The minor in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (hereafter shortened to PPE) is designed to expose students to the practical problems of organizing and running human society.  The minor stands at the confluence of three major fields of study –Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics – and combines elements of these into a coherent framework in which to address questions about the nature of citizenship and the role individuals can and must play in making critical decisions facing society.

Students pursuing the PPE minor are expected to develop the ability to read and listen critically, to reason analytically concerning questions of public policy (especially economic policy), to engage in thoughtful moral judgment, and to write and speak clearly.  The minor combines the best of the three participating fields: confronting the ethical issues of philosophy, the policy questions of political science, and the quantitative analytical problems of economics.

Generally, students taking the PPE minor will be majoring in one of the three included disciplines: Philosophy, Political Science, or Economics, and the courses that can be used toward the PPE minor taken in the student’s major department may be used for both the major and the PPE minor.  In other words, while the minor requires 9 courses (27 credits), students majoring in Philosophy, Political Science, or Economics will only need to take 6 courses (18 credits) outside the major.

Main contacts for PPE: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Philosophy), This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Economics), and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  (Political Science). 

Learning Goals:

At the end of this program students will be able to:

Identify key factors in evaluating the morality of individual behavior and the legitimacy of regulations about that behavior.

Explain the process through which the public regulation of individuals and groups occurs.

Evaluate the economic ability of institutions to provide for the common welfare.

Critique boundaries between private market forces and their just and efficient public regulation.

Minor Requirements:         

The minor requires students to take 3 courses (9 credits) in each of three fields of study. The course offerings in each field are structured to give students a solid grounding in each field, as well as a taste of what more advanced work in the field involves.                                  

Students are permitted to bring in only three credits for each field from outside of Rutgers University- New Brunswick. In other words, at least two of the three classes for each field must be taken at Rutgers University-New Brunswick; only one course in each field can come from transfer credit, AP credit, study abroad, or other Rutgers campuses. Courses that are cross listed may be used to satisfy only one requirement.

All courses must be completed with a grade of C or better. In order to be used for the major.

Below are the requirements for each field, which must be completed whether the student majors in the field or pursues them as other parts of the minor.

Requirements for the Philosophy component of the PPE Minor (3 courses, 9 credits):

Total of three philosophy courses, no more than one at the 100 level, and two from the following list, at least one of which must be at a 300 level or higher (other courses on a case-by-case basis):

01:730:105/106 Current Moral and Social Issues 

01:730:107 Introduction Ethics 

01:730:249 Bioethics 

01:730:250 Environmental Ethics 

01:730:251 Ethics and Business

01:730:255 Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy

01:730:330 Ethics of War and Conflict 

01:730:341 Ethics through History 

01:730:342 Social and Political Philosophy through History

01:730:343 Marx and Marxism 

01:730:345 Philosophy and the Law 

01:730:347 Philosophical Issues in Feminism 

01:730:358 Philosophy of Law 

01:730:371 Philosophies of Death and Dying

01:730:441 Ethical Theory 

01:730:442 Moral Responsibility 

01:730:445 Topics in Social and Political Philosophy 

01:730:450 Topics in Moral Philosophy 

01:730:459 Advanced Seminar in Ethics 

01:730:470 Ethics and Practical Reason

Requirements for the Political Science component of the PPE Minor (3 courses, 9 credits):

1 course in political theory, from the following list:

01:790:101 Nature of Politics

01:790:365 Gender and Political Theory

01:790:371 Western Tradition: Plato to Machiavelli

01:790:372 Western Tradition: Hobbes to Mill

01:790:373 Legal Philosophy Rights and Justice

01:790:374 Democratic Political Philosophy

01:790:375 American Political Thought to 1865

01:790:376 American Political Thought since 1865

01:790:472 Religion and Politics

01:790:473 Critics of Modernity

01:790:477 Critical Theory

2 courses in policy or group relations, from the following list:

01:790:305 Public Policy Formation

01:790:318 Comparative Public Policy

01:790:319 American Foreign Policy

01:790:320 Social Policy: Lessons from Europe

01:790:322 Strategy in International Relations

01:790:323 Defense Policy

01:790:330 Interest Groups

01:790:333 Race, Ethnicity and Politics

01:790:334 Politics of Black America

01:790:335 Women and American Politics

01:790:338 Government and Business

01:790:350 Environmental Policy: US and International

01:790:355 Women and Public Policy

01:790:358 Globalization, Democracy and Contemporary Capitalism

01:790:360 Gender and Politics and Global Perspective

01:790:363 Conflict Resolution and World Politics

01:790:364 Global Order

01:790:386 Political Change in China

01:790:401 Constitutional Law

01:790:404 Politics of Criminal Justice

Requirements for the Economics component of the PPE Minor (3 courses, 9 credits):

Both of these 2 introductory courses:

01:220:102 Introduction to Microeconomics

01:220:103 Introduction to Macroeconomics

1 course from the following list:

01:220:120 Inequality

01:220:327 History of Economic Thought

01:220:331 Economics of Crime

01:220:390 Choice and Strategy in Politics

01:220:395 Law and Economics

 01:220:402 Labor Economics (Prerequisites: 01:220:320 and 01:220:322)

01:220:417 Health Economics (Prerequisites: 01:220:320 and 01:220:322)

01:220:432 Environmental Economics (Prerequisites: 01:220:320 and 01:220:322)

01:220:460 Public Economics (Prerequisites: 01:220:320 and 01:220:322)

01:220:463 Economics of Taxation (Prerequisites: 01:220:320 and 01:220:322)

01:220:482 Game Theory and Economics