A minor in Ethics enables students to develop a strong sense of moral responsibility and critical skills for moral reflection. It consists of required courses in ethical theory, global ethics, current ethical issues, as well as electives in applied ethics - such as business ethics and communication ethics - which may relate to students’ majors. It also includes an internship experience to help students develop their ethical ability and awareness through service learning. Such a minor is an excellent complement to any major program.  As a result of completing the minor, students will be able to:

•    Identify and implement major moral theories from diverse traditions
•    Demonstrate an understanding of the cultural and historical embeddedness of ethical theories
•    Evaluate moral issues from a plurality of perspectives
•    Develop a capacity for critical moral reasoning
•    Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of given moral theories in dealing with contemporary ethical problems
•    Learn to account for one’s conduct within a larger community
•    Develop a sensitivity to the central moral issues in a given discipline and the capacity to act in a morally responsible manner

Course of Study (effective 9/21/13)

Required Courses (7 credits):

• PHIL 202 - Global Ethics: (5) OR
• PHIL 210 - Current Ethical Issues: (5)
• PHIL  485 – Capstone Project: (2)

Courses in Philosophical Ethics: (10 credits):

Choose two courses from the following:

• PHIL 302 - Ethical Theory: (5)
• PHIL 304 - Business Ethics: (5)
• PHIL 306 - Environmental Ethics: (5)
• PHIL 308 - Medical Ethics: (5)
• PHIL 402 - Ethics and Film: (5)
• PHIL 465 - Advanced Ethics: (5)

Electives: (8-10 credits)

No more than 5 credits can be taken from one discipline.

• COM 202 - Communication Ethics and the First Amendment (4)
• COM 333 - Communication Ethics: (4)
• IT 301 - Information Technology Security, Privacy, and Ethics: (3)
• LAJ 401 - Ethics, Diversity, and Conflict in Criminal Justice: (4) For LAJ majors only
• MSL 302 - Leadership and Ethics: (3) For military science majors only
• PHIL 325 – Women and Philosophy (5)
• PHIL 357 – Race, Class, and Gender (5)
• PHIL 345 – Chinese Philosophy (5)
• PHIL 402 – Ethics and Film (5)
• POSC 452 - The Constitution and Human Rights (5)
• POSC 475 - International Human Rights (5)
• RELS 353 – Judaism (5)
• RELS 354 – Christianity (5)
• RELS 355 – Islam (5)
• RELS 376 – Contemporary Religious Thought (5)
• RELS 401 – Daoist Tradition (5)
• RELS 403 – Buddhist Thought and Practice (5)
• SOC 320 - Death and Dying (5)
• SOC 354 - Minority Experience (5)

OR other ethics-related courses as approved by Minor advisor.
Special topics courses, cooperative education credit, and independent study courses may also count towards elective credit.

Total Credits: 25-27

For additional questions or advising, please contact: Dr. Michael Goerger (goergerm@cwu.edu).