Pending regulatory approval, the University of Sydney will offer a Bachelor of Politics Philosophy and Economics (BPPE) in 2025, following nine other Australian universities who now offer the degree founded by Oxford University in 1921.
In the submission to the Undergraduate Studies Committee which cut or merged 25 Philosophy units to remain “compliant with curriculum sustainability principles,” the University references the new degree.
The changes to the Philosophy major include a new interdisciplinary project unit ‘BPPE3999 Politics, Philosophy, and Economics Project’ which students will take “if you are completing this major [Philosophy] within a BPPE.”
The degree is also referenced in the 2025 Undergraduate Student Guide with a predicted ATAR admission score of 91.
Honi understands three other new units will be offered alongside the course which will be explicitly for the degree: BPPE1000 ‘Politics and Philosophy’, BPPE2000 ‘Economics and Political Economy’, and BPPE3000 ‘Philosophy and Political Economy’.
These generalised units will function as interdisciplinary units and accordingly, BPPE students will not be required to take FASS1000 or FASS3999. The students will also be exempt from a minimum OLE requirement.
PPE degrees have been increasingly offered at Australian universities. The University of Wollongong was the first to offer the program in 2015. ANU introduced the degree in 2016 with UNSW, the University of Western Australia, and Deakin University following in 2019, 2021, and 2023 respectively.
The course is also growing in popularity among students. Over 80 students are enrolled in a PPE degree at UNSW and ANU and at Deakin University there are around 48 students enrolled despite the course only being open to new students in the first Trimester of this year.
Unlike other Australian PPE degrees, the University of Sydney is also offering a political economy as a specialisation.
A spokesperson for the University initially declined to answer specific questions on the unit offerings and expected enrolment in the degree, citing a TEQSA regulation that prevents them from publicly advertising a degree that has not received a Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) code.
However, a spokesperson for the University confirmed to Honi today that a CRICOS has been obtained, saying in a statement that “the expected intake for 2025 is 60 students and projected to grow to 100 or more by 2026.”
The launch of the BPPE will be alongside six other humanities degrees which include a ‘Bachelor of Languages’ and ‘Bachelor of International Studies’ as well as new double degree combinations.
The spokesperson told Honi that the university “has the broadest and deepest Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in the country” and that the new choices “will provide students with unique study options to meet their academic and career needs.”
These degrees are being introduced in the context of increasingly pressure the humanities in Australia. Besides cuts to Philosophy, the University merged ‘Politics and International Relations’ with ‘International and Global Studies’ last year.
SRC President Harrison Brennen was cautiously optimistic about the new degree telling Honi that a “a return toward to specialised degree’s (such as BPPE) is welcomed, and acknowledges the failings of previous decisions (from 2016-2018) to erase specific bachelor degrees in favour of the Bachelor of Advanced Studies, now defunct and unaccredited.”
Brennen supported removal of the OLE and FASS unit requirements arguing that the policy “is a step in the right direction and should be expanded to all other Bachelor degrees,” where both are “widely unpopular.”
“It is good to see the University including all the relevant disciplines in the creation of this degree, including Political Economy. However, the devil is in the details as to whether this form of PPE will be appreciated by students,” he said.
