complete it and look for work probably go into a wider variety of possible jobs or activities than others - the other thing to bear in mind is that you can and do get to specialise as you go further into the course and that specialisation track tends to direct you towards various things. Some graduates in my year are into business enterprises for example and I know others who are working in the public sector and in NGOs and political organisations, things like that.

Reply 13

Retired_Messiah

21

Never heard of hate for it specifically as a discipline. It's a degree often taken by aspiring career politicians. Nobody likes those. That'll be where any "hate" derives from.

Jobswise I doubt it's gonna make much difference compared to just econ or just politics.

Reply 14

Napp

22

Because so many ******* politicians have it.

Why is there so much hate around a PPE degree?

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