detail

BA Politics, Philosophy and Economics

Academic Year 2017/18

A programme specification is required for any programme on which a student may be registered. All programmes of the University are subject to the University's Quality Assurance and Enhancement processes as set out in the DASA Policies and Procedures Manual.

Programme Title

BA Politics, Philosophy and Economics

Final Award
(exit route if applicable for Postgraduate Taught Programmes)

Bachelor of Arts

Programme Code

PPE-BA-S

UCAS Code

LV00

JACS Code

L100 (DESCR) 33

Criteria for Admissions

• For current University entry requirements for this programme go to www.qub.ac.uk/ado
• A level requirements: AAB
• Grade B GCSE Mathematics or above.
• The University reserves the right to interview applicants prior to offering them a place on this programme.
Additional Relevant Information
• The internship scheme involves work placements with a range of government agencies and political parties at Stormont, as well as the Police Ombudsman, the BBC and local non-governmental agencies and consultancies. Students spend three days a week seconded to an organization, providing them with vital work experience and exposure to the world of policy-making. This counts as a double-weighted module and requires students to produce a weekly reflective learning journal based on their practical experiences, but involving the application of insights from academic literature relevant to their place of work. The internships are usually unpaid and last for a semester. They are designed to foster practical work experience and a range of vocational skills to enhance a student’s employability. Students have to apply for the internship via CV, covering letter and formal interview conducted by school academic staff. Internships although encouraged on the programme are not guaranteed. The Convenor of the Internship Scheme is currently Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh (Email m.maccarthaigh@qub.ac.uk). Each student on internship is also appointed an academic supervisor from with the School.

• Study abroad opportunities at Level 3 will normally be offered via the Socrates-Erasmus programme.

• Further information about the programme is available from http://www.qub.ac.uk/pisp/ProspectiveStudents/UndergraduateDegrees/BAPoliticsPhilosophyandEconomicsPPE/

For general information, see www.qub.ac.uk/pisp

ATAS Clearance Required

Health Check Required

Portfolio Required

Interview Required

Mode of Study

Full Time

Type of Programme

Single Honours

Length of Programme

3 Academic Year(s)

Total Credits for Programme

360

Exit Awards available

INSTITUTE INFORMATION

Awarding Institution/Body

Queen's University Belfast

Teaching Institution

Queen's University Belfast

School/Department

History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics

Framework for Higher Education Qualification Level
www.qaa.ac.uk

Level 6

QAA Benchmark Group
www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements

Politics and International Relations (2015)

Accreditations (PSRB)

REGULATION INFORMATION

Does the Programme have any approved exemptions from the University General Regulations
(Please see General Regulations)

Programme Specific Regulations

General University Regulations apply at all Stages

Students with protected characteristics

The School works with internship and placement providers and partner institutions to ensure that students with disabilities are able to complete residence abroad requirements.

Are students subject to Fitness to Practise Regulations

(Please see General Regulations)

EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF PROGRAMME

• Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) brings together three of the most important approaches to understanding the social and human world around us, creating an integrated multi and interdisciplinary programme that develops skills and knowledge useful for a whole range of future careers in politics, the civil service, journalism, the media, think tanks and business. The programme seeks to equip students with a multi-dimensional analytical lens that can be applied to the analysis of a range of complex problems and issues. The aim is to facilitate student choice within a structured framework. It is possible to specialise in any one of the disciplinary areas of study, or to study equal amounts of each.

• The study of Politics is intended to acquaint students with the institutions and processes that govern our lives as members of nations, states and other groupings, illuminating processes of democratic participation, interest representation and the exercise of power. The aim is to enable students to evaluate the choices political systems, whether national, sub-national, regional or international, represent and must regularly make, and to enhance their understanding of the processes that maintain or change those systems.

• The Philosophy component of the degree programme aims to develop student’s analytical rigour, their ability to think critically, to reason logically and to be able to apply those skills to questions of how we acquire knowledge and how we make ethical and justifiable judgements.

