4 ms·

In the UK most universities don't really have the concept of 'major' and 'minor' - you simple have your degree, which might involve you doing other learning aro

In the UK most universities don't really have the concept of 'major' and 'minor' - you simple have your degree, which might involve you doing other learning around the subject. In this context, 'degree' and 'course' are often used interchangeably. 'Degree Course' in UK English is perhaps equivalent to 'Degree Program' in US. To be perhaps more pedantic, your 'degree' might be the subject ('I have a Degree in Computer Science'), whereas your course would be the particular program ('I took the University of Bristol's Computer Science course'). In this instance, the commentor is referring to not just any PPE Degree qualification, but the PPE Course at Oxford.

thaumasiotes 13y ago
I find your comment somewhat confusing. As I read it, you say that your 'degree' is the subject (this is also true in the US; 'degree' can be used with exactly the same semantics as 'major') and the 'course' refers to the university you studied at. But the comment I replied to refers specifically to "one course at one university", which implies that those are separate dimensions of variation; the same course might exist at different universities. In US usage, that's not surprising; lots of colleges have e.g. a "remedial algebra" course. If 'course' refers to the subject, that's also not surprising; lots of colleges will let you earn a degree in math (though not, one hopes, if you had to take remedial algebra). But if a 'course' is defined by the university that houses it, it cannot possibly exist at more than one university. My main point is that it's not even mildly surprising that students from Oxford should be disproportionately present in the UK government or anywhere else of significance. I have a feeling that, as important as the effect of a PPE degree may be, the effect of an Oxford degree is much stronger. My minor point was that even after considering Oxford vs. no-name, it's not particularly surprising to see people with politics degrees going into politics.

thaumasiotes 13y ago

I find your comment somewhat confusing. As I read it, you say that your 'degree' is the subject (this is also true in the US; 'degree' can be used with exactly the same semantics as 'major') and the 'course' refers to the university you studied at. But the comment I replied to refers specifically to "one course at one university", which implies that those are separate dimensions of variation; the same course might exist at different universities. In US usage, that's not surprising; lots of colleges have e.g. a "remedial algebra" course. If 'course' refers to the subject, that's also not surprising; lots of colleges will let you earn a degree in math (though not, one hopes, if you had to take remedial algebra). But if a 'course' is defined by the university that houses it, it cannot possibly exist at more than one university. My main point is that it's not even mildly surprising that students from Oxford should be disproportionately present in the UK government or anywhere else of significance. I have a feeling that, as important as the effect of a PPE degree may be, the effect of an Oxford degree is much stronger. My minor point was that even after considering Oxford vs. no-name, it's not particularly surprising to see people with politics degrees going into politics.