Average number of places available each year at Exeter College: 7 (PPE); 4 (Economics & Management).
The Course
Economics at Oxford can be studied at the undergraduate level only as part of a joint degree. Exeter accepts students to read Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE); or Economics and Management (E&M).
In their first year, PPE and E&M students spend the first term attending lectures and tutorials in microeconomics and the second term attending lectures and tutorials in macroeconomics. Students are also introduced to mathematical concepts as they are used in Economics, mainly algebra and calculus. The topics introduced in the first-year microeconomics course are consumer behaviour, firm behaviour, and the consequences of monopoly power. The following term focuses on macroeconomic issues such as unemployment and inflation. Students assess the relative merits of policies that may be used to manage the economy, and develop a framework for understanding the rationale behind recent government economic policy.
In their second year, Economics students read compulsory papers in microeconomics, macroeconomics and quantitative methods. The courses develop and apply topics that were introduced in the first year. After completing tutorials on the compulsory papers, third year undergraduate economists are able to take more specialised papers from a wide range of options that include: Industrial Economics, labour Economics, Public Economics, International Economics, Money and Banking, Economics of developing Countries, Economic theory, Statistics and Econometrics.
Although a background in Mathematics is not formally required for admission to the PPE course, PPE applicants should have sufficient interest in, and aptitude for, mathematics to cope with the mathematical elements of the course. Mathematics is a particular advantage for the Economics component of the course, as well as for the first year logic course in philosophy, and for understanding theories and data in politics.
Recently, around 90% of the applicants who have been offered places for PPE at Oxford had studied Maths to at least AS-Level, or equivalent. You may like to consider taking Maths to AS-level, or an equivalent qualification such as IB Standard Level, even if you do not pursue it further. It is useful to have learnt the basics of differentiation before starting your university course in PPE.
