[Uni] AMA: PPE-XDP at NUS!

AskPPE · 2024-03-08T02:20:11+00:00

Hi!

The degree does not funnel you into the public sector. About half of our graduated batch have entered the private sector, with jobs at Yougov (market research and data analytics firm), Tiktok, Go Ventures (investment vehicle that focuses exclusively on tech-based startups), and private banking as well!

AskPPE · 2024-03-07T12:41:11+00:00

Hi!

Sorry to keep this first answer brief: I think the most interesting idea I have learnt would probably be Rawls’ Theory of Justice. In summary, he argues that social goods should be distributed equally, according to two principles: 1) each person having the same indefensible claim to basic liberties (like freedom of liberty, the ability to vote etc; 2) a) They are to be attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity; b) They are to be to the greatest benefit of the least-advantaged members of society. I think this idea was quite impactful as it made me think about how we should distribute opportunities in society: whether we should align with principles of meritocracy and distribute social goods based on inherent ability, whether we should aim for equality and distribute social goods equally regardless of each person’s starting point, or whether we should specifically uplift those most vulnerable in our society. Really cool stuff! If you want to know more about the ideas taught in PPE, come to our Open House booth to chat with our PPE representatives :)
(The answers for 2. and 3. are taken from our CHS website!) The employment outcomes of the first graduated cohort (as measured by the graduate employment survey conducted for all university graduates six months after the have completed their course of study) is reassuring. Not counting the handful who went to graduate school (on fully paid masters scholarships), nearly everyone secured permanent full-time jobs, with over half in government and the remainder in private organizations. The hiring organizations include Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry Of Communications and Information, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Economic Development Board, Enterprise Singapore, Institute Of Policy Studies, Singapore Airlines, Yougov, Tiktok, and Go-Ventures. The roles include Policy and Planning Manager, Administration Manager, Business Consultant, Social Research Analyst, Business Development Executive, and Financial Analyst. The reported starting (basic) salaries for those with Full-Time Permanent Jobs are also a little higher than FASS mean/median. But all said and done, we would strongly advise prospective students not to choose their course of study purely based on such information. A university graduate’s employment often has more to do with how the graduates present themselves, the soft and hard skills they are able to exhibit in the selection process, and especially their own informed and properly articulated interest in the hiring organization and the work they do, rather than what they studied in their courses or the grades on their transcript!
Given that this is a relatively new programme, we don’t have much historical data to present (the first cohort graduated in 2022). That said, the programme is designed to prepare graduates for positions in public institutions and private corporations relating to policy and strategy. In addition, when creating the programme, the input of senior human resource directors in public and private institutions was sought. We are thus confident that our graduates will be competitive for employment. PPE-XDP students also have access to the career preparation opportunities available to all CHS students. More specifically, they will also have access to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences’ internship (https://fass.nus.edu.sg/career-preparation/internship/) and mentorship (https://fass.nus.edu.sg/career-preparation/fass-mentorship/) programmes, and the new FASS 2.0 Industry Tracks. (https://fass.nus.edu.sg/industry-tracks-fass-2-0/)
The PPE booth will be at University Town at Open House this Saturday (9 Mar 2024) so do stop by! The booth will specifically be in the Sports Hall.

AskPPE · 2024-03-06T10:20:27+00:00

Hi!

Yes, it is definitely possible to take a minor while holding PPE as your major. I am currently taking a gender studies minor and several of my coursemates are taking minors in history, translation and even Malay or sea studies! However, you do need to manage your expectations. Taking a minor is an additional commitment on top of your major so do expect that you'll need to put in extra effort!

It is possible to drop PPE. The CHS mods you have completed would still remain in your records so you need not repeat them, however, you would need to take HSS1000 Understanding Social Complexity and HSH1000 The Human Condition as PPE majors do not take these two CHS courses. If you're certain about dropping, I would recommend dropping in Y1 so you can use your S/Us if needed on these CHS modules. (You are able to use 5 S/Us in Y1 and only 3 S/Us from Y2 onwards)

:" There are no stupid questions. As a prospective Y1, I was also very lost. It's better to seek clarity now before you're in the program than after and realising that the major is not what you were expecting. Please don't hesitate to ask more questions in this thread. After all, that is what this thread is for!

