All candidates must follow the application procedure as shown in how to apply. The information below gives specific details for students applying for this course.
Written work
You do not need to submit any written work when you apply for this course.
Written tests
All candidates must take the Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA), normally at their own school or college, on 6 November 2013. Separate registration for this test is required and the final deadline for entries is 15 October 2013. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure they are registered for this test. See www.tsaoxford.org.uk for further details.
What are tutors looking for?
Tutors will want to find out if you can think clearly and analytically. They are not so much concerned with what you know as how you think about it and how you use it. They will seek evidence of your interest in social and political concerns and your ability to discuss them critically. In addition to reading a good quality daily newspaper applicants may enjoy reading one or more of the following introductory texts.
There are many introductions to philosophy: Thomas Nagel’s What Does It All Mean? is a useful introduction. Martin Hollis’s An Invitation to Philosophy and Simon Blackburn’s Think are also recommended. If you have trouble finding these, or would like more suggestions, please feel free to contact the Faculty of Philosophy by email.
Politics is a very wide-ranging subject, encompassing both theoretical approaches and the study of real world institutions and processes. Jonathan Wolff’s An Introduction to Political Philosophy and Adrian Leftwich’s edited collection, What Is Politics? The Activity and Its Study, are useful introductions.
The best introduction to the use of economic analysis, whether or not you have studied Economics at school, is to read the economics and business pages of newspapers, particularly The Economist.
Selection criteria
Candidates may also wish to refer to the selection criteria for PPE.
