At this point in the year, many students are still choosing their future Bachelor’s programmes. For those who are questioning the major forces shaping our societies – ideas, power, and economics – the PPE Bachelor’s degree offers a stimulating framework for reflection.
But what does it really mean to study at the intersection of philosophy, political science, and economics? Who is this programme designed for, and what opportunities does it open up?
Inspired by a renowned Anglo-Saxon model (notably at Oxford, where it originated), the PPE Bachelor’s degree combines three core disciplines of the humanities: Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics. This interdisciplinary approach allows students to tackle major contemporary issues – such as social justice, ecological transition, public policy, and global economic transformations – with rigour, broad perspective, and critical thinking.
Each discipline plays a complementary role:
The PPE Bachelor’s degree is aimed at students with a strong interest in intellectual debate, analytical rigour, and interdisciplinarity. It is particularly well-suited for students from a general secondary education background who have taken specialisations such as History-Geography, Geopolitics and Political Science, Mathematics, Economics and Social Sciences, Humanities, Literature and Philosophy, or Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
But beyond subject choices, it is above all open-minded students, eager to understand how societies work and willing to challenge assumptions, who will thrive in the PPE programme at ESPOL.
Unlike the European Politics programme or the International Relations programme, the PPE Bachelor’s at ESPOL includes several courses in economics, such as microeconomics, mathematics for social science, and applied statistics.
It is therefore essential that prospective students have a genuine interest in mathematics and, ideally, have chosen mathematics as a specialisation during high school.
PPE graduates enjoy a highly sought-after profile in many sectors: public service, journalism, think tanks, international business, non-governmental organisations, and European institutions. The degree also provides an excellent foundation for pursuing a Master’s – in political science, international relations, economics, journalism – or for entering certain business school programmes, both in France and abroad.
ESPOL offers a bilingual, cosmopolitan, and intellectually stimulating environment, with numerous international mobility opportunities (university exchanges, internships abroad). It is a human-sized school that emphasises personalised support, the development of transversal skills, and critical thinking.
The PPE Bachelor’s degree at ESPOL is much more than an academic programme: it is a demanding intellectual training, an interdisciplinary space for reflection, and a launching pad for a wide range of careers. It is designed for those who want to understand, act, debate, and think critically about the world around them.
