Politics, Philosophy and Economics (B.A. Hons.)

Politics, Philosophy and Economics (B.A. Hons.)

The PPE major combines three of the most prominent approaches to understanding the social and political world, the way it shapes individuals, and the way individuals shape it. The knowledge and skills it inculcates in students are relevant for a whole range of careers, including but not restricted to politics, journalism, the media, social activism, the NGO sector, business, law, academia. Students will emerge with honed debating skills and with a level of sophistication to their thinking about society’s ills and the best way to address them. The Politics and Economics components enable students to develop an understanding of the many social forces at work around them, and the Philosophy component enables them to reason about these forces with rigour.Note: You must have studied Mathematics in Classes 11 and 12 to pursue this interdisciplinary major.

Major Requirement

In addition, cohorts graduating in 2021 and later need to complete 16 major courses from the three disciplines of Political Science, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) to complete this interdisciplinary major. From each of the three subject areas in PPE, students will choose a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 8 courses, with a combined total of 16. Those who do 8 courses in one subject (X) will graduate in ‘PPE, with specialization in X’.  This will be stated on their transcripts.

Politics
A PPE major must take at least four Politics courses. Those taking four must take Introduction to Political Theory, Introduction to Indian Politics, Comparative Politics and International Relations. For the specialization in politics, PPE majors must additionally take a methods course (qualitative or quantitative) and three elective courses in Politics.

Philosophy

A PPE major must take at least four philosophy courses. Those taking four must complete the requirements for a Philosophy Concentration. Those taking five must take one elective in addition. The requirements for those taking six or more are the same as those for the philosophy minor. Students will earn a specialization in philosophy if they meet the requirements for the minor, take Symbolic Logic, and at least one more philosophy class as an elective. All these course requirements are listed in the ‘Undergraduate Programme in Philosophy’ section of the Philosophy Department’s webpage.

Note that a student cannot both major in PPE and minor in philosophy.

Economics
Within the overall 16 course requirement across the three disciplines, a PPE major has the option of taking a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 8 courses in Economics. In each of these tracks, students need to take a mandatory core of four courses. They are

• Introduction to Economics
• Mathematics for Economists
• Microeconomic Theory 1
• Macroeconomic Theory 1

Students then have the option of completing the economics requirement as one of the following tracks.

• 4 course track: This requires students to complete only the four mandatory core courses.
• 5 course track: In addition to the four mandatory four courses, students can choose one course from the following: Statistics for Economists, Microeconomic Theory II and Macroeconomic Theory II.
• 6 course track: In addition to the four mandatory courses, students need to complete two additional courses. There are two options for this.
  1. Microeconomic Theory I, Macroeconomic Theory I
  2. Statistics for Economists, Econometrics
  3. Students can take either option (a) or option (b)
• 7 course track: The 7-course track consists of the 6 course track plus one more course. If students choose option a of the 6-course track, then in addition, they need to complete Statistics for Economists. If students choose option b of the 6 course track, then in addition, they need to complete either Microeconomic Theory II or Macroeconomic Theory II.
• 8 course track (specialization in economics): The 8-course track consists of the 6-course track plus two additional courses.
  1. If students choose option a of the 6 course track, then in addition, they need to complete any two courses chosen from Statistics for Economists, Econometrics or any 3000 level course in Economics.
  2. If students choose option b of the 6 course track, then in addition, they need to complete any two courses chosen from Microeconomics II, Macroeconomics II, or any 3000 level course in Economics

Please note that some of the courses have pre-requisites. Students should consult the Economics Representative on the PPE Committee or the Programme Coordinator in Economics about what courses they should choose in Economics.

Sample Curriculum Structure

The following sample curriculum indicates a possible path to completing the PPE major with a specialization in Economics.

Faculty