Major
	Ethics and Public Policy (BA) from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Four-year Graduation Plan
	Yes
Honors
	Yes
Links
	Web Site Courses General Catalog

Ethics and public policy is an interdisciplinary major that studies how philosophy, economics, law, and sociology are interrelated and how issues in each discipline intersect, affecting our society in many ways.

• Why Study Ethics and Public Policy at Iowa?
• Course Work
• Careers
• Scholarships

Why Study Ethics and Public Policy at Iowa?
Iowa’s major in ethics and public policy looks at the complex connections between economics, law, philosophy, and sociology, disciplines that are concerned with questions about how people should behave and how they should regulate others’ behavior.

For example, most people agree that what a society should do depends in part on the actual or potential consequences of its actions. These consequences are complex. They affect our economic lives, social and legal issues and policies, and even our ideals and values.

The major emphasizes the study of reasoning and will prepare you to bring a sophisticated, cross-disciplinary perspective to diverse fields such as government, urban and regional planning, social work, and business. It is an ideal major to pair with a second major in economics, philosophy, sociology, or another related discipline. It’s also a good choice if you’re planning to go on to law school.
 
Course Work
Students majoring in ethics and public policy earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The BA requires a minimum of 120 semester hours (s.h.), including 37 s.h. for the major earned in foundation courses and two specialization fields.

You’ll complete the following six foundation courses.

• One philosophy/reasoning course (Argument and Debate, or Symbolic Logic)
  
• One philosophy/value theory course (The Just Society, Ethics, Political Philosophy, or Philosophy of Law)
  
• Two economics foundation courses (Principles of Microeconomics, and Law and Economics)
  
• One sociological theory course (Sociology Principles, or Social Problems)
  
• One course in law and sociology (Criminal Punishment, Sociology of Law, or Criminal Legal System)
  

You’ll also choose two of the following specialization fields and complete three courses in each one of them.

• Philosophy
  
• Economics
  
• Sociology
  
• Student-designed field

You may design one of your two specialization fields, planning it in consultation with your advisor. Your individually designed field must include courses from across the ethics and public policy curriculum that relate to the major and are interconnected.

See Ethics and Public Policy in the UI General Catalog to learn more about the major and for information about graduating with honors.
 
Careers
The ethics and public policy major is excellent preparation for work in diverse fields such as government, urban and regional planning, social work, and business. It also is excellent preparation for graduate or professional study, particularly in law.
 
Scholarships
Consult multiple sources for scholarship information, including the Office of Admissions, the Office of Student Financial Aid, and departmental web sites.