Politics, Philosophy and Economics | Charles University

This programme provides students with a solid professional grounding in economics, political science, political philosophy and social ethics. Motivated by the Oxford-style PPE, it aims to analyse their problems in a complementary manner.

How does the programme provide content to ensure students achieve an understanding of a reasonably diverse set of perspectives on understanding economies?

The multidisciplinary nature of the programme encourages the students to perceive the economic problems in their political and ethical contexts. The offer of both mandatory and elective economics courses covers a variety of perspectives on understanding economies. The courses stress a critical understanding of the aims of economic agents, businesses and governments, the institutional build-up, as well the ethical challenges in decision-making and policy design in an environment marked by cultural diversity, economic inequality, and differing political interests. Students are expected to master the principles of modern non-conventional economic and political thinking and be able to apply them in the decision-making in social governance at the levels of supra-national institutions, states, regional governments, corporations, firms

How does the programme ensure students understand the interaction between economic and ecological systems?

Environmental aspects of economic and political decision-making, including the treatment of externalities in public and collective goods, are discussed in a number of both mandatory and elective courses. Nevertheless, the interaction between economic and ecological systems is covered especially by the courses “Global Politics of Development and Environment”, "Global Ethics: The Current Debates", "Justice in Politics and International Relations" and "Advanced Seminar in Social and Political Ethics".

How does the programme ensure students understand how to critically explore real-world evidence, both qualitative and quantitative?

Theoretical instruction is illustrated on real-world evidence, referring to both comparative qualitative characteristics and quantitative empirical methods that all students must master. Individual and team essay-writing, discussions, term research papers, projects and reports are a standard for coursework in the majority of courses included in the PPE curriculum. Specifically, “Simulation of Politics” course is directly geared towards teaching the students to crucially explore the real world evidence in their argumentation and decision-making.

What pedagogical approaches does the programme use to ensure that students examine the historical context, assumptions and values in all economic thinking?

Learning about the historical, economic, political, social, ethical and institutional contexts of economics is one of the principal aims of this multidisciplinary degree programme. During the first three semesters of their studies, all students are expected to cover the foundations of all three modules: political science (including international relations), philosophy (with a particular focus on political theory and ethics), and economics. At the end of the third semester, the students choose one of three study tracks: Politics & Philosophy, Economics & Politics, or Philosophy & Economics. The study is concluded by the public defence of the bachelor´s thesis that must satisfy the standards of academic research writing..

How does the department ensure that the teaching culture and capacity to deliver economic pluralism are continually improving?

The faculty members involved in the PPE degree programme include the academics from political science, philosophy, economics and finance that compete in their teaching styles based on two-way communication in the classes. This variety provides a pluralist and interdisciplinary atmosphere open to cross-sectional discussions. At the end of each semester, the students assess the performance of instructors, which serves the Board of PPE to update our curriculum so that contents and teaching styles reflect the quality demands of students.

Other information:

Admission requirements include, among others, English language proficiency on at least IELTS band 61 proved by a standardised test. For more information, please see the official PPE website. In addition to the Erasmus+ student mobility programmes, PPE students can participate in a double-degree programme offered in cooperation with the University of Bayreuth, Germany, earning a second degree: B.A. in Philosophy and Economics from Bayreuth.