Experimental Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics (PPL): the best degree you’ve never heard of (Expert Oxford Application Advice)
When I started my application to Oxford, I had never heard of PPL – and the first time I did, I thought it stood for ‘philosophy, politics, and law’. It was introduced to me through a tutor at my college who herself had studied psychology at Oxford, and who thought that my combined passion for science and humanities would make me a solid candidate for PPL.
The first thing to know about PPL is that, despite what the name suggests, it is almost universally studied as a dual-, and not triple-, honours degree.
In fact, when you apply to PPL you select the two parts that you’re interested in studying (Psych-Phil; Psych-Ling; Phil-Ling), and apply as that type of candidate. The only way you can actually study all three parts of PPL is by applying for special permission from your college after you’ve already been accepted onto the course. During my time at Oxford, I only knew two people who applied to study all three parts – and both quickly discovered that the workload (which is already heavy as a dual-honours course), becomes pretty much insane when attempting a triple-honours. PPL is not like PPE. While PPE covers the contents of three subjects, often studied as two, it is ultimately one unified degree. Comparatively, a tutor once described studying Psych-Phil (my combination from PPL) as studying 75% of two separate degrees. Indeed, if you study the psychology part of PPL, you sit the same exams that the pure experimental psychology students sit; which means you need just as much background knowledge of psychology in order to be able to compete academically.
Juggling two subjects which straddle both science and humanities can be difficult to wrap your head around at first – particularly when you consider things like differences in essay styles, let alone differences (and occasionally contradictions!) in course content. While Oxford attempts to make the two sides as complementary as possible by limiting what philosophy options you can take (e.g. philosophy of mind, cognitive science, knowledge and reality, linguistics, etc.), this only helps a little: and can actually be quite frustrating. Generally speaking, however, PPL is one of the most diverse and flexible degrees offered at Oxford. Once you’ve completed your first year (which is only two terms long, with your first year exams being sat at the end of the second term), you begin to make choices which will dictate how you specialize in your studies, how you will weight your course, and when you want to study certain modules. In the last two years of my degree, my psychology lectures became progressively smaller (with my smallest lecture series – conscious awareness and psychophysics – only having seven students), and well over half of my philosophy tutorials were one-on-one.
Choosing your path
When deciding which two components of PPL that you’d like to study, it’s important to bear in mind the demands of the different subjects: psychology at Oxford is a science and is taught as such. There is a reason that the requirements for PPL include a (strong) suggestion of at least one science (including psychology and mathematics), English language or another language to A-level or equivalent. If you don’t enjoy science, the psychology component probably isn’t for you (and psychology A-level is not representative of what university a-level is like). If you’re contemplating psychology, but haven’t read very much, I would suggest reading a combination of ‘pop-psychology’ books (such as ‘Delusions of Gender’ by Cordelia Fine, or ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat’ by Oliver Sacks) and research papers in your fields of interest – it’s always good to be able to pull out a (recently published!) research paper during your interview.
Despite its reputation for being a somewhat hand-wavy (and theoretically easy) discipline, philosophy requires a great deal of rigorous thought and logic in order to do well. While some people do get by on doing the bare minimum and relying on their general intelligence and their ability to argue, the people who tend to get higher academic scores take the time to deconstruct philosophical methodology. Philosophy is not so much about content as it is about the application of that content and the thought style which goes along with that. I could genuinely write an essay on philosophical methodology, so if you would like to hear more about it, then please do get in touch! If you’d like a bite-sized intro to modern philosophy, I recommend Julian Baggini’s ‘The Pig Who Wants to be Eaten’.
Linguistics is not the study of a language so much as the study of languages in general. This includes topics such as the structure of languages, how languages develop (e.g. psycholinguistics), experimental phonetics, comparative philology, and how people understand, mentally represent, and generate language. While linguistics belongs to the humanities department at Oxford, it is unique in that it includes two scientific research laboratories; the Phonetics Laboratory and the Language and Brain Laboratory. If you’re unsure whether you’re interested in linguistics, I recommend getting hold of a copy of ‘The Language Instinct’ by Steven Pinker.
Listen to your gut instincts when deciding on the combination you want to pursue. If you reading ‘experimental psychology, philosophy and linguistics’ and immediately go ‘philosophy and linguistics? That sounds awesome!’, then that’s probably the combination for you. Don’t try to play the system. If your reason for choosing psychology over linguistics is because you think psychology is more employable, this will hurt your application – not because wanting to be employed is a bad thing, but because your lack of passion for the subject will be picked up on by the tutor. Without a love for your course, it’s unlikely you’ll do well at Oxford.