• The Economic element of the programme is designed to give students an appreciation of the general workings of the economy, to acquaint them with the kind of choices and issues to be considered in matters of wealth generation and distribution. The aim here is to enable students to make sense of government economic policy making, the conduct of businesses and the enormous changes occurring in economic systems throughout the world by focusing on the behaviour of individual units and on the aggregate behaviour of groups, societies and international markets. The programme also aims to familiarise students with a range of economic analytical techniques and methods.

• Two core interdisciplinary modules at level 2 address the interface and overlap between the three disciplines. These modules make a significant contribution to the overall coherence of the degree programme and enable students to make linkages and create synergies within their threefold disciplinary training.

• Overall PPE encourages students to relate the academic study of social phenomena both to questions of public concern and to academic theory in all three disciplines. It does so through the core compulsory modules which structure the degree. Students are required to take one module in each discipline at levels 1 and 2 and 2 disciplines at level 3. This ensures an grounding in all three disciplines. They are also required to take two core interdisciplinary modules, which will illuminate the linkages and complementarities between the various disciplines.

• An emphasis is placed on the development of cognitive and social skills relevant to personal, intellectual and vocational development, not least through an optional internship programme involving work-based learning. The programme exposes students to some of the key analytical techniques, assumptions, ideas and processes used to frame decision-making in both public and private sectors. An optional dissertation gives students the opportunity to undertake a significant piece of sustained research, which will enable students to demonstrate organizational skills, research capacity, initiative, time management and personal discipline.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learning Outcomes: Cognitive Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information from a variety of secondary and some primary sources, so as to formulate and support a line of reasoning, or argument;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

This programme will enable learners to develop generic analytical, reasoning, literacy and communication skills.

Methods of Assessment

These general cognitive skills will be assessed by a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, group-work, portfolios and tutorial contributions. A currently ongoing Academic Year Review process forms the basis for extending innovation in assessment, including the range and types of coursework elements offered, across modules on the programme.

Identify, investigate, analyse, formulate and advocate solutions to problems;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The learner will be introduced to problem solving and information processing strategies, as well as the general methodological and theoretical approaches of politics, philosophy and economics.

Methods of Assessment

Synthesise relevant information and exercise critical judgement, primarily through essay writing;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Self-reflection and evaluation will further enhance the critical thinking and sound judgement of the learner.

Methods of Assessment

Reflect on their own learning and seek and make use of constructive feedback;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The learner will gain both skills and confidence through oral and written assignments, discussion groups and team tasks.

Methods of Assessment

Manage their own learning self critically;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The modules within the programme are laid out to foster the development of the above cognitive skills, and are delivered through a variety of teaching methods including formal lectures, small group tutorials and seminars, many of which will be enhanced by learning aids such as power point presentations and handouts.

Methods of Assessment

Recognise the importance of explicit referencing and the ethical requirements of study, which requires critical and reflective use of information and information technology in the learning process;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Students will learn through speaking, listening, reading and writing, by engaging with printed, oral, broadcast and electronic sources, by participating in group and individual work and through processes of observation, participation and reflection.

Methods of Assessment

Use deductive and inductive modes of reasoning.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

....

Methods of Assessment

Learning Outcomes: Knowledge & Understanding

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

The politics element of the degree programme will provide students with an ability to:
• Understand the nature and significance of politics as a human activity;
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of political systems and evaluate the distribution of power within them;
• Appreciate the contested nature of politics as an activity and as an academic discipline;
• Assess different interpretations of political issues and events.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Learners will participate in teaching methods that include formal lectures, small group tutorials and seminars, which will be enhanced by learning aids such as power point presentations and handouts.

Methods of Assessment

Learners will be assessed by a variety of traditional and innovative means, including essays, exams, and tutorial contributions and, depending on module choice, through the production of learning journals, portfolios and group projects. A currently ongoing Academic Year Review process forms the basis for extending innovation in assessment, including the range and types of coursework elements offered, across modules on the programme.

