Some might think that studying three subjects at university is a lot more work, but this isn’t necessarily true. In fact, the best thing about the course is the variety of work we get.
There are two routes for PPE students. Route 1 is the standard route where all three subjects are studied equally. Route 2 (the one I picked) has a bit more maths and has a slight weighting to economics over the other two subjects.
PPE students have a variety of teaching sessions throughout the week, including lectures, seminars (small-group discussions or working through a problem set) and practicals (large group problem sets).
Monday
With lectures starting in the afternoon I wake up at 8.30am to get ahead with some seminar readings and review the lecture slides for my lectures.
My first lecture at 1pm is for my politics module on Global Political Economy (GPE) which covers topics such as economic globalisation. I picked this module after we studied GPE briefly in first year and found it really relevant to current political events.
My second lecture is Econometrics (only for those choosing Route 2) at 2pm where we look at statistical models to analyse economic theory.
After my lectures, I go to the library to carry on with my seminar readings. The seminar readings are usually only in politics and philosophy modules. Thankfully there’s so much choice with your modules that your readings will be something you’re interested in.
Tuesday
Tuesday is a busier day for me.
I have a seminar at 9am for Global Political Economy which is discussion-based. For seminars, the reading list for the week is divided up into essential reading and recommended and background reading. Discussion-based seminars are then based on the essential readings and lectures.
I then have another seminar in microeconomics where we go through a problem set to be completed in advance. These seminars alternate with macroeconomics. Problem sets are designed to be a bit challenging, but if I have any problems I can go to lecturers, seminar leaders, the Maths Skills Centre or even other course mates.
I go straight from this seminar to Tea and Coffee Club where students chat with local elderly residents that live on their own. There are plenty of volunteering opportunities in whatever you’re passionate about.
I then have my second lecture for econometrics. In the afternoon I like to relax a bit before going to volunteer as a leader in Girlguiding in the evening.
Wednesday
Thankfully I have nothing on my course timetable on Wednesday which gives me a nice break to do some extra-curricular things and catch up with work. I have Baking Society in the afternoon and my housemates are particularly grateful as I usually return home with cake.
I will stay on campus finishing seminar reading for the next day until my Mandarin class. This is part of the Languages for All programme. The course is run in small groups and is really interesting. The class finishes at 8pm and so I’m ready to go home and finally eat after a busy day.
Thursday
In the morning I have my philosophy seminar in my module ‘Reading Marx’ which goes through Marx’s work chronologically. There aren’t any lectures for this module, so the seminars are like a reading group where we discuss what we found interesting or sometimes confusing about the reading.
After lunch, I have my first microeconomics lecture of the week. This module builds on the microeconomic theory we learnt in first year.
In the late afternoon, I have a training session for college football. College football is much more informal than Uni football. You can be a complete beginner, which was good news for me as my football skills aren’t great!
Friday
It’s nearly the weekend! But first I have a double lecture (2 hours) in macroeconomics which, like microeconomics, builds on what we learnt last year. We get a 10-minute break in between the two lectures where I can quickly grab a coffee if needed.
As I only have an hour between this lecture and my final lecture of the week, I go to the Roger Kirk Centre Cafe with my course mates to grab a homemade cake and a drink, or a toastie if I’m feeling hungrier. After this, I have my last lecture in microeconomics.
The weekend
My weekend is usually catching up with boring housework or getting ready for the week ahead.
However, the bus into York city centre is really cheap and there’s plenty of things to do. As a student, there’s free entry into York Minster which is well worth a visit. There’s also so many restaurants and cafes to try that are student-budget friendly.
Read more student stories about PPE at York
Leave a Reply