Question about university course

I am in year 11, and about to pick my A-Level options. At university, I aspire of taking PPE, but do not know what subjects to take, for A-Levels. Can you please help me?

Reply 1

McGinger

If you look at the course pages for PPE and similar courses on each Uni website, the 'entry requirements' will state the required A level subjects/grades plus any vital GCSE grades for that Uni - each will be different

Philosophy, Politics & Economics BA/BSc | King's College London
Philosophy, Politics and Economics BA Hons (L0V0) - Lancaster University
Philosophy, Politics and Economics VL52 - Durham University
Undergraduate study - School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics, University of York
etc etc

Reply 2

YSJ_Alex

Official Rep

Original post

by nanjan15

I am in year 11, and about to pick my A-Level options. At university, I aspire of taking PPE, but do not know what subjects to take, for A-Levels. Can you please help me?

Hi nanjan15,

I think the obvious choices might be Philosophy, Politics and Economics! However, I understand many colleges may not offer these subjects, and it's nice to branch out into other areas while you still have the chance.

As McGinger mentioned, certain universities will have specific entry requirements, and they may state subjects that are required to qualify for their PPE degree. Even if you don't know where you want to go, having a quick read around a few university websites might give you an idea as to what subjects are typically expected.

As far as I'm aware, PPE does not typically have certain subject requirements. At Uni of York, BSc (Batchelor's of Science) requires Maths A-Level, but BA (Batchelor's of Arts) does not. This seems to be because the BSc course is much more economics-heavy and will require more statistical knowledge. This is the same for the PPE BSc at London School of Economics and Political Science - so it might be a good idea to think about doing Maths.

Besides Philosophy, Politics and Economics, you might want to think about what a PPE degree covers. For example, Sociology might help equip you to understand societal and structural issues from many different viewpoints. Law might help you understand the role of the judicial system in society and cover some ethical content, as well as teaching you strong essay-writing skills. The same could be said for English Lit which will help you develop strong critical skills, and Maths as I mentioned before will help strengthen your statistical skills for the Economics element.

I studied Sociology and Politics, so if you have any questions about my experiences with these subjects I'd be happy to answer them :smile:

Best of luck,
Alex
Student Ambassador

Reply 3

nanjan15

Original post

by YSJ_Alex

Hi nanjan15,
I think the obvious choices might be Philosophy, Politics and Economics! However, I understand many colleges may not offer these subjects, and it's nice to branch out into other areas while you still have the chance.
As McGinger mentioned, certain universities will have specific entry requirements, and they may state subjects that are required to qualify for their PPE degree. Even if you don't know where you want to go, having a quick read around a few university websites might give you an idea as to what subjects are typically expected.
As far as I'm aware, PPE does not typically have certain subject requirements. At Uni of York, BSc (Batchelor's of Science) requires Maths A-Level, but BA (Batchelor's of Arts) does not. This seems to be because the BSc course is much more economics-heavy and will require more statistical knowledge. This is the same for the PPE BSc at London School of Economics and Political Science - so it might be a good idea to think about doing Maths.
Besides Philosophy, Politics and Economics, you might want to think about what a PPE degree covers. For example, Sociology might help equip you to understand societal and structural issues from many different viewpoints. Law might help you understand the role of the judicial system in society and cover some ethical content, as well as teaching you strong essay-writing skills. The same could be said for English Lit which will help you develop strong critical skills, and Maths as I mentioned before will help strengthen your statistical skills for the Economics element.
I studied Sociology and Politics, so if you have any questions about my experiences with these subjects I'd be happy to answer them :smile:

Best of luck,
Alex
Student Ambassador

Thank you very much Alex. Can I know how Politics was for you at University, and if you don't mind me asking, what University you studied/currently studying at?

Reply 4

YSJ_Alex

Official Rep

Original post

by nanjan15

Thank you very much Alex. Can I know how Politics was for you at University, and if you don't mind me asking, what University you studied/currently studying at?

Hello again!

I studied Politics at A-Level; I currently study Psychology at York St John University.

A-Level Politics was challenging; the topic is fast-changing to keep up with the political climate, so I found it difficult to find study help on specific topics, because some of the content was "new" (having happened in the last year or two) so I was one of the first people to be writing about it. But because of this, the topic remained interesting - it didn't feel boring or too history-based or out of date, because new things were happening every day and it held my interest pretty well.

There was a lot of criticality of politics, and it definitely helped shape my world view a little bit! And I learnt some fantastic essay-writing skills that have continued to stay with me into my degree.

If you're interested in A-Level Politics (or any other subjects for that matter), you could try reading the course content for some of the subjects; I'll link AQA and Edexcel Politics course overviews below. (If you didn't know, AQA and Edexcel are just exam boards - that's the company that designs the course and the exam for you. Different colleges or sixth forms will use different exam boards, so it's best checking which one you might be using.)

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/politics/a-level/politics-7152/specification
https://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/A%20Level/Politics/2017/Specification%20and%20sample%20assessments/A-level-Politics-Specification.pdf

Best wishes,
Alex
Student Ambassador

Reply 5

Domess578

Original post

by nanjan15

I am in year 11, and about to pick my A-Level options. At university, I aspire of taking PPE, but do not know what subjects to take, for A-Levels. Can you please help me?

Honestly, for PPE I’d just focus on what actually helps you think and argue Math for Econ, something like History or Politics for the theory side, and maybe Philosophy or English to flex your reasoning. Don’t overthink it; a mix that covers numbers, ideas, and essays is enough to keep doors open.