The philosophy element of the degree programme will provide students with:

• Familiarity with the writings of some of the major philosophers;
• Familiarity with some of the theories and arguments in the fields of moral philosophy, the philosophy of religion (metaphysics), and epistemology;
• The ability to use and understand properly specialised philosophical terminology;
• The opportunity to specialise in logic and or philosophy of mind.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

While these teaching and assessment methods are intended to deliver information to the students and test their knowledge of that information, it is expected that students will engage with knowledge on their own terms and develop the skills and confidence to independently process and understand that knowledge.

Methods of Assessment

The economics element of the degree programme will provide students with:

• A coherent core of economic principles, based on either verbal, graphical or mathematical understanding, covering microeconomic issues of decision and choice, pricing, principal-agent relations and economic welfare, and macroeconomic issues of employment, national incomes, growth, business cycles, inflation, money and finance.
• A knowledge of the sources and uses of economic data.
• An ability to apply a core of economic principles and reasoning to a variety of applied topics such as government policy, or business decisions.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

This will include the critical reading of a wide range of texts including policy documents, monographs, scholarly articles, statistics and data sets, newspapers, textbooks and sources on the internet.

Methods of Assessment

Finally interdisciplinary modules will provide students with knowledge and understanding of how political, philosophical and economic analyses inter-relate and complement one another, when applied to a range of issues relating to the structure and organisation of society.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Students are also expected to engage in independent research using both primary and or secondary sources and appropriate methods of enquiry.

Methods of Assessment

....

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Students will also participate in group discussion, communicating ideas and presenting their own work in a variety of formats, including debates, case studies, role play and simulations.

Methods of Assessment

....

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The programme also provides opportunity for some contact with political actors through experiential learning in the form of an optional internship.

Methods of Assessment

Learning Outcomes: Subject Specific

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Apply concepts, theories and methods used in the study of politics to the analysis of political ideas, institutions and practices;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

This programme encourages learners to develop skills that are both subject specific to politics, philosophy and economics, but also interdisciplinary in nature concerning an understanding of the ways in which the three disciplines overlap and complement one another. These include:

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions. A currently ongoing Academic Year Review process forms the basis for extending innovation in assessment, including the range and types of coursework elements offered, across modules on the programme.

Relate the study of politics to questions of public concern;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

• critical engagements with major thinkers, debates and intellectual paradigms within politics, philosophy and economics;

Methods of Assessment

Assessment methods will be used for diagnostic, formative and summative purposes, so as to allow students to demonstrate their learning according to explicit and transparent assessment criteria.

Appreciate, through the core interdisciplinary modules how political, philosophical and economic analyses inter-relate and complement one another.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The teaching methods used to embed this knowledge and understanding include formal lectures, small group tutorials and seminars, many of which will be enhanced by learning aids such as power point presentations and handouts.

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions.

Decide what should be given as taken or fixed for the purposes of setting up a framework for solving a problem.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions.

Abstract the features of complex systems and construct a usable framework for an evaluation and assessment of the effects of policy, or other exogenous events;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions.

Understand how to use and analyse economic data;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions.

Have some appreciation of quantitative techniques and economic modelling;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions.

Apply economic reasoning to policy issues;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions.

Identify textually based arguments and subject their structure and implications to rigorous assessment;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions.

Abstract, analyse and construct logical arguments, employing the techniques of formal and informal methods of reasoning as appropriate, together with an ability to recognise any fallacies;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions.

Appreciate how generalisations can be supported or weakened by detailed discussion;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions.

Appreciate and apply a range of techniques of philosophical reasoning;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

• examining competing approaches to politics, philosophy and economics.

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions.