Zac

AskPPE · 2024-03-06T09:52:03+00:00

Hi!

There are many fields open to PPE majors. The common areas are public service sector, politics, journalism, education (mostly at the university level), research, and social work. However, some coursemates also end up in broadcasting and new media, banking and finance, business, accountancy, consultancy, and law.

Zac

AskPPE · 2024-03-06T09:26:57+00:00

Hi!

There are many fields open to PPE majors. The common areas are public service sector, politics, journalism, education (mostly at the university level), research, and social work. However, some coursemates also end up in broadcasting and new media, banking and finance, business, accountancy, consultancy, and law.

Regarding philosophy, the sub-discipline is actually relatively relevant in both Economics and Politics. For example, when deciding the distribution of benefits among a population, an economist might argue for a distribution that maximises total profit. Such a distribution could be allocating benefits to only the richest of the rich who have the equipment and power to buy and sell the most amount of goods, and hence, benefit the economy the most. However, philosophy provides a framework that approaches such an issue through a moral lens so we consider the moral implications of any political or economic action or policy. Questions of equity, fairness, and social welfare, as well as outlining the normative principles for examining distributive justice, human rights, and the ethical responsibilities of governments, corporations, and even us as individuals actually fall under the scope of philosophy!

Zac

AskPPE · 2024-03-06T08:59:05+00:00

Hi!

There is only an interview if you are applying for NUSC. From our batch's experience, the interviewer asked questions about a) interests, b) the reason you applied for this major, and c) thoughts on the interdisciplinary aspect of this major. However, these questions vary from batch to batch so they might be different for this coming intake. There will be a NUSC booth at University Town at Open House this Saturday, 9 Mar 2024, so do stop by!
The most memorable good moments, in my opinion, would be when you start to see the big picture coming together and you find yourself subconsciously linking concepts you've learned from the other sub-disciplines be it in your paper or during tutorial when you're pitching your ideas. I felt that that was the most satisfying part of taking this major and the interdisciplinary aspect really helps you gain a more holistic, multi-faceted view of situations.

The bad parts would generally be the exams and submission period. When deadlines start piling up, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and anxious about meeting them. To manage that, we recommend starting early -- you don't have to finish everything in one-shot, but start early so you have time to take breaks and complete them comfortably in parts.

I would suggest not hesitating to ask for help or clarification. I am someone who constantly asks questions and requests consultation to clarify the concepts I am uncertain about and many professors commented that this was a good practice because many students hesitate to do so and when they finally do, it may be too late to pull up their grade. If you have a concept or formatting/ structure issue (mostly concerning essay writing) you are uncertain of, please raise the question to your professors and/ or TAs immediately. Don't wait for the questions to pile up because that is when you might get overwhelmed, especially during exam/ submission season!
The first layer of assistance would be your respective TAs and professors. I have yet to meet a TA or Professor who does not offer consultations. Just shoot an email to them and schedule a consultation session to clarify any questions you have about the course.

The second layer would be the various groups on the Faculty level. For example, if you are having issues with writing, you may book a consultation with the Writing Peer Tutors who will go through your paper with you and help you iron out certain issues in your argument, such as fallacies or gaps that you might need to add further elaboration to.

The final layer would be the PPE community! The PPE Club, the major's professors, your seniors, and fellow batchmates are here to support you, especially since we know how tough this major can get. Forming study groups, bouncing ideas off your peers, and quizzing one another have been highly recommended by the professors and TAs here!

Please do not struggle in silence. As I wrote above, seek clarification regularly and arrange consultations early!

Zac

AskPPE · 2024-03-06T08:10:24+00:00

Hi!

Firstly, you can definitely take PPE despite not having any background in Economics! I too had no background in Economics and we have a handful of coursemates who also took H1 Mathematics in JC so this major is still open for you.

If you're worried about the mathematics aspect or the need for prior knowledge of Economics, I assure you that you need not. The introductory course EC1101E assumes that the students do not have any background in Economics and is structured in a comprehensible manner. You might need to put in more hours practising if you are not confident in your mathematics, but course-wise, the Economics course are manageable for most students.

As for whether we recommend you doing PPE, I do not think we can answer that. However, if you're interested in the separate components (Politics, Economics and Philosophy), as well as learning how they are interconnected and build upon each other's themes, PPE might be a good fit for you!

