Philosophy, Politics and Economics
Durham University
UCAS Code: VL52 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Durham University
UCAS Code: VL52 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Including an arts/humanities or social sciences subject and Mathematics. Specific subjects excluded for entry: General Studies and Critical Thinking.
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
666 in higher level subjects, including an arts/humanities subject and Mathematics. For students taking the IB we are happy to accept either Higher Level grade 6 or Standard Level grade 7 in Mathematics. Mathematical Studies is not acceptable.
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.
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
A Level requirements including an arts/humanities or social sciences subject and Mathematics.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: A Level requirements including an arts/humanities or social sciences subject and Mathematics.
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.
At Durham we welcome applications from students of outstanding achievement and potential from all educational backgrounds. We will consider applicants studying T level qualifications for entry to many of our courses. Where a course requires subject specific knowledge and this is not covered within the T level being studied, you may need to supplement your T level studies with a suitable qualification to meet this requirement, for example at A level. Where this is needed this will be clearly stated in our entry requirements. Detailed entry requirements can be found on individual course entries on our courses database https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
Do you question what drives human actions and decisions? Are you curious about the ways in which government policies impact society? Or the ethics of global production and consumption? Philosophy is the study of the important questions that arise in all areas of human life. By combining the study of philosophy, politics and economics you’ll gain insight into the thinking behind some of the big ideas that shape contemporary society.
This prestigious degree offers you the opportunity to explore these three important disciplines – their connections, influences and impact. You’ll gain an understanding of how and why they’ve been so inextricably linked historically, and the ways in which they’ve developed and diverged over the course of the last two centuries, both in content and in method.
Using a combination of academic theory and real-world practice, you’ll examine issues such as global politics, ethics and economic growth, gaining the knowledge and skills to pursue different lines of inquiry and the confidence to question your own thinking.
While the first year provides a foundation in all three areas, the choice broadens substantially in subsequent years. Across Years 2 and 3, you’ll study a minimum of two modules for each discipline, and you can tailor the remainder of your choices from a wide selection of option modules.
The course offers the opportunity to add a placement year or spend a year abroad, increasing the degree from three years to four. This extra dimension, coupled with the variety of option modules gives the degree the flexibility and eclecticism that are its defining characteristics.
The rigorous academic framework opens the door to a wide range of career options including policy making, journalism, the financial sector, the legal profession, consultancy, education and the civil service.
Modules
Year 1
Core modules:
Principles of Economics provides a sound foundation for modules in micro- and macroeconomics. You will cover areas including methodology of economics, supply and demand, consumer spending choices, competition and growth theories.
Economic Methods familiarises you with the use of mathematical and statistical tools in solving economic problems. You will look at equations, matrix algebra, calculus, statistics, distribution, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing.
Ethics and Values provides a structured introduction to moral philosophy, including applied ethics, by exploring key moral concepts and showing how they influence moral practices and theories.
Knowledge and Reality introduces philosophical problems in epistemology (the study of knowledge), and metaphysics (the study of reality and ourselves).
In recent years, optional modules have included:
Researching Politics and International Relations
Introduction to Political Theory
Introduction to Comparative Politics
Introduction to International Relations
Perspectives of Political Economy.
Year 2
Year 2 offers a greater degree of flexibility in your choice of philosophy, politics and economics modules.
In economics, you will study one or two core modules through either:
Macroeconomics, which uses real-world examples to analyse the general equilibrium of an economy both in the short term, with a static model, and in the medium to long term, with a dynamic model.
and
Microeconomics, which aims to develop understanding of the essential components of microeconomics with a particular focus on the analytical skills relevant to consumer and production theories, general equilibrium and welfare.
Or:
Economic Theory, which develops understanding and applications of microeconomic and macroeconomic theory at an intermediate level. You will cover areas such as consumer theory, money and inflation, economic growth and fiscal policy.
In philosophy, you will study one core modules in either:
Political Philosophy, which introduces, assesses and discusses major philosophical questions concerning politics and political life, its structures and organisations.
Or:
The Philosophy of Economics & Politics, which introduces assesses and discusses both contemporary and historical philosophical issues at the intersection between economics and political theory.
The remaining modules are chosen from a wide selection of optional modules in politics, philosophy and economics, including modules in econometrics, political theory, international relations, historical philosophy and logical analysis.
Year 3 (Year 4 if undertaking a placement or year abroad)
The Dissertation is a detailed and critical examination of a relevant area of either philosophy, politics or economics. It develops your ability to plan and manage your own learning and provides you with an opportunity to research a specific topic and present your findings and conclusions.
Plus four additional options from an extensive selection of modules across the three subject areas.
Assessment methods
Modules are assessed via a combination of examinations and unseen essay questions, essays and group projects.
The range of assessment methods is designed to assess your knowledge and understanding of the material, test your critical thinking skills, enhance your written and oral communication skills, and assess your ability to relate your learning to real-world issues.
The Year 3 dissertation, which should be based around a relevant philosophy, politics or economics topic of your choice, makes up one-third of your final-year marks.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
Extra funding
We're committed to supporting the best students irrespective of financial circumstances. https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/scholarships/
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.
£26k
£34k
£47k
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.
£30k
£40k
£58k
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
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
£31k
£34k
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 information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
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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