Minor in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)
The minor in philosophy, politics, and economics (hereafter shortened to PPE) is designed to engage students with the practical problems of organizing and running human society. The minor stands at the confluence of three major fields of study--philosophy, political science, and economics--and combines elements of these into a coherent framework in which to address questions about the nature of citizenship and the role individuals can and must play in making critical decisions facing society.
Students pursuing the PPE minor are expected to develop the ability to read and listen critically, to reason analytically concerning questions of public policy (especially economic policy), to engage in thoughtful moral judgment, and to write and speak clearly. The minor combines the best of the three participating fields: confronting the ethical issues of philosophy, the policy questions of political science, and the quantitative analytical problems of economics.
Generally, students taking the PPE minor will be majoring in one of the three included disciplines: philosophy, political science, or economics, and the courses that can be used toward the PPE minor taken in the student's major department may be used for both the major and the PPE minor. In other words, while the minor requires 9 courses (27 credits), students majoring in philosophy, political science, or economics will only need to take 6 courses (18 credits) outside the major.
Main contacts for PPE: Alec Walen (Philosophy), Barry Sopher (Economics), and Christy Cahill (Political Science).
Learning Goals
At the end of this program students will be able to:
- Identify key factors in evaluating the morality of individual behavior and the legitimacy of regulations about that behavior.
- Explain the process through which the public regulation of individuals and groups occurs.
- Evaluate the economic ability of institutions to provide for the common welfare.
- Critique boundaries between private market forces and their just and efficient public regulation.
Minor Requirements
The minor requires students to take 3 courses (9 credits) in each of three fields of study. The course offerings in each field are structured to give students a solid grounding in each field, as well as a taste of what more advanced work in the field involves.
Students are permitted to bring in only three credits for each field from outside of Rutgers University-New Brunswick. In other words, at least two of the three classes for each field must be taken at Rutgers University-New Brunswick; only one course in each field can come from transfer credit, AP credit, study abroad, or other Rutgers campuses. Courses that are cross listed may be used to satisfy only one requirement.
All courses must be completed with a grade of C or better in order to be used for the minor.
Below are the requirements for each field, which must be completed whether the student majors in the field or pursues them as other parts of the minor.
Requirements for the Philosophy Component of the PPE Minor (3 courses, 9 credits)
Total of three philosophy courses, no more than one at the 100 level, and two from the following list, at least one of which must be at a 300 level or higher (other courses on a case-by-case basis):
01:730:105/106 Current Moral and Social Issues
01:730:107 Introduction Ethics
01:730:249 Bioethics
01:730:250 Environmental Ethics
01:730:251 Ethics and Business
01:730:255 Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy
01:730:330 Ethics of War and Conflict
01:730:341 Ethics through History
01:730:342 Social and Political Philosophy through History
01:730:343 Marx and Marxism
01:730:345 Philosophy and the Law
01:730:347 Philosophical Issues in Feminism
01:730:358 Philosophy of Law
01:730:371 Philosophies of Death and Dying
01:730:441 Ethical Theory
01:730:442 Moral Responsibility
01:730:445 Topics in Social and Political Philosophy
01:730:450 Topics in Moral Philosophy
01:730:459 Advanced Seminar in Ethics
01:730:470 Ethics and Practical Reason
Requirements for the Political Science Component of the PPE Minor (3 courses, 9 credits)
1 course in political theory, from the following list:
01:790:101 Nature of Politics
01:790:365 Gender and Political Theory
01:790:371 Western Tradition: Plato to Machiavelli
01:790:372 Western Tradition: Hobbes to Mill
01:790:373 Legal Philosophy, Rights, and Justice
01:790:374 Democratic Political Philosophy
01:790:375 American Political Thought to 1865
01:790:376 American Political Thought from 1865
01:790:472 Religion and Politics
01:790:473 Critics of Modernity
01:790:477 Critical Theory and Society
2 courses in policy or group relations, from the following list:
01:790:305 Public Policy Formation
01:790:318 Comparative Public Policy
01:790:319 Issues of American Foreign Policy
01:790:320 Political and Social Policy: Lessons from Europe
01:790:322 Strategy in International Relations
01:790:323 Defense Policy
01:790:330 Interest Groups
01:790:333 Race, Ethnicity, and Politics
01:790:334 Politics of Black America
01:790:335 Women and American Politics
01:790:338 Government and Business
01:790:350 Environmental Politics-U.S. and International
01:790:355 Women and Public Policy
01:790:358 Globalization, Democracy, and Contemporary Capitalism
01:790:360 Gender and Politics and Global Perspective
01:790:363 Conflict Resolution in World Politics
01:790:364 Global Order
01:790:386 Political Change in China
01:790:401 American Constitutional Law I
01:790:404 Politics of Criminal Justice
Requirements for the Economics Component of the PPE Minor (3 courses, 9 credits)
Both of these introductory courses:
01:220:102 Introduction to Microeconomics
01:220:103 Introduction to Macroeconomics
One course from the following list:
01:220:327 History of Economic Thought
01:220:331 Economics of Crime
01:220:390 Choice and Strategy in Politics (Prerequisite: 01:220:102)
01:220:402 Labor Economics (Prerequisites: 01:220:320 and 01:220:322)
01:220:417 Health Economics (Prerequisites: 01:220:320 and 01:220:322)
01:220:432 Environmental Economics (Prerequisites: 01:220:320 and 01:220:322)
01:220:460 Public Economics (Prerequisites: 01:220:320 and 01:220:322)
01:220:463 Economics of Taxation (Prerequisites: 01:220:320 and 01:220:322)
01:220:482 Game Theory and Economics
Certificate Programs in
Economics that are open to students that complete the Quantitative Economics
Minor- Certificate in Economic Theory
- Certificate in Computational Economics and Data Analytics
- Certificate in Financial Economics
- Certificate in Global Economics
- Certificate in Public Policy Economics
See the
economics certificate programs page for more details.