The final (and very important) consideration to make is which Colleges offer the variant of the course that you want – not all Colleges do!
Interviewing for PPL
I’ve got some bad news for those of you thinking of applying to philosophy and linguistics; you’ve got to interview for psychology too. Comparatively, if you’re applying for Psych-Phil or Psych-ling, you are only interviewed for the two subjects you’ve applied to. Don’t let this put you off though – the tutors interviewing Phil-Ling students do know that they’re not psychologists, and do give you a hefty benefit of the doubt. However, having some understanding of the scientific method (i.e. research methodology) and how it applies to psychology – particularly in areas of social study – will be very helpful.
There are two important things to remember when interviewing for PPL: conveying your passion, and your thought process. The questions tutors ask during your interview always have one of two motivations behind them – getting to know you as a person or getting to know the way that you think. Practice breaking down interview questions and isolating the important parts of the question – then verbalizing the thought process behind your answer. As long as you can argue your point, there are no wrong answers. It’s not about what you argue, it’s about how you argue it. That being said, try not to set yourself up for failure – don’t argue something extreme (like that Hitler had a point – don’t laugh, I know someone who did that) just for the shock value.
Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. If there’s a word you’re unfamiliar with, ask them to define it. If the tutor asks you a question that you have no idea how to answer, don’t panic – just ask them to rephrase the question, or rephrase the question yourself back to them. It will buy you time to think, rather than sitting there in awkward silence. This comes with practice.
Be prepared for different colleges interview in different ways. I had two interviews at Brasenose (one philosophy and one psychology, each lasting about 20 minutes), and one extended combined interview at Christ Church, which lasted about 45 minutes. Some colleges base their interviews on your personal statement, but many don’t even bring it up.
Final Thoughts
Joint philosophy and psychology at Oxford can be challenging, and frustrating, and a lot of work. But it is also positively fascinating. I have had the opportunity to discover and study areas I didn’t even know existed before beginning my degree, and have ultimately found my calling. It can be a love-hate relationship at times, but either way, this degree cultivates passion. And it’s this passion that the tutors look for when interviewing you for the course. They’re not looking for someone who has all the answers – there would be no point in teaching you if you knew everything already – but rather someone who is teachable: someone who listens and adapts, who engages with the material and will be self-motivated to learn. I swore at my interviewers several times when I was interviewed, then was told later by my tutors that at least they knew I’d be fun to teach. The very best preparation you can have for applying and interviewing to PPL is exploring your love for the subjects, and being sure that you want to dedicate the next three years of your life to studying them.
Try to relax and enjoy the experience of interviewing as much as possible. Ultimately, you’ll be given an offer, or you won’t – either way, your interview is something you’ll remember and tell funny anecdotes about for years to come.
FAQs
Does PPL come with BPS accreditation?
If you weight your degree so that psychology makes up at least 50% of your course, and so that you cover the BPS curriculum, and assuming you achieve at least a second class honours, you will receive accreditation conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the BPS. This lays the foundation for if you want to pursue clinical psychology.
Do the subjects actually complement each other?
Yes and no. In terms of content, yes; in terms of e.g. essay writing and reading styles, no. There is a massive amount of perspective that can be gained from studying any variation of PPL together, as long as you have an open mind to see the connections. However, recognizing the differences in essay-styles can be challenging at first – try to get a tutor (or me; I’ve got a fair amount of experience) to talk you through structure and stylization in your first term. It’ll help in the long run.
Do I need to have studied psychology/philosophy/linguistics before applying?
Nope! In fact, sometimes studying the subjects before applying can hurt your application because your opinion of the subjects, and how you think about them, will be heavily influenced by your teachers – and sometimes they’re wrong!
What do you think I should read for the interview?
Whatever interests you. Go to the ‘philosophy/psychology/linguistics section of your local library or bookstore and have a browse. Find something that captures your interest, and give it a read. You’re much more likely to impress a tutor with your passion and initiative than with your ability to regurgitate reading lists.
Do I need a fluent language for linguistics?
Not at all. A comprehensive grasp of one language is enough.
This article was written by Fiona (Oxford - Philosophy, Psychology & Linguistics).
If you find this content useful, please visit Fiona's profile for further information on applying to Oxbridge. Alternatively, book support now with Fiona, using the form below.
Author: Fiona - Oxford
BA Philosophy, Experimental Psychology & Linguistics
I have a long-standing history with teaching – including working as a teaching assistant and guest lecturer at Tsinghua University and acting as a personal tutor for a student with learning disabilities through their dissertation.
