A collage of three photos of Philosophy students in various outdoor locations.

The Certificate in Ethics and Society offers students a broad background in ethics and social philosophy. The goal of the certificate is for students to navigate questions of social and ethical values on a wide range of issues, including the environment, AI, biomedical policy, animal rights, and reproductive justice. The program is structured to foster a deep understanding of both the philosophical foundations and the practical applications of ethics in the real world. Students have a wide range of courses in ethics from which to choose, so you can pick the issues most relevant to you. The certificate is open to students in any major or minor. 

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this certificate, students will be able to:

  1. Analyze the sources of agreement and disagreement among the major schools of thought in ethics.
  2. Apply ethical frameworks from each of the major schools of thought in ethics to solve ethical problems.
  3. Extract, analyze, and reconstruct arguments from major texts in ethics, both historical and contemporary.
  4. Evaluate ethical arguments in terms of both soundness and validity.
  5. Demonstrate the application of basic ethical concepts and principles to ethical problems.
  6. Explain the theoretical rationale behind principles in professional and practical ethics.
  7. Assess current challenges to ethics and describe current conflicts within ethics.
  8. Demonstrate skills in written and oral presentation; engage in fruitful oral discussion, debate, and formal presentations that are logically coherent, clearly and concisely stated, and accessible to their peers on topics within ethics.

Effective Fall 2026

Additional coursework may be required due to prerequisites.

PHIL 205Introduction to Ethics3
Select 9 credits from the following: 19
PHIL 103
Moral and Social Problems (GT-AH3)
PHIL 201/CS 201
Ethical Computing Systems (GT-AH3)
PHIL 230
Epistemology and Values in Sustainability
PHIL 240
Philosophies of Peace and Nonviolence
PHIL 245
Environmental Philosophies (GT-AH3)
PHIL 264
Animal Ethics
PHIL 312
Philosophy of Law
PHIL 318
Aesthetics-Visual Arts
PHIL 320
Ethics of Sustainability
PHIL 322
Biomedical Ethics
PHIL 345
Environmental Ethics
PHIL 350
Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 353
Feminist Philosophies
PHIL 363
Social Metaphysics
PHIL 447
Ethical Theory
Program Total Credits:12
1

 At least 6 credits must be from upper-division (300- to 400-level) courses.