STRUCTURE OF THE CERTIFICATE
As a certificate program, PPE offers both flexibility in course selection and rigor in conceptual coverage. There are three elements to satisfying the certificate requirements.
Required Introductory Course – ‘Prisoners Dilemma and Distributive Justice’.Cross-listed in philosophy, political science, and economics, this lecture course counts toward several majors and university requirements. The course introduces game theory – especially the prisoner’s dilemma game – as a way of modeling problems that arise in markets and in politics, and explores how different theories of justice bear on solutions to these problems.
Electives – Each student selects at least four elective courses, two from a main concentration and one each from the remaining two disciplines in PPE. These courses can be selected from the list of courses offered every semester, or chosen in consultation with the PPE Director to assure that the individual student can choose an elective sequence that best suits his or her interests.
Capstone – The Capstone seminar is a senior-level experience in which students work on a research project in close consultation with at least one senior faculty member. During weekly discussions, students also explore a cluster of advanced topics, such as markets for organs, the moral and economic dimensions of climate change, and the implications of political ignorance for democratic institutions.
