This nine credit certificate is designed to provide the intellectual training to analyze moral arguments and apply clear, effective moral reasoning to professional problems in technology, medicine, the law and other professions.  Applied topics may include AI ethics, global consumption, immigration or medical ethics.  Students will also study the core ethical and political theories that have shaped our moral and legal institutions; for example, virtue ethics, natural law theory, human rights and the social contract tradition.
The Certificate of Achievement in Ethics and Society is ideal for students entering a wide variety of fields where reasoning about values is important, including education, technology, government, law enforcement, medical fields and any field where critical thinking, communication skills and humanistic analysis are assets.

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

As a result of completing the requirements for  this certificate, students will:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the main concepts and theories of ethics and political philosophy (examples will include some of the following:  rights theory, utilitarianism, Kantian deontology, virtue ethics, care ethics, social contract, liberty, equality and natural law).
2. Apply these concepts and theories to case studies and contemporary moral, social and political issues (e.g., state power, immigration, medical ethics, free speech, LGBTQ rights or economic justice).
3. Evaluate conclusions on value-related topics with awareness of the degree to which these conclusions are supported by good evidence and logical argument.

Suggested Course Sequence