Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics
M.A. (4+1) Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science · UC Irvine · 2026-2027 Catalog
The goal of this program is to train students in three critically important and related approaches to understanding the social world around us. Philosophy develops analytic rigor and trains students to reason logically. Political science provides an understanding of how institutions impact modern societies and helps students evaluate the choices that such institutions regularly make. And economics is the study of how individuals, firms, and governments make decisions that together determine how resources are allocated. An appreciation of economics has increasingly become crucial for an understanding of institutional policy making. The objective of the M.A. in PPE is to prepare students for careers in government, law, private or public corporations, and non-profit organizations.
Admission
In order to be admitted to the program, undergraduate students must submit an application in the winter quarter of their third year. More information on the application process can be found on the PPE Program website
Requirements
The program of study can be divided into three stages: pre-requirements that must be met for admission into the program, undergraduate requirements to be completed before the end of the fourth year, and graduate requirements to be completed by the end of the fifth year.
Pre-Requirements
- MATH 2A and MATH 2B.
- Advancement toward completing a B.A. in one of the associated disciplines.
Undergraduate Requirements
- Completion of a B.A. in one of the associated disciplines.
- Three additional courses - including at least one upper-division course - in each of the two disciplines that are not the student's major.
Graduate Requirements
- Proseminar in PPE I, II, II.
- Six graduate courses approved by the director of the PPE program, two in each of the three areas.
The normative time to degree is four years in undergraduate study and one additional year as graduate students. A full description of the program can be found on the LPS Department Graduate Program website.