Apr 19, 2024

2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog

2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE), B.I.S.

Return to: 3450 Department of Philosophy

Faculty Coordinator: Andrew J. Cohen (cohenaj@gsu.edu), Philosophy
Program Contact: Spencer Banzhaf (hsbanzhaf@gsu.edu), Economics
Program Contact: Peter Lindsay (plindsay2@gsu.edu), Political Science

Historically, Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics (PPE) were deeply connected. The father of modern economics, Adam Smith, was a philosopher concerned with moral and political philosophy. PPE, as a contemporary academic field of study, began at Oxford University in 1920 and has spread across the English-speaking world. The program at GSU helps students become familiar with and capable of contributing to ongoing debates about the nature of good political and economic institutions, as well as the policies and practices that are best suited for creating and sustaining them. More broadly, students develop the intellectual skills of both the social scientist, who seeks to understand how the social world operates, and the moral philosopher, who seeks to critically evaluate the social world in relation to how it ought to be. The program prepares students for careers and graduate programs that require independent thought with significant analytic and critical reasoning as well as writing. They are well-positioned for careers in law, government, public service, or entrepreneurial endeavors as well as Ph.D. programs in political science, philosophy, and economics. Moreover, they are ideally situated to contribute intelligently to the public dialogue of a vibrant democracy.

Program Admission

Students may enroll in a concentration upon admission to Georgia State University. Students who wish to change their major to this degree program should select a concentration in consultation with their academic advisor and the faculty coordinator. A 2.0 Georgia State University GPA is required.

Students who enroll in a concentration will be required to submit a course plan checklist to demonstrate their understanding of the degree requirements. It is highly recommended that students develop a course of study with their specific faculty coordinator before taking coursework in the degree program to avoid taking courses that will not count towards graduation.

Academic Advisement for Undergraduate Students

Academic advisement for undergraduate students is provided through the University Advisement Center (freshman through junior status/fewer than 90 hours) and the college’s Office of Academic Advisement (senior status/90 or more hours). See Office of Academic Assistance for additional information.

Graduation with Distinction in the Major

This unit offers undergraduate students with the opportunity to earn the designation of graduation with distinction in the major. To graduate with distinction in the PPE program, the student must have excelled in his or her PPE courses and undergraduate career. For a student to earn Graduation with Distinction, the student must have at least a 3.5 GPA in the major and 3.5 GPA overall and must be in good academic standing. Rare exceptions may be made by faculty vote.

University Grade-Point Average and Grade Requirements

Georgia State University undergraduate students must achieve an overall institutional grade-point average of 2.0 and a major GPA of 2.0 in Areas G and H to receive a bachelor’s degree from the university. Grades of C- can be used to satisfy graduation requirements. However, some courses have prerequisites that require a grade of C or higher. (See 1460 GPA Requirement for additional information.)

In addition to the Program Degree Requirements, students must fulfill the College of Arts and Sciences Degree Requirements (see College of Arts and Sciences) and the University Degree Requirements (see 1400 University Degree Requirements and Graduation).

Degree Requirements

Students must complete coursework in at least three disciplines (defined by course prefixes) in Area G and in at least two disciplines in Area H. Areas G and H should be constructed so that students take courses in distinct disciplines in each area (with some overlap expected); that is, the same prefix should not predominate in both Area G and H.

Areas A-E. Core Curriculum Recommendations (42 Hours)

Per Georgia State University’s requirements, all undergraduate students must satisfy a common core curriculum. The requirements can be found in the current university Undergraduate Catalog. http://catalog.gsu.edu/undergraduate20152016/

Area F: Courses Appropriate to the Major (18 Hours)

Required Courses (6-12 Hours)

World language at the 1002 level or higher 3 Hours
PHIL 2500 - Introduction to Symbolic Logic 3 Credit Hours
or
PHIL 2030 - Introduction to Ethics 3 Credit Hours
ECON 2105 - Principles of Macroeconomics 3 Credit Hours and
ECON 2106 - Principles of Microeconomics 3 Credit Hours (if not taken in Area E)

Recommended Courses

ECON 2100 - Global Economics 3 Credit Hours (if not used in Area E)
PHIL 2010 - Introduction to Philosophy 3 Credit Hours (if not used in Area C)
POLS 2401 - Global Issues 3 Credit Hours (if not used in Area E)

Courses to Complete Area F

Courses to complete area F (minimum 6 hrs to get to 18 hrs): can be any 1000-2000 level courses in subjects (prefixes) that satisfy the core areas A-E.

World language at the 1001 level if needed

Area G: Area of Concentration - PPE (30 Hours)

Students must complete coursework in at least three disciplines (defined by course prefixes) in Area G.

