The Past and Present of PPE at Renmin University of China

PPE is a program composed of three disciplines and is acclaimed as one of the top humanities and social sciences majors. Initially founded by Balliol College, Oxford, it has a history of over a century. The success of this program at Oxford has sparked a trend of offering PPE courses at many prestigious universities worldwide. This includes institutions such as LSE, UCL, Warwick, Manchester, Durham in the UK, Duke, Yale in the US, and Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University, Beijing Normal University, Wuhan University, and Nankai University in China. Currently, Fudan University also offers PPE, as well as institutions in countries like Canada, South Africa, and Australia. Over 140 universities worldwide offer PPE programs.

At Renmin University of China, PPE integrates the most advantageous resources from three domestic disciplines: the School of Philosophy, the School of Economics, the School of Applied Economics, and the School of International Relations. These four top-ranking domestic disciplines are brought together, forming a powerful alliance, ensuring the quality of talent cultivation.

With an assembly of distinguished scholars, Renmin University's PPE program adopts small class teaching. With talent gathered from the four schools, including renowned professors, such as Changjiang Scholars, national-level distinguished teachers, and young backbone teachers, as well as some internationally renowned professors and outstanding overseas teachers from top universities, Renmin's PPE offers over 20% of its core courses in English. Many members of the PPE teaching team have received honors such as National Model Teacher, Beijing Municipal Teaching Master, National Excellent Teaching Achievement Award, National Excellent Course, National Planned Textbook, Baogang Excellent Teacher, Ministry of Education's "Youth Teacher Award," first prize in the Beijing division of the Basic Skills Competition for Young Teachers in the Humanities group, Renmin University's top ten teaching exemplars, and Renmin University's Teaching Excellence Award, among others. Over the past five years, 99% of the classes have achieved excellent scores (90 points and above) in undergraduate classroom teaching quality assessments. Several courses have been listed as national-level and provincial-level demonstration courses and open courses, earning the title of "gold courses" widely praised by students on campus.

Management of PPE students at Renmin University of China falls under the responsibility of the School of Philosophy, with the concerted efforts of the four schools. This arrangement is not only due to Renmin's recognition of philosophy as the fundamental methodological basis of PPE but also because the School of Philosophy initiated the PPE program. Professor Yao Xinzhong of the School of Philosophy is the founder of Renmin University's PPE program. Upon entering the university, each student is not only assigned a class teacher but also a mentor for personalized guidance, assisting students in their academic studies, life, and future career planning.

Emphasizing internationalization, Renmin University's PPE program has established partnerships with several top international universities, enhancing international exchanges and cooperation for PPE students. The School of Philosophy, the School of International Relations, and the Schools of Economics and Applied Economics have stable academic cooperation relationships with numerous well-known domestic and foreign universities and research institutions. Through these cooperation platforms, PPE students have excellent opportunities for international study and cooperation experiences. Renmin University's School of Philosophy has signed a formal cooperation agreement with Hertford College of Oxford University, UK. Outstanding undergraduate PPE students will have the opportunity to study abroad at Oxford University for a one-year exchange program. Before the pandemic, some PPE students could participate in short-term exchange visits to Oxford University, the University of Warwick, and the University of Manchester in their sophomore fall semester, engaging in activities such as attending lectures and exchanging ideas with local PPE students and teachers.

Renmin University's PPE program has also established stable cooperation and exchange platforms with universities such as University College London, the University of Warwick, the University of Manchester, and King's College London in the UK, as well as with PPE programs at Yale University in the US and the Australian National University, among others. Renmin University attaches great importance to the internationalization of student education. Undergraduate students have a wide range of colorful exchange programs to choose from. A prominent feature of PPE students is their international perspective. For example, in the years 2016 and 2017, 27 students went to overseas universities such as Harvard University, the University of Oxford, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Davis, for study exchanges. Over 50% of the 2015 cohort of PPE students studied at top foreign universities during their undergraduate studies. A significant proportion of PPE students receive exchange offers and opportunities for further study at top foreign universities, which is a recognition of Renmin University's PPE program.

Renmin University's PPE program serves as a demonstration platform for the construction of PPE programs in domestic universities. In 2018, Renmin's PPE program won the national-level teaching achievement award in higher education, a recognition of its talent cultivation model at the national level. Fudan University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, East China Normal University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Nanjing Normal University, Shaanxi Normal University, Inner Mongolia University, among others, have visited Renmin University to exchange experiences and discuss PPE projects. This has had a positive leading and demonstration effect among domestic universities, effectively promoting the development of PPE projects and interdisciplinary majors in China.