Study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Otago

Toby Black:

Hi, I’m Toby. I study Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Otago university. I chose the subject because of its wide range and opportunities to do what I wanted during the degree, and I’ve been really surprised by the flexibility of the course—choosing what I want to do in regards to the specific topics during the course. And I recommend it to anyone that was interested.

Professor Lisa Ellis:

Hi, I’m Lisa. I direct the PPE here at Otago. PPE is an old major—it started at Oxford for people to prepare to do public service. Since then it’s got a lot more modern. It is growing globally, although we’re the only PPE programme in New Zealand.

Our students do a really intense set of preparation to make them able to solve the world’s problems, and it’s both diverse and really intimate. So, for the first year, you do first-level papers in Philosophy and in Economics and in Politics. Some students also do Law, or they study languages, or they combine it with Natural Sciences.

In your second year—or if you’re doing a double in Law, in your third year—we do an intimate multidisciplinary seminar where we all get together and figure out how the disciplines work together. And then in third year we do a number of opportunities: not only high-level independent research, but also internships and study abroad and advanced work. The students are able to study what they want at that point. We’ve had people put together apps that help groups of students flat more sustainably. We’ve had people studying whether personal AIs deserve human rights. We’ve had people interested in how New Zealand’s economy can be made more resilient. PPE students are contributing every day to making the world better.

So students like Toby go on to a range of really amazing career paths. Some of our PPE students are advising the Mayor of New York City or the UK Reserve Bank. Many of them are working up in Wellington. Some of them are diplomats, others are management consultants. We have a number of bankers. Others have taken their own path. If you want to enjoy the resort at Westport, it will be a pair of PPE-ers serving as hosts. If you’re interested in moving an aeroplane across international borders in Europe, a PPE grad is your best option. So pretty much anything is possible with a PPE degree from Otago.