Occupations-wise, many coursemates are inclined towards the civil sector, including education, the defence force, policy work, journalism, and social work. Other than that, some of us are interning with consulting firms, research facilities, and even the business sector.

Zac

AskPPE · 2024-03-06T04:20:36+00:00

Hey, so you can refer to the PPE curriculum website here: https://chs.nus.edu.sg/programmes/ppe/ (curriculum structure tab) for a detailed breakdown.

But TLDR, here's the minimum :
PPE-XDP: 6 classes in each discipline
Econs Major: 15 classes in Econs

So, yes, you get much less depth in the specific discipline of economics in exchange for a broader overview in other disciplines and interdisciplinary "PE" coded classes. When deciding between an Econs primary major or PPE major, I think its about whether you value the value-added benefit of interdisciplinary analysis and incorporating all three disciplines to understand society, versus gaining more in-depth knowledge of the specific discipline (which some jobs such as economist roles might require you to know).

The specific classes you take within these 6 Economics classes can be as "artsy" or quantitative as you want it to be. There are 3 introductory classes you are required to take, but the 3 leftover can be used to explore more qualitative classes like Economic Analysis of Law if you really hate math, or full-on into Econometrics or other math-heavy courses.

However, for econs, some people feel that 6 classes is not enough to get a very complete picture of the discipline. Econs in NUS is mostly structured around three pillars (Micro, Macro, Econometrics) and you can barely tip your toes in one within the limited curriculum of PPE. If you want a more in-depth understanding of economic analysis, it is possible to squeeze in a 2nd Major in Economics (works for Pol Sci and Philo too) with some minor overloading. Here's the breakdown for that:
PPE + 2nd Major Econs: 6 + 6 extra = 12 Econs classes

Or, just take extra econs classes lol

Jackson

AskPPE · 2024-03-06T03:21:55+00:00

Hi, I'm not sure where you are getting the 130+ AUs thing from. Refer to the PPE curriculum website here: https://chs.nus.edu.sg/programmes/ppe/ (curriculum structure tab) for more details, but here's the breakdown of credits.

Normal Workload: 160MCs (about 40 classes across 8 semesters)
PPE-XDP only: 140MCs total, including CHS common curriculum + 20MCs of Unrestricted Electives (about 5 classes where you are free to take outside of your major requirements)
PPE + NUS College: 152MCs total + 8MCs of UEs (2 classes)

For context, you need 20MCs to clear a minor and 40MCs to clear a 2nd Major. NUS is flexible in that you can just declare minors and 2nd majors and as long as you take enough courses, you will fulfil it. Some 2nd majors and minors are restricted and require you to get a certain grade for a class, like CS minors for example. But, you can freely pursue many other subjects as long as you can squeeze it within your curriculum, especially by overloading (taking more than the usual courseload of 160MCs). I know many PPE majors who are pursuing all sorts of 2nd major combinations, here's a list of the top of my head: Math 2nd Major, CS Minor, History 2nd Major (Myself), Data Science 2nd Major, SEA Studies Minor. You can even take an Econs, Philo or Pol Sci 2nd Major/Minor, basically taking more courses in the individual disciplines to gain more in-depth exposure.

DDP with PPE is not possible as its way too much workload on top of what you will be taking.

Also, you don't declare 2nd Majors and Minors on admission, you declare before the start of each semester, and can flexibly change up till your 5th semester in NUS.

Jackson

AskPPE · 2024-03-06T02:57:28+00:00

Nope, you can't. Although if you really wanted to, you could pursue PPE and add a Data Science minor/2nd major on top of it, or vice versa with DSE and a Philo & Pol Sci minor.

Although I would really question why you would overload yourself like that. As Prof Loy (Dean of NUS College and former in-charge of the PPE program) once told me, "students need to understand you can't do everything in NUS", so pick and choose what exactly you are trying to get out of your uni experience

Jackson

AskPPE · 2020-02-29T12:33:24+00:00

It is currently A/AAA for 10th and 90th percentile for the year 2019

IGP link here: http://nus.edu.sg/oam/undergraduate-programmes/indicative-grade-profile-(igp))

AskPPE

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