Philosophy, Politics and Economics Major (M)
Initially created by the University of Oxford in the early 20th Century, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) sought to bridge traditional liberal arts and professional careers. PPE is an interdisciplinary major focusing on the core fields of philosophy, politics, and economics. PPE creates the needed synthesis between the world of ideas, the world of policy, and the world of resources. PPE enhances students' understanding of the interplay between the intellectual, political, and economic issues and institutions that shape our world. As a result, PPE students are those that put themselves on the path of leadership. Careers in law, public policy, electoral politics, research and analysis, finance and business, international affairs and diplomacy, and paths to graduate and law school are typical pathways for PPE majors.
A typical PPE conversation might ask whether a particular course of action is economically or politically feasible, whether it is morally desirable, and how we might evaluate tradeoffs among competing goods. By providing students with a comprehensive view of philosophy, political science, and economics we are following in the tradition of Aristotle, Adam Smith, John Locke, Alexis de Tocqueville, Friedrich Hayek, James Buchanan, Elinor Ostrom, and others, who thought deeply about how to chart a course to a better world.
The importance of breadth is captured well in the following quotation from Friedrich Hayek, “Nobody can be a great economist who is only an economist – and I am even tempted to add that the economist who is only an economist is likely to become a nuisance if not a positive danger.”
In the CUW Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program, students think and discuss ideas in an environment committed to open dialogue with faculty who love the joy of discovery and the pursuit of better understanding. With excellent political science, economics, and philosophy faculty, the CUW PPE program is a place for exciting and energetic inquiry from a well-established interdisciplinary perspective.
Program Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- Constructively apply concepts and arguments from the philosophical, political, and economic traditions to analyze social norms, institutions, and public policies.
- Trace the development of a variety of views on the purpose of government from Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Hayek, Rawls, Bonhoeffer, and other contributors to the great conversation.
- Explain ideas that are philosophically foundational for limited constitutional government and political institutions best capable of producing human flourishing.
- Compare the economic systems employed across nations with a focus on the individual liberty enhancing and wealth building features of a free market economy.
- Defend a Christian understanding of the nature and purpose of citizenship and government and how such a worldview sustains a free society and flourishing economy.
- Understand and apply both quantitative and qualitative research methods in political science, philosophy, and economics.
Curriculum
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | 45 | |
| Major Requirements | ||
| Required Courses | 39 | |
| Major Elective Courses | 9 | |
| Electives | 27 | |
Minor: Optional | ||
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| ECON 2100 | Microeconomics | 3 |
| ECON 2200 | Macroeconomics | 3 |
| ECON 3070 | History of Economic Thought | 3 |
| PHIL 2010 | Central Texts of Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 2500 | Moral Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 4500 | Modern Philosophy | 3 |
| POLS 1010 | Introduction to Political Science | 3 |
| POLS 2010 | American Government | 3 |
| POLS 3100 | International Relations | 3 |
| POLS 3310 | American Political Thought | 3 |
| PPE 3990 | PPE Internship | 3 |
| PPE 4910 | Senior Seminar I | 3 |
| PPE 4920 | Senior Seminar II | 3 |
| Major Elective Courses (select 3 of the following courses) | 9 | |
| Journal Editing & Publishing (take for 3 semesters) | ||
| Macroeconomic Crises in History | ||
| An Econometric Survey | ||
| International Economics | ||
| Elementary Logic | ||
| Christian Apologetics | ||
| Bioethical Dilemmas in Contemporary Society | ||
| Medieval Philosophy | ||
| Comparative Politics | ||
| Conservative Political Thought | ||
| U.S. National Security Policy | ||
| Total Hours | 48 | |
Plan
| Semester 1 | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| POLS 1010 | Introduction to Political Science | 3 |
| CCE 1010 | Christian Citizen | 3 |
| ENG 1040 | Introduction to Writing | 3 |
| PSY 1010 | General Psychology | 3 |
| COMMUNICATION & LANGUAGE | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| PHIL 2010 | Central Texts of Philosophy | 3 |
| ECON 2200 | Macroeconomics | 3 |
| CCE 1030 | Western Thought & Worldview | 3 |
| REL 1000 | The Bible | 3 |
| HUMAN CREATIVITY & EXPRESSION | 3 | |
| HHP 1100 | Stewardship of the Body | 1 |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 3 | ||
| POLS 2010 | American Government | 3 |
| CCE 1040 | Science & Humanity | 3 |
| REL 1100 | Christian Faith | 3 |
| SOCIETY & CULTURE | 3 | |
| Science Core with Lab | 4 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 4 | ||
| PHIL 2500 | Moral Philosophy | 3 |
| ECON 2100 | Microeconomics | 3 |
| MATH 2050 | Statistics I | 3 |
| CCE 1010 | Christian Citizen | 3 |
| ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| HHP ACTIVITY COURSE | 1 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 5 | ||
| POLS 3310 | American Political Thought | 3 |
| ECON 3070 | History of Economic Thought | 3 |
| PHIL 2210 | Human Dignity ((elective)) | 3 |
| FAITH & LIFE | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 6 | ||
| POLS 3100 | International Relations | 3 |
| ECON 3350 | An Econometric Survey ((elective)) | 3 |
| PPE 3990 | PPE Internship | 3 |
| ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 7 | ||
| PPE 4910 | Senior Seminar I | 3 |
| PHIL 4500 | Modern Philosophy | 3 |
| POLS 3400 | U.S. National Security Policy ((elective)) | 3 |
| ELECTIVE (POLS 3000 recommended) | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 8 | ||
| PPE 4920 | Senior Seminar II | 3 |
| ELECTIVE (PHIL 3250 recommended) | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE (ECON 3700 recommended) | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Course options and schedule are subject to change.