The University of Birmingham is a public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham, and Mason Science College, making it the first English civic or 'red brick' university to receive its own royal charter. The University have a long and proud history of firsts, at the University of Birmingham; they were the first – and are now one of the largest - civic universities in the UK.

At Birmingham, the institution teach and research across the full breadth of academic disciplines, creating a vibrant community with multi-disciplinary opportunities for research and education. The University is a truly international community consisting of more than thousands of staff, students, and alumni. The student community is not only one of the largest of any UK university, it is highly diverse, with 82 per cent of home undergraduate students from state schools, 32 per cent from a BAME background, and 35 per cent in the first generation of their family to attend university.

The modules in the first year are designed to provide you with a grounding in all three disciplines of Social Policy, Politics and Economics.

Compulsory modules
Introduction to Social Policy
Understanding Politics
Principles of Economics
Social Research Part I (PPE)
Social Research Part 2 (PPE)
Choose one of the following modules

Introduction to Mathematics for Economics
Advanced Mathematics for Economics (for students with A-Level Maths at A/A*)
Optional modules
Understanding International Relations
Introduction to Political Theory
Modules in second year
A core module which is at the heart of the Policy, Politics and Economics programme in the second year is 'Global Issues'. This interdisciplinary module will enable you to consider a range of important global issues and the responses to them at international, regional and local levels. Alongside this, you will take one module from Social Policy, one from Politics and one from Economics. You can also begin to tailor your degree to your developing interests, choosing from the optional modules.

Compulsory modules
Global Issues: Perspectives from Policy, Politics and Economics
Social Research II
Comparative Politics
You must also take one of these following modules:

Microeconomics
Macroeconomics
Optional modules
You must choose a further 40 credits from any of the three disciplines:

Policy Analysis
Comparative Social Policy
Poverty, Class and Inequality
Terror, Threat and Security
Macroeconomics (if not already taken as compulsory subject)
Microeconomics (if not already taken as compulsory subject)
Development Economics
Environmental Economics
China and the World Economy
Behavioural and Experimental Economics
Financial Markets and Institutions
International Political Economy
International Security
Feminist Political Ideas
History of Political Ideas
Year Abroad third year
Your third year will be spent abroad at a university in the EU or elsewhere in the world. After completing your year abroad, you will return for your fourth and final year to the same BA degree programme. There are a wide range of countries and universities from which you can choose. As well as a range of European universities, you may also choose from a range of current institutional partners worldwide. These include countries in which a variety of languages are spoken, including universities at which courses are taught in English.

The following 120 credit module must be taken

Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology Year Abroad
Modules in final year
The central component of your third year of study on the PPE course is the dissertation, where you will undertake research-based project on a contemporary theme. You will also choose from a substantial range of optional modules whilst meeting the requirements to undertake at least one module from each discipline.

Compulsory module
Dissertation
Optional modules
You should select 20 credits from each discipline and 20 credits from across the range of optional modules.

Social Policy

Harmful Societies: Crime, Social Harm and Social Justice
Quantitative Data Analysis
Economics

History of Economic Thought
Health Economics
Economics of the EU
Advanced Macroeconomics
Advanced Microeconomics
Advanced Behavioural and Experimental Economics
Advanced Financial Markets and Institutions (Pre-requisite Financial Markets and Institutions)
International Trade Theory and Policy
Monetary Policy and Dynamic Macroeconomics
Public Economics
Politics

Contemporary International Political Economy
Gender in World Politics
Law, Politics & the International System
Media, Politics and Public Opinion
Topics in British Politics
Professional Development
Unless indicated otherwise the modules listed for this programme are for students starting in 2023.
Please note: The modules listed on the website for this programme are regularly reviewed to ensure they are up-to-date and informed by the latest research and teaching methods. On rare occasions, we may need to make unexpected changes to compulsory modules; in this event we will contact offer holders as soon as possible to inform or consult them as appropriate.

You will need to book the accommodation after you have been accepted.

You can choose to live on campus or off campus in private accommodation.

• Make a booking online after you have been accepted (in this case please let us know your choice when you apply).
• Register when you arrive - its not possible to reserve a room before arriving. You can arrive a few days before and book it