Select one Introduction to PPE course (3 Hours)

ECON 3810 - Introduction to Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 3810 - Introduction to Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics (PPE) 3 Credit Hours
POLS 3810 - Introduction to Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics (PPE) 3 Credit Hours

Select one course to fulfill CTW Requirement (3 Hours)

ECON 3900 - Macroeconomics-CTW 3 Credit Hours
POLS 3800 - Introduction to Political Research-CTW 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 3000 - Philosophical Discussions-CTW 3 Credit Hours if topic appropriate (talk with PPE Coordinator for approval)

Select two Economics courses (6 Hours)

ECON 3900 - Macroeconomics-CTW 3 Credit Hours if not used for CTW requirement
ECON 3910 - Microeconomics 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4080 - History of Economic Thought 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4750 - Introduction to Game Theory 3 Credit Hours

Select two Philosophy courses (6 Hours)

PHIL 4800 - Social and Political Philosophy 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 4820 - Philosophy of Law 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 4760 - Ethics and Contemporary Public Policy - Ethics Bowl 3 Credit Hours

Select two Political Science courses (6 Hours)

POLS 4131 - Civil Liberties and Rights 3 Credit Hours
POLS 4270 - Comparative Political Economy 3 Credit Hours
POLS 4430 - International Political Economy 3 Credit Hours

Select four to five additional courses (12-15 Hours)

ECON 4100 - Economics, Philosophy and Public Policy 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4350 - Economics of Poverty and Public Policy 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4400 - Public Sector Economics 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 3720 - Contemporary Moral Problems 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 3730 - Business Ethics 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 3740 - Biomedical Ethics 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 4740 - Advanced Biomedical Ethics 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 4860 - Feminist Philosophy 3 Credit Hours
POLS 4130 - American Constitutional Law 3 Credit Hours
POLS 4555 - Contemporary Political Philosophy 3 Credit Hours
Any course from the other Area G requirements above not used to satisfy that requirement 3 Hours

Area H: Allied Fields (15-18)

Either complete a minor in Philosophy, a minor in Law and Ethics (offered by the Philosophy department), a minor in Political Science, or a minor in Economics or select five courses from the list below. If selecting from courses below, no more than three 3 four credit hour courses (9-12 hours) of the requirements in an allied field can be taken within any single discipline. For example, you may not take any more than 9 hours using the PHIL prefix (i.e., any single discipline). Some courses are cross-listed with one or more additional disciplines. Therefore, in a situation where you have already selected or taken 9 hours of PHIL classes, if you wanted to take an additional course that is cross listed with PHIL and POLS, you would have to register for the POLS course in order not to violate this requirement. In no case can courses used to satisfy the requirements of Area G be simultaneously used to satisfy the requirements of Area H.

ECON 4210 - Health Economics 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4220 - Environmental Economics and Policy 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4300 - Economics of Cities 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4470 - Industrial Organization, Regulation, and Antitrust Economics 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4600 - Economic Development 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4680 - American Economic History 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4800 - International Trade 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4810 - International Finance 3 Credit Hours
ECON 4960 - Economics of Work and Pay 3 Credit Hours
HIST 3300 - History of Capitalism 3 to 4 Credit Hours
HIST 3900 - Human Rights in Historical Perspective 3 Credit Hours
HIST 4230 - Foreign Relations of the United States 4 Credit Hours
HIST 4460 - Bills of Rights 4 Credit Hours
HIST 4470 - The Founders’ Constitution 4 Credit Hours
HIST 4630 - European Intellectual History I: From Medieval to Marx 4 Credit Hours
HIST 4635 - European Intellectual History II: From Marx to Postmodernism 4 Credit Hours
PHIL 3030 - 19th - 20th Century Philosophy 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 3710 - Sex and Love 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 4700 - Ethics 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 4770 - Moral Psychology 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 4890 - Topics in Social and Political Philosophy 3 Credit Hours
POLS 3140 - Judicial Process and Courts 3 Credit Hours
POLS 3145 - Introduction to American Law 3 Credit Hours
POLS 3170 - American Legislative Process 3 Credit Hours
POLS 3200 - Comparative Politics 3 Credit Hours
POLS 3400 - International Politics 3 Credit Hours
POLS 3450 - United States Foreign Policy 3 Credit Hours
POLS 4420 - International Law 3 Credit Hours
POLS 4427 - Politics of International Human Rights 3 Credit Hours
Any course from the Area G requirements above not used to satisfy that requirement 3 Hours

Area J: Electives

Students take elective courses beyond those specified in Areas A-H to reach the 120 hours needed to earn a bachelor’s degree (including 39 hours at the 3000-4000 level taken at Georgia State University).

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