<p>I'm interested in both of them, and PPE is one of my potential majors.</p>
<p>I've heard that CMC has a stronger PPE program, and I want to verify whether this is true or not. Can anyone please compare the two PPE programs in specific terms? (courses, profs, workload, etc.)</p>
<p>The PPE program at CMC is based on Oxford’s PPE program. You have tutorials in each area of concentration which consists of one professor and 2 students (very intense). You have to apply to be admitted in your sophomore year (fall) and the enrollment is very limited (12-15 students per year). It is an excellent program.
[Department:</a> - Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) - Claremont McKenna College - acalog ACMS?](<a href=“Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) - Claremont McKenna College - Acalog ACMS™”>Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) - Claremont McKenna College - Acalog ACMS™)</p>
<p>Pomona also has a PPE program but it is not a tutorial. I do not think there is a separate application process (non-competitive).
[Department:</a> - Philosophy, Politics and Economics - Pomona College - Acalog ACMS?](<a href=“Philosophy, Politics and Economics - Pomona College - Acalog ACMS™”>Philosophy, Politics and Economics - Pomona College - Acalog ACMS™)</p>
<p>If you are very interested in PPE I would recommend CMC, however there is no guaruntee you will get into the program.</p>
<p>NewEnglandMother did a good job of describing the program. I have quoted two of the PPE professors, because I thought it might help to illustrate the differences between the PPE programs at CMC and Pomona. Interestingly, the latter quote was written in 1999. Also, although the PPE program at CMC is competitive, it tends to be self-selecting. I am not a 100% sure of this, but I think 28 students applied last year and 14 were accepted. So, it may not be as difficult to get into the program as one might think.</p>
<p>“The program is not entirely unique to Claremont McKenna. Pomona, too, has its own PPE program. Their program runs much differently, however. Before coming to CMC five years ago, Professor Hurley was a PPE coordinator at Pomona for 16 years. Hurley describes the Pomona PPE major as a triple minor without any tutorial component. Students do not have to apply to the program as there are not a limited number of spots since the Pomona program does not require extensive professor involvement. Pomona students take various classes in the fields of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, but there are no overarching classes that constitute the PPE major. Hurley views this as a major flaw in the program, mentioning that “there were seniors there who didn’t know the other PPE majors.” Thus, Pomona lacks the cohesiveness in their PPE program that makes the CMC program so attractive to some.”</p>
<p>2nd quote written in 1999:</p>
<p>"The program core is highly structured, unlike Pomona’s PPE program, where there is no limit on number of majors, students choose from a wide menu of courses, and until recently there was no tutorial and very little shared learning experience or group interaction (Pomona PPE now has senior seminars for majors). It also differs from Harvard and Williams departmental tutorials, which emphasize individual directed reading and writing but not group interaction. We limit admission to the program to 12-14 students per class, require what amounts to the same six core classes for everyone in the same class, and lay heavy stress on group interaction. With such a small group, we can ask more than the normal output of reading, writing, discussion, analysis, and debate; we can arrange many joint activities outside of class; and we can give them a larger share of attention, intensity, and attachment than would otherwise be possible.</p>
<p>Over its 15-year history, this high intensity has had uncommonly high payoffs. PPE has contributed more than its share of CMC’s Truman Scholars (3 of our last 5), Watson Fellows, Rotary Scholars, and Rhodes state finalists (several in recent years), J.P. Morgan interns (3 of the 50 they took in 1996 were from CMC, all PPE), and Harvard and Yale Law School and Harvard Business School acceptances (several in recent years). 5% of the women in the Yale Law School Class of ’01 are CMC PPE graduates. Several more have gone to Harvard’s Kennedy School, its school of Arts and Sciences, and its Architecture School. Many are successful lawyers and businessmen. At least five are CEO’s. Two or three are already college professors, one at Cornell. Others are on the way. One has written, produced, and acted in several plays here and abroad. One was televised last spring to ten million Japanese viewers, playing the part of Lady Macbeth. One has cut a CD of her own songs. One has been an underground investigative reporter, covering EST and race tensions at Glendale High School. One has written a book for the Hudson Institute on the impact of privately-funded charities. One set up the private-sector consortium to put every school in California on the net. One drew up the U.S. Department of Education’s master plan for the mid-1990’s. One is now an Arizona state representative. One is currently running for attorney-general of Montana.</p>