Place questions of political and international order and decision making at the centre of analysis;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

• explaining changing patterns of political power, changes in policy, in economic performance and in the salience of various ideas;

Methods of Assessment

The methods used to assess this knowledge include a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, portfolios, dissertations and tutorial contributions.

Relate academic theories to policies in practice;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

• exploring emerging political, philosophical and economic issues;

Methods of Assessment

These methods will include unseen exams, essays, reports, discussions, oral and written assignments and will test students ability to grasp a range of political, philosophical and economic concepts, structure logical answers, digest and précis a range of sources and apply theories to cases.

Learning Outcomes: Transferable Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

....

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

PPE students will be able to formulate and disseminate reasoned arguments and draw logical conclusions based on supporting evidence derived from a variety of sources, through speech and in writing, as a consequence of participating in such forms of assessment.

Methods of Assessment

Transferable skills will be assessed by a variety of traditional and innovative methods including essays, exams, journals, group-work, portfolios and tutorial contributions. A currently ongoing Academic Year Review process forms the basis for extending innovation in assessment, including the range and types of coursework elements offered, across modules on the programme.

....

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

This broad portfolio of skills will be delivered through a variety of teaching methods including formal lectures, small group tutorials and seminars, many of which will be enhanced by learning aids such as power point presentations and handouts.

Methods of Assessment

....

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

and the ability to work independently; the capacity to apply academic theories to practical situations particularly policy relevant contexts and formal public decision making.

Methods of Assessment

....

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

career management (including building a learning portfolio and developing a CV – see earlier reference to personal tutoring and PDP’s);

Methods of Assessment

Appreciate the complexity of inter-relationships between seemingly discrete social phenomena, thus seeing beyond the direct or short-term effects of a particular action or decision, while having sensitivity to their likely long term implications.

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

time management skills (working to deadlines, prioritizing demands);

Methods of Assessment

Think strategically and logically about opportunity costs and incentives arising from resource constraints, particular sets of rules, and in situations of conflict, bargaining and negotiation;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

IT skills (including powerpoint, use of the internet as a research tool, Queens Online);

Methods of Assessment

Collaborate with others to achieve common goals through group work, group projects and group presentations;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

interpersonal skills (small group or team work activities, debate, discussion);

Methods of Assessment

Work independently and demonstrate initiative, self-organisation and time management as a mature independent learner;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

writing skills (note-taking, organizational skills, logical progression of argument, the ability to gather information from a wide range of both contemporary and archival sources, prioritizing information, using data, statistical techniques and quantitative methods);

Methods of Assessment

Use communication and information technology, for the retrieval and presentation of information, including where appropriate statistical and numerical information;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

communication (presentations, written assignments, teamwork);

Methods of Assessment

Communicate effectively and fluently in speech and writing;

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

This programme enables learners to develop a broad portfolio of interdisciplinary skills which will enhance their employability and/or provide them with a sound basis for progression to further research at postgraduate level (either MA or doctoral work) or elsewhere. The learner will develop skills in the following areas:

Methods of Assessment

MODULE INFORMATION

Programme Requirements

Module Title	Module Code	Level/ stage	Credits	Availability		Duration	Pre-requisite			Assessment
				S1	S2			Core	Option	Coursework %	Practical %	Examination %
Philosophy and Human Nature	PHL1001	1	20	YES		12 weeks	N	YES		35%	10%	55%
Perspectives on Politics	PAI1007	1	20	YES		12 weeks	N	YES		90%	10%	0%
Comparative Politics	PAI1009	1	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Philosophy and The Good Life	PHL1004	1	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	35%	10%	55%
Applied Economics	ECO1008	1	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	100%	0%	0%
Quantitative Methods	ECO1009	1	20		YES	12 weeks	N	YES		20%	0%	80%
Introductory Logic	PHL1003	1	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	35%	10%	55%
Issues in Contemporary Politics	PAI1003	1	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	35%	10%	55%
Introduction to Business Economics	ECO1011	1	20	YES		12 weeks	N	YES		100%	0%	0%
Knowledge and Reality	PHL2001	2	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	35%	10%	55%
Politics and Policy of the European Union	PAI2001	2	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Modern Political Thought	PAI2005	2	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
The Politics of Deeply Divided Societies	PAI2011	2	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Managerial Economics	ECO2009	2	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	100%	0%	0%
Irish Politics	PAI2013	2	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	35%	10%	55%
International Relations	PAI2017	2	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Studying Politics	PAI2043	2	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Scholastic Ethics	PHL2008	2	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Mind and Language	PHL2026	2	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
American Politics	PAI2018	2	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Moral Theories	PHL2000	2	20	YES		12 weeks	N	YES		90%	10%	0%
Data Analysis and Optimisation	ECO2023	2	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	40%	10%	50%
History of Philosophy	PHL2016	2	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Democracy, Ethics & Economics	PAI2044	2	20		YES	12 weeks	N	YES		90%	10%	0%
The Politics & Economics of the Devolved UK	PAI2045	2	20	YES		12 weeks	N	YES		35%	10%	55%
Security and Terrorism	PAI2055	2	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
International Organisations	PAI2056	2	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Macroeconomic Policy and Performance	ECO2002	2	20		YES	12 weeks	N	YES		40%	0%	60%
British Politics in crisis?	PAI2002	2	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Introduction to the Philosophy of Science	PHL2027	2	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Public Economics	ECO3012	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	30%	0%	70%
Labour Economics	ECO3019	3	20	YES		12 weeks	Y		YES	25%	0%	75%
Contemporary Political Philosophy	PAI3025	3	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Philosophical Theology	PHL3034	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	35%	10%	55%
Internship	PAI3097	3	40	YES	YES	12 weeks	Y		YES	100%	0%	0%
Women and Politics	PAI3008	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	100%	0%	0%
Middle Eastern Politics	PAI3011	3	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
The Politics of Sustainable Development	PAI3026	3	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Philosophy of Law	PHL3015	3	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
European Cultural Identities	PAI3027	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	0%	10%
Issues in the Philosophy of Science	PHL3001	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	35%	10%	55%
Dissertation PPE	PAI3090	3	40	YES	YES	24 weeks	N		YES	100%	0%	0%
Applied Ethics	PHL3064	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Scholastic Metaphysics	PHL3040	3	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Ethics, Power and International Politics	PAI3057	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Challenges to contemporary party politics	PAI3067	3	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Politics, Public Administration and Policy-Making	PAI3068	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Economics of Corporate Strategy	ECO3013	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	30%	10%	60%
Economic History	ECO3020	3	20	YES		12 weeks	Y		YES	90%	10%	0%
US Foreign Policy	PAI3038	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Topics in Epistemology	PHL3013	3	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Security and Technology	PAI3073	3	20	YES		12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
Global Resource Politics	PAI3012	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	35%	10%	55%
Philosophy for Children	PHL3068	3	20		YES	12 weeks	N		YES	90%	10%	0%
The Placement	PAI3089	3	20	YES	YES	12 weeks	N		YES	100%	0%	0%

Notes

Students complete SIX modules worth 120 credits. Students must take the following FOUR core modules PAI2044, PHL2000, ECO2002, PAI2045, plus TWO optional modules, ONE from each semester.

Students complete modules to the value of 120 credits. Students must take either PAI3090 (PPE) or PAI3097 (Internship) plus FOUR optional modules from at least TWO subject areas, or a total of SIX modules from below (ONE from each subject PAI, PHL, and ECO). The list of available modules will be drawn from those available to students taking single honours degrees in Economics, Philosophy and Politics. Students wishing to undertake an approved period of study abroad must contact your Advisor of Studies.

Students complete six modules worth 120 credits. Students must take the following FOUR core modules ECO1011, ECO1009, PAI1007, PHL1001, plus a further TWO modules in Semester 2