Differences Between Courses In The Social Sciences

Economics, Cambridge

Course length: 3 years

Successful applications: 12.5%

Through all three years, students study macro- and micro-economics. In the first year, students have sit courses of economic history, politics and maths/stats. In the second and third year, students can study from an interdisciplinary perspective with options in history, politics, sociology, maths and philosophy. The course looks at economics in depth and is heavy on maths.

Economics & Management, Oxford

Course Length – 3 years

Successful applications: 7% (2017 intake)

Economics and Management is a great option for students looking to study the symbiosis between economics and management, as well as to cover topics such as finance, strategy and marketing. E&M is slightly less maths focussed than pure economics but students need to remember that half the course is management, so make sure you read up this side of things so that you’re clear on what the course will be like.

HSPS, Cambridge

Course Length – 3 years

Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS) at Cambridge is a relatively new course, which replaced the old Social and Political Sciences degree. Students can cover an impressive array of topics from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Department of Politics and International Studies and Department of Sociology. Students can cover modules such as gender, political economy, criminology, Latin America, South Asia and many more. Students have a lot of choice but need to be capable of independent thinking, to analyse arguments and to be able to form and present their own opinions.

Land Economy, Oxford & Cambridge

Course Length – 3 years

Successful applications: 25%

This course is best for students with interests in law, economics and the environment. The course focuses on how to relate the three topics to solving real world issues. Students can cover things such as land law, environmental economics, finance, development and issues of the public sector. This course is great for students who cannot choose between Law, Geography and Economics- whilst the need for maths is low, students need to be analytical and to be able to evaluate issues.

PPE, Oxford

Course Length – three years

Successful applications: 13% (2017 intake)

The most famous of the Oxbridge Social Sciences, PPE offers students about how to tie together three very interesting and interdependent disciplines. Students study all three subjects in their first year and then can drop one for the second and third year. Students can study lots of things from Econometrics to politics in Sub-Saharan Africa and from Logic to game theory. There is a fair amount of maths required on the Economics side of the course and students should really be interested in all three subjects and to be capable of forming your own critical arguments.

Each faculty website will give you much more detail so make sure you spend some time ensuring you choose the right course – you’ll be doing it for three years so make sure you will love it.

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