Bachelor of Arts Degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics
 

The King’s College program in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) weaves together the academic disciplines that examine the nature of human communities. Politics deals with the question, “How should we govern ourselves?” Philosophy asks, “What can we know through reason?” And economics asks, “How can the community prosper within the constraints of the material world?” Oxford University created the first PPE degree in 1920. Since then, some two dozen colleges and universities have adopted the idea and developed their own versions of it. The King’s College PPE program takes its inspiration from this tradition, but has its own distinct content. PPE at The King’s College has three particular distinctions. First, it is built on the Common Core. All King’s College students, not just those studying PPE, take a sequence of 20 courses that are designed to give students a firm grounding in politics, philosophy, and economics, as well as in history, theology, statistics, and writing. Second, all PPE courses at The King’s College have a strong theological component. It is based on the idea that Christianity gives powerful insights into the key questions that political theorists, philosophers, and economists pursue. Third, students in the PPE program prepare for public debate and advocacy. The curriculum places persuasive writing and speaking at the center of nearly every course. The aim is to prepare graduates who are not just knowledgeable about the world, but ready to act in the world.
Course		Year	Term	Title	Credits
YEAR 1					CREDITS
POL	110	1	Fall	Introduction to Politics*	3
ENG	110	1	Fall	College Writing I	3
HIS	111	1	Fall	History of the West I	3
REL	112	1	Fall	Introduction to Old Testament	3
URB	110	1	Fall	Introduction to the City*	3
				Fall Total	15
ECO	110	1	Spring	Introduction to Economics*	3
ENG	120	1	Spring	College Writing II   (ENG 110)	3
HIS	112	1	Spring	History of the West II	3
REL	111	1	Spring	Introduction to New Testament Literature	3
PHL	110	1	Spring	Logic*	3
				Spring Total	15
				YEAR 1 CREDITS	30
YEAR 2					CREDITS
POL	215	2	Fall	American Political Thought and Practice I   (POL 110)	3
ECO	210	2	Fall	Macroeconomics*   (ECO 110)	3
REL	212	2	Fall	Foundations of Judeo-Christian Thought*   (REL 111)	3
ENG	253	2	Fall	Persuasive Writing*   (ENG 120)	3
ELEC		2	Fall	Open Elective	3
				Fall Total	15
POL	216	2	Spring	American Political Thought and Practice II   (POL 110)	3
ECO	211	2	Spring	Microeconomic*   (ECO 110)	3
MAT	274	2	Spring	Statistics	3
ELEC		2	Spring	Open Elective	3
ELEC		2	Spring	Open Elective	3
				Spring Total	15
				YEAR 2 CREDITS	30
YEAR 3					CREDITS
PHL	313	3	Fall	Classical and Medieval Philosophy   (POL 110)	3
HIS	315	3	Fall	American Political Thought and Practice III   (POL 110)	3
ECO	311	3	Fall	History of Economic Thought	3
POL	351	3	Fall	Constitutional Law   (POL 216)	3
ELEC		3	Fall	Open Elective	3
				Fall Total	15
PHL	314	3	Spring	Modern Philosophy   (PHL 313)	3
SCI	312	3	Spring	Scientific Reasoning   (PHL 110)	3
POL	312	3	Spring	Enlightenment and Liberal Democracy   (PHL 313, HIS 112)	3
POL	452	3	Spring	Political Economy   (ECO 211)	3
ELEC		3	Spring	Open Elective	3
				Spring Total	15
				YEAR 3 CREDITS	30
YEAR 4					CREDITS
PHL	361	4	Fall	Ethics	3
PHL ELEC		4	Fall	PHL 412: Theories of Human Nature or PHL 351: Culture and Aesthetics	3
POL ELEC		4	Fall	POL 352: Public Policy, POL 451: Civil Rights, POL 452: Statesmanship, or POL 454: American Foreign Policy	3
ELEC		4	Fall	PPE Elective of Choice	3
ELEC	452	4	Fall	Open Elective	3
				Fall Total	15
PHL	312	4	Spring	Philosophical Apologetics   (PHL 110, REL 212)	3
ECO ELEC		4	Spring	ECO 453: The Global Economy or ECO 451: Public Choice	3
PPE	451	4	Spring	PPE Elective or Senior Thesis	3
ELEC		4	Spring	Open Elective	3
ELEC		4	Spring	Open Elective	3
				Spring Total	15
				YEAR 4 CREDITS	30
				TOTAL FOR DEGREE	120

The Common Core component of the PPE program introduces students to the fundamental principles of the three disciplines, plus theology. Upper level courses in the PPE major focus on contemporary issues and more advanced topics. The program, however, is completely integrated. As students advance in their sophistication with the ideas and techniques of the three disciplines, basic questions raised during freshman year are raised again.

In the discipline of politics, PPE students study the constitutional history of the United States from its founding up to and including the expansion of civil rights. Students also consider the hallmarks of statesmanship by examining various plays by Shakespeare as well as the writings of great statesmen such as John Adams and Abraham Lincoln. American foreign policy presents real world challenges for the United States in this time of international volatility. PPE students study these challenges with the goal of assessing and determining future policy decisions as they relate to the international community.

In the discipline of philosophy, PPE students study the major theories that form the systematic treatment of ethics, including the nature of values, considerations of human freedom, and the sources of moral goodness and moral evil. Aesthetics, the human capacity to perceive beauty and ugliness, equips PPE students with the ability to understand how the arts can both reflect and instigate cultural change. Students explore New York’s museums, architecture, music and other arts to develop aesthetic perception as well as critical competence.

In the discipline of economics, PPE students study how economic analysis can be applied to the role and function of government, governmental decision-making, and the interaction between public and private interests. Further study concentrates on the choices that political states face regarding economic management as well as the limits that markets place on such policies.

An additional course in Persuasive Writing builds a strong foundation for rhetorical skills. And in addition to the required courses, all PPE students take eight electives.

Students may choose, however, to use five of their electives to take a concentration. The King’s college offers PPE students four concentrations: Theology, Media, Literature and Foundations of Education. Each concentration introduces disciplines or fields of study that students may pursue in graduate school or as a career. PPE students may also take courses within a concentration without taking the whole five-course sequence.

*These courses are offered in both the Fall and the Spring semesters. Students may take them in either term.
** Courses in bold (POL 110 and ENG 120) must be taken at Kings. No transfer credit accepted.

While the Bachelor of Arts program in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics may be started at the beginning of any semester, students should be aware that not all courses will be offered each semester.

While completing this course of study, the following requirements must be met:

1. No fewer than 60 of the semester hours of coursework must be earned at The King’s College, and these 60 hours of credit must include at least 48 semester hours within the PPE program.
2. The successful candidate for this degree must have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 in all work completed at The King’s College. In addition, all students must maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA in the courses that are a part of the Common Core.
3. A student must obtain a grade of C or higher in both ENG 110, College Writing I, and ENG 120, College Writing II, within his first three semesters of attendance. Failure to do so will result in dismissal from the College.
4. The successful candidate must satisfactorily complete all the requirements for Interregnum.
5. The successful candidate for the BA degree must obtain approval for graduation from the Office of the Registrar and upon vote of the faculty.