Philosophy and Politics BA

University of Manchester · honours · 3 years · UCAS 4473course page ↗

ABB at A level, including at least one of the following A-Level subjects (preference will be given to applicants studying two of these subjects): Accounting; Economics; Finance; Business Studies; Development Studies;; graduates earn a median £26,500 three years on.

Typical A level offer
ABB

including at least one of the following A-Level subjects (preference will be given to applicants studying two of these subjects): Accounting; Economics; Finance; Business Studies; Development Studies; · 90% of entrants came with A levels · 95% stay on after year 1 · Manchester course page, Discover Uni

Year 13 · applying

What do you need to get in?

ABBtypical A level offer

Typical offer — the grades most applicants are asked for. Contextual offer: BBC, for applicants from under-represented backgrounds.

Manchester course page, read 19 September 2026 · Discover Uni entry profile

  1. 1including at least one of the following A-Level subjects (preference will be given to applicants studying two of these subjects): Accounting; Economics; Finance; Business Studies; Development Studies;
Who actually got in: 90% with A levels, 5% with the IB. 5% arrived with 208 or more UCAS tariff points — roughly A*A*A or better. Based on 50 entrants.

UCAS tariff points — a points scale for grades: A* = 56, A = 48, so A*A*A = 160. Entrants’ totals include extra subjects.

Other qualifications1
QualificationTypical offerRequired subjects
IB34 pointsin Higher Level subjects
Years 1–3

What do you study?

2compulsory modules in year 1, 38 optional

Module — one course unit, usually a term or a year long; “core” means everyone takes it. One UK credit is about ten hours of study; a full year is 120 credits.

Manchester course page · optional modules vary by year

Year 1 · 2 core, 38 optional · 40 credits ≈ 400 hours
38 optional modules
Year 2 · 0 core, 51 optional
51 optional modules
Year 3 · 0 core, 77 optional
77 optional modules
After graduating

Where does it lead?

£26,500median pay three years after graduating
Lower quarter£23k
Median£27k
Upper quarter£34k

Median — the middle earner: half earned more, half less. Pay is for graduates of this subject at this university who finished in 2016-18, not adjusted for inflation; based on 235 graduates.

Discover Uni dataset (HESA and Office for Students, CC BY 4.0, contains HESA data); earnings from the Longitudinal Education Outcomes data (Department for Education) · aggregation level 14, 13, 23

Half of graduates earned between £22,500 and £34,000. Five years on, the median is £36,000. 100% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing; 45% of those in work were in professional or managerial jobs.

All outcome figures7
MeasureValueBased on
Continue after year 15% left95%45
In work or study, 15 months on10% studying100%15
Professional or managerial job45%15
Pay 15 months on, median£28,00055
Pay 3 years on, median£26,500235
Pay 5 years on, median£36,000245
Money

What does it cost?

£9,790a year for UK students, 2026/27 entry

Tuition fee loan — paid straight to the university; repayments start the April after you leave, at 9% of income above the threshold. UK fees are capped by government and rise with inflation; placement and study-abroad years are usually charged at a lower rate.

Manchester fees page · source

About £29,370 in fees over 3 years, covered by a tuition fee loan you repay only when earning above the threshold. International students: £27,800 a year (2026/27).

National Student Survey 2025-26

What do students say?

83%agreed the course was good overall (question 26)

NSS — a yearly survey of final-year students at every UK university; 68% of this course’s final year answered. Small groups can swing a lot year to year.

National Student Survey, via Discover Uni · 25 students answered

Highest: 96% agreed on question 1; lowest: 50% on question 24.

All questions26
QuestionAgree
Question 196%
Question 288%
Question 392%
Question 488%
Question 592%
Question 688%
Question 796%
Question 876%
Question 988%
Question 1076%
Question 1176%
Question 1288%
Question 1384%
Question 1468%
Question 1596%
Question 1692%
Question 1788%
Question 1895%
Question 1984%
Question 2096%
Question 2188%
Question 2284%
Question 2376%
Question 2450%
Question 2578%
Question 2683%

Question texts are published by the Office for Students; the dataset carries only the question numbers.

Modules, entry requirements and fees are facts read from University of Manchester’s course page on 2026-09-19 and may change; the university’s page is authoritative. Descriptions are not reproduced. Outcome figures are from the Discover Uni dataset. University of Manchester is a trade mark of the university; sch.today is independent of it.