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Ethics Minor

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Ethics Minor

Ethics Minor

This interdisciplinary minor, housed in the Department of Philosophy, is designed to provide students with training in ethical reasoning, frameworks, and methods, as well as offer the opportunity to work in various fields of applied ethics. In addition to the requirements for the student’s major department the minor consists of 18 credits selected from a wide range of disciplines (e.g., philosophy, communication, engineering, law, psychology, sociology, anthropology, public policy, international studies, and environmental studies). Courses deal with ethics from various perspectives, for example research ethics, media ethics, environmental ethics, bioethics, and business ethics.

Students in the minor will choose from a broad range of 0-, 100-, and 400-level ethics-related courses offered in the Philosophy Department, and will have the chance to take up to two ethics-related courses outside the department. Some Philosophy ethics-related courses cover prominent and powerful historical and contemporary approaches to ethical decision-making and leadership; others cover specific problems in ethical thinking or applications to concrete areas of life. The minor will be suitable for students in almost any major, especially students going on to further academic work or careers in medicine, teaching and education, communication, business, law, the health or life sciences, health administration, public policy, politics, computer science, or engineering.

For more information, please contact an adviser in the Philosophy Department:
 (Undergraduate Advisor) or Christopher Moore (Director of Undergraduate Studies)

Minor Requirements

18 credits, at least 6 of which must be at the 400 level, and at least 12 of which must be in PHIL, and no more than 6 of which may be from the 0-level. See the University Bulletin page for more details.

Relevant PHIL 0-level courses

Individuals in Society Keystone/General Education Course 
Ethical Life Keystone/General Education Course 
Gender Matters Keystone/General Education Course 
Race, Racism, and Diversity Keystone/General Education Course 
Love and Sex

Relevant PHIL 100-level courses

Ethics Keystone/General Education Course 
Ethics Keystone/General Education Course 
Philosophy of Law Keystone/General Education Course 
Business Ethics Keystone/General Education Course 
Social and Political Philosophy Keystone/General Education Course 
Social and Political Philosophy Keystone/General Education Course 
Philosophy and Education Keystone/General Education Course 
Environmental Philosophy Keystone/General Education Course 
Ethical Leadership Keystone/General Education Course 
Knowing Right from Wrong Keystone/General Education Course 
Media Ethics Keystone/General Education Course 
Bioethics Keystone/General Education Course 
Ethics of Climate Change Keystone/General Education Course 
PHIL 134
Food Ethics 
Ethics in Jewish Tradition and Thought Keystone/General Education Course 
Happiness and Well-Being

Relevant PHIL 400-level courses

Environmental Ethics 
Philosophy of Law 
Business Ethics 
Technology and Human Values 
Social and Political Philosophy 
Ethics 
Topics in Ethical Theory 
Medical and Health Care Ethics 
African American Philosophy 
Ethics After the Holocaust

Relevant non-PHIL courses

Racism and Sexism 
Racial and Ethnic Inequality in America 
Politics of Affirmative Action 
Introduction into Ethics and Issues in Agriculture Keystone/General Education Course 
Cultural Diversity: A Global Perspective Keystone/General Education Course 
Language Rights, Policy, and Planning 
Living in an Increasingly Diverse Society 
Confucius and the Great Books of China 
Social and Ethical Environment of Business 
Social, Legal, and Ethical Environment of Business 
Socially Responsible, Sustainable and Ethical Business Practice 
Values and Ethics in Biobehavioral Health Research and Practice 
Power, Conflict, and Community Decision Making 
Banned Books: International and Comparative Perspectives Keystone/General Education Course 
Human Rights and World Literature Keystone/General Education Course 
Ethics, Justice, and Rights in World Literature 
Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Counseling 
Gender, Diversity and the Media Keystone/General Education Course 
Social Justice and the Image Keystone/General Education Course 
News Media Ethics 
Ethics and Regulation in Advertising and Public Relations 
Media Law and Ethics 
Telecommunications Ethics 
Race, Crime, and Justice 
Ethics in Criminal Justice 
Competing Rights: Issues in American Education Keystone/General Education Course 
Education, Schooling, and Values 
Diversity and Cultural Awareness Practices in the K-12 Classroom 
Alternative Voices in American Literature Keystone/General Education Course 
Sports, Ethics, and Literature Keystone/General Education Course 
Inequality: Economics, Philosophy, Literature Keystone/General Education Course 
Food, Values, and Health Keystone/General Education Course 
Arguing about Food 
Financial Ethics 
Environment, Power, and Justice Keystone/General Education Course 
Geographies of Justice 
Art and Science of Human Flourishing Keystone/General Education Course 
Values and Ethics in Health and Human Development Professions 
Family and Sex Roles in Modern History Keystone/General Education Course 
Antisemitisms 
Meaning, Ethics, and Movement 
Ethics in Sport and Sport Management 
Philosophy and Sport 
Ethics in the Workplace 
Business, Ethics, and Society 
Leadership and Ethics 
Professional Role Development II: Ethics, Legal and Genetic Issues 
Ethical Challenges in Healthcare Informatics 
Introduction to Political Theory Keystone/General Education Course 
Ethics in Citizenship, Politics, and Government Keystone/General Education Course 
Selected Works in the History of Political Theory 
Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Political Theories 
Modern and Contemporary Political Theories 
Foundations of American Political Theory 
Sex, Race, & Justice: The U.S. Supreme Court and Equality 
Introduction to Well-being and Positive Psychology Keystone/General Education Course 
The Psychology of Evil 
The Ethics of Western Religion Keystone/General Education Course 
Justice and the Environment 
Sexualities, Gender and Power: Feminist Thought and Politics Keystone/General Education Course 
Debates in Contemporary Feminism

How to Declare

You can declare the minor in ethics through your Student Center in Lion PATH. Please make sure you meet with an adviser to ensure appropriate course selection.

For more information about ethics, please visit the Rock Ethics Institute’s website: http://rockethics.psu.edu/