Table of Contents

3455 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Program Offered:

  • Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies with a Concentration in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) 

Faculty Coordinator: Andrew J. Cohen (cohenaj@gsu.edu), Philosophy
Program Contact: Shelby Frost (sfrost@gsu.edu), Economics
Program Contact: Michael Evans (mevans33@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 section 3040 for additional information.

Program Degree Requirements

Please refer to the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies section 3030.30 of this catalog for academic regulations for this program.

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.

In addition to the Program Degree Requirements, students must fulfill the College of Arts and Sciences Degree Requirements (see section 3030) and the University Degree Requirements (see section 1400).

Areas A-E. Core Curriculum

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/

Areas A-E. Core Curriculum Recommendations (42)

  1. Area A: MATH 1101 or MATH 1111 (3)
  2. Area B: PHIL 1010 Critical Thinking (2)
  3. Area C: PHIL 2010 Introduction to Philosophy (3) or PHIL 2030 Introduction to Ethics (3)
  4. Area E: ECON 2100 Global Economics (3), POLS 2401 Global Issues (3); ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics (3); ECON 2106 Principles of Microeconomics (3)

Area F: Courses Appropriate to the Major (18)

  1. Required Courses (6-12)
    • World language at the 1002 level or higher (3)
    • PHIL 2500 Introduction to Symbolic Logic (3) or PHIL 2030 Introduction to Ethics (3)
    • ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics (3) and ECON 2106 Principles of Microeconomics (3) (if not taken in Area E)
  2. Recommended Courses
    • ECON 2100 Global Economics (3) (if not used in Area E)
      PHIL 2010 Introduction to Philosophy (3) (if not used in Area C)
    • POLS 2401 Global Issues (3) (if not used in Area E)
  3. 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 (27-30)

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

  • Select one Introduction to PPE course (3)
  • Select one course to fulfill CTW requirement (3)
  • Select one Econ course (3)
    • ECON 3900 Macroeconomics if not used for CTW requirement (3)
    • ECON 3910 Microeconomics (3)
  • Select one Phil course (3)
  • Select one Pols course (3)
    • POLS 4270 Comparative Political Economy (3)
    • POLS 4430 International Political Economy (3)
    • POLS 4435 Studies in International Political Economy (3)
  • Select four to five additional courses (12-15)
    • ECON 4080 History of Economic Thought (3)
    • ECON 4350 Economics of Poverty and Public Policy (3)
    • ECON 4100 Economics, Philosophy, and Public Policy (3)
    • ECON 4400 Public Sector Economics (3)
    • ECON 4750Introduction to Game Theory (3)
    • PHIL 3710 Marriage and Family (3)
    • PHIL 3720 Contemporary Moral Problems or 3730 Business Ethics (3)
    • PHIL 3740 Biomedical Ethics (3)
    • PHIL 4740 Advanced Biomedical Ethics (3)
    • PHIL 4760 Ethics and Contemporary Public Policy (3)
    • PHIL 4860 Feminist Philosophy (3)
    • POLS 4130 American Constitutional Law (3)
    • POLS 4131 Civil Liberties and Rights (3)
    • POLS 4210 Politics of Developing Nations (3)
    • POLS 4270 Comparative Political Economy (3)
    • POLS 4550 Liberalism and its Critics (3)
    • POLS 4555 Contemporary Political Philosophy (3)
    • Any course from the other Area G requirements above not used to satisfy that requirement (3)

Area H: Allied Fields (15-18)

Select courses as indicated from one of the two allied field areas below (i.e., Law, Morality, and Society or International PPE). Students must complete coursework in at least two disciplines (defined by course prefixes) in Area H.

  • Law, Morality, and Society (15-18)
    Select five to six courses, with no more than two 3-4 credit hour courses (6-8 hours) within a single discipline.

  • International PPE
    Select five to six courses (15 to 18), no more than two 3-4 credit hour courses (6-8 hours) within a single discipline.

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).

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.