Philosophy, Politics and Economics
Durham University
UCAS Code: VL52 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Grade A or higher in Mathematics and an accepted arts/humanities subject. Specific subjects excluded for entry: General Studies and Critical Thinking. Information: Please check the website for accepted arts/humanities subjects. Applicants are encouraged to avoid studying both Economics and Business Studies A2 Level. If an applicant is taking Maths and Further Maths, a further two subjects must be taken at A2-level. Applicants taking Science A-levels that include a practical component will be required to take and pass this as a condition of entry. This refers only to English A Levels.
Access to HE Diploma
We require 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3 (or equivalent). Applicants may be required to meet additional subject-specific requirements for particular courses at Durham.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Grade D3 or higher in Mathematics and an accepted arts/humanities subject.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
General information on subjects/grades required for entry: To include 6, 6, 6 at Higher Level including grade 6 in Higher Level Maths Analysis & Approaches or Maths Applications & Interpretation and grade 6 in a Higher Level accepted arts/humanities subject. Standard Level 7 in either Mathematics strand can also be accepted in place of Higher Level Mathematics.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Grade H2 or higher in Higher Level Mathematics and an accepted arts/humanities subject.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Grade A at A-level, or equivalent, in Mathematics and an accepted arts/humanities subject.
Scottish Advanced Higher
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Grade A in AH Mathematics and an accepted arts/humanities subject. We do not accept Advanced Higher Statistics as a substitute for AH Mathematics. If you are taking both of these subjects at this level then a further two Advanced Highers are necessary.
Scottish Higher
Departments will normally make offers based on Advanced Highers. In the absence of 3 Advanced Highers, where these are not offered by the applicant’s school, offers comprising of Advanced Highers and Highers or a number of Highers may be made on a case by case basis. Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Grade A in AH Mathematics and an accepted arts/humanities subject.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
Students on this degree learn through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials (Politics and Economics), workshops (Economics only), informal but scheduled one-to-one support, and self-directed learning, such as research, reading, and writing.
All of these are supported by a virtual learning environment, Durham University Online (duo). Seminars, tutorials, and workshops are much smaller groups than lectures, with tutorials often involving between eight and 20 students working with a member of staff; seminars and workshops can be larger but are still small enough to allow interaction with the tutors.
This emphasis on small-group teaching reflects a conscious choice to enhance the quality of the learning experience rather than the number of formal sessions. In fact, the degree is designed to feature fewer formal sessions and more independent research as you move from your first to your final year.
Small-group teaching and meetings with a personal academic advisor (provided for all students when they enter the course) are part of the learning experience throughout, but by the final year, classroom time gives way, to some extent, to independent research, including a capstone dissertation that makes up a third of final year credits.
In this way, the degree systematically transforms you from a consumer of knowledge in the classroom to a generator of knowledge, ready for professional or postgraduate life. These formal teaching arrangements are supported by “drop-in” surgeries with teaching staff and induction sessions that begin in the week before the start of the degree and continue at key times during each year of the course.
Modules
Year 1
In the first year, two modules will be studied in each of the three departments providing the specific foundations for the subsequent years at an appropriate depth.
In Philosophy, the compulsory modules have in the past included Ethics and Values, and Knowledge and Reality. In Politics there is one core theory module plus one from a list of options to be studied. In Economics introductory micro- and macro-economic theory is covered as well as a quantitative module which provides students with the necessary mathematical and statistical skills for subsequent studies in Economics.
Year 2
Whilst the first year is dominated by the necessity to build the foundations for all three subjects, the choice opens up quite substantially in the second and third year. The basic rule that needs to be met is that for each of the three subjects a minimum of two modules must be studied in the second and third year. At no stage can any one of the three be dropped altogether. In Years 2 and 3 combined, you will take two core modules in Economics looking at the principles of Macro and Microeconomics; either The Philosophy of Economics or Political Philosophy and one further module in Philosophy; and two modules in Politics. Aside from these, and provided that individual module requirements are met, you can specialise and tailor your choices from a wide selection of optional modules in the three subjects. This gives the degree the flexibility and eclecticism that are its defining characteristics.
At this stage, you can choose to add an extra dimension to your studies, by extending your course with a work placement or an international exchange, which can help you stand out in a crowded job market.
Year 3
In the third year, the Dissertation (double module) must be done in one of the three departments and it must be associated with another third-year module of the same subject.
Please note: the economics degree is currently under review and details may have changed by October 2021.
We review course structures and core content (in light of e.g. external and student feedback) every year, and will publish finalised core requirements for 2021 entry from September 2020.
Tuition fees
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Philosophy
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Politics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Economics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Philosophy
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Politics
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.
Economics
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a degree in demand, as business increasingly needs workers who can examine and explain complex data. And yet the number of economics graduates fell by nearly 10% last year, which means demand is even greater. As so many economic grads go into banking and finance, it's not surprising that over half of all 2015's economics graduates who did go into work were working in London. And don't think it's just the finance industry that's interested in these graduates - there's a significant number who enter the IT industry to work with data as analysts and consultants. It's quite common for economics graduates to go into jobs such as accountancy and management consultancy which may require you to take more training and gain professional qualifications - so don’t assume you won’t have to take any more exams once you leave uni. And the incentive to take them, of course, is better pay, which will be on top of an already healthy average starting salary of over £30,000 for graduates working in the capital.
Philosophy
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Politics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£24k
£33k
£41k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Economics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£31k
£38k
£53k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Philosophy and religious studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£30k
£33k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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