Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Magdalen has a long-established and flourishing tradition in PPE. Academic results are very good, and students work hard and have a lively sense of group identity. We have a strong teaching team, having two Tutorial Fellows with complementary areas of specialisation in each of Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Magdalen welcomes applications to read PPE from candidates of all educational and cultural backgrounds. In our admissions process we seek to detect academic potential. We take account of past achievement because it is generally good evidence of this, but we try to detect a candidate’s true abilities. We are at least as interested in a candidate’s motivation as in his or her ability: our aim is to admit able students who have a deep and abiding interest in, and commitment to, studying the subjects in the PPE course.

We typically admit 10 students a year to read PPE. Our standard conditional offer is AAA at A-Level, or the equivalent. We have no preference for A-levels in specific subjects, but we strongly prefer candidates to be taking at least three mainstream academic A-levels, or equivalent, the range of which should not be too narrow. Although a background in Mathematics is not formally required for admission, PPE applicants should have sufficient interest in, and aptitude for, mathematics to cope with the mathematical elements of the course. Mathematics is a particular advantage for the Economics component of the course, as well as for the first year logic course in philosophy.

Last year around 90% of the applicants who were offered place for PPE had studied Maths to at least AS Level or equivalent. You may like to consider taking Maths to AS Level, or an equivalent qualification such as IB Standard Level, even if you do not pursue it further. It is useful to have learnt the basics of differentiation before starting your university course in PPE.

We rarely admit candidates for deferred entry as it is desirable that candidates be considered alongside others who are applying for places in the same year of admission.

We do not encourage visits from potential candidates outside Open Days, although in special circumstances a group visit from one or more schools which are unable to attend on an Open Day because of their academic time-tabling problems may be arranged.

Entry procedures

All candidates in PPE are required to register for and to take the Oxford Thinking Skills Assessment. This test will take place on 7 November 2012 in the candidate's own school/college or approved test centre. Further information can be found on the test website.

Philosophy

The College currently has two Tutorial Fellows in Philosophy. Dr Lizzie Fricker’s research interests are in philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and theory of knowledge. Her current research is on knowledge acquired through the spoken or written word, on which she has published articles and is preparing a book. She is also a specialist in the later philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Dr Jeff Russell's research interests are in metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophical logic, and philosophy of physics. Both tutors regularly teach all of the ‘core’ papers in History of Philosophy, Ethics and ‘Knowledge and Reality’, and also the optional papers in their own specialist areas.

In the first year students are usually taught in small classes of 3 or 4, since we find this encourages discussion both in and beyond the tutorial, which is very beneficial in developing skills and enthusiasm, as well as comradeship, at this stage. ‘Core’ finals papers are usually taught in a mixture of small classes and individual tutorials. Optional papers are often taught in single tutorials, since this is appropriate to students at a more advanced stage, who are capable of sustaining a discussion on their own and can benefit from focus on their own distinctive line of thought on a subject.

Politics

Magdalen currently has one Fellow in Politics, Professor Simon Caney, and will appoint a second Fellow in Politics later this year. Professor Caney teaches political theory and the three papers in the history of political thought. He writes about topics in contemporary political theory, especially issues surrounding global justice and our obligations to future generations. The new Fellow in Politics will teach political institutions and some of the empirical politics papers.

Politics teaching is largely organised in tutorials with one, two or three students meeting weekly with the tutor to discuss the essays they have written. There are also larger classes from time to time. The University’s lectures and classes provide an essential complement to the College tutorial work.

Economics

There are two Economics Fellows, Dr Tom Norman, who specialises in game theory, and Dr Jennifer Castle, who specialises in time-series econometrics and applied macro-economics. Together they provide students with exposure to different perspectives and to a blend of theory and applications.

Teaching is mainly by tutorials, in pairs for prelims and for some core finals papers, and there are also classes both for revision and for more technical topics.

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