General Developments after 1945

Abstract

At their meeting in February 1945 the Social Studies Board appointed a Committee to discuss every aspect of PPE and to report what alternative possibilities there were for the future. The members were Professor H. J. Paton, Chairman of the Board, Professor H. H. Price, and D. M. MacKinnon (philosophy); Professor Cole and R. B. McCallum (politics) and H. D. Henderson and R. L. Hall (economics). They made three main recommendations:¹

• (i) The institution of a postgraduate course for each of the three subjects of the School leading possibly to a Bachelor of Philosophy (B.Phil.).

• (ii) Changes in the entrance requirements involving a Preliminary Examination with papers closely related to the scope of the Final Honours School.

• (iii) The possible introduction of an Honour Moderations for Social Studies of six papers, two from each side of the School. This would be taken after five Terms and would in effect turn PPE into a four-year School, comparable with Lit. Hum. It might be possible, however, to allow candidates who had taken the new Honour Moderations to take the Final School in four Terms, i.e. 9 Terms in all. Candidates who entered the Final Honour School after taking Honour Moderations might well be allowed to drop one subject. In the Committee’s mind this development was linked with the possibility of reducing the scope of the School.