Ethics Minor

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Offered by the Philosophy Department, the minor in ethics provides students with opportunities to explore questions of value, justice, responsibility and the moral life, while simultaneously mastering philosophical approaches to ethics that are foundational for discussions of ethical issues in other ﬁelds, such as law, economics and public policy. The minor is designed to equip students with a strong foundation in ethics, along with transferable skills in reasoning, analysis, and the critical evaluation of complex issues, positions and arguments.

Students take five courses for the minor. Courses are offered in ethical and political theory, in applied and practical ethics, and on specialized topics such as bioethics, liberty and philosophy of law.

By double counting certain courses, the minor in ethics is easily combined with complementary majors and minors, including environmental studies, human rights, law and legal reasoning, political science, public policy, religious studies, and women’s and gender studies.

Requirements for the Minor

The minor in ethics requires at least 15 credit hours of coursework, including at least four courses (12 hours) in philosophical ethics. Three of the required courses in philosophical ethics (9 hours) must come from the department’s advanced sequence in ethics (PHIL 3370–PHIL 3389), and the fourth (3 hours) must come from that same sequence or from the department’s introductory sequence in ethics (PHIL 1316–PHIL 1325). Upon petition to the chair of the department, other philosophy courses — including PHIL 3310 and PHIL 4393 — may fulﬁll the foregoing requirements provided their topics and contents are suitable. The remaining course (3 hours) must come from the department’s ethics courses, the department’s non-ethics courses, or a list of approved courses offered by other departments.

It is recommended that each student minoring in ethics take one course from the department’s introductory sequence in ethics (PHIL 1316–1325), along with at least one course in ethical or political theory (PHIL 1316 , PHIL 3371 , PHIL 3372 , PHIL 3380 ).

Core Courses (12 Credit Hours)

Four courses from the following list, with at least 9 credit hours (three courses) at the 3000-level or above.

Elective Course (3 Credit Hours)

One additional core course from the list above, or one additional PHIL course, or one course from the following list:

Total: 15 Credit Hours

Notes:

Students majoring in philosophy may not minor in ethics.
Students may not count both PHIL 1318 and PLSC 4371 toward the minor in ethics.

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Ethics Minor

Requirements for the Minor

Core Courses (12 Credit Hours)

Elective Course (3 Credit Hours)

Total: 15 Credit Hours