Bulletin

Interested in attending Stanford?
Visit Undergraduate Admissions opens in a new tab or Graduate Admissions opens in a new tab.

Resources

  • About Stanford
  • About Bulletin
  • Academic Calendar opens in a new tab
  • Bulletin Archive
  • Enrollment Overview opens in a new tab
  • Enrollment Deadlines opens in a new tab
  • Degrees at a Glance

Schools

  • Doerr School of Sustainability opens in a new tab
  • Graduate School of Business opens in a new tab
  • Graduate School of Education opens in a new tab
  • School of Engineering opens in a new tab
  • School of Humanities and Science opens in a new tab
  • School of Law opens in a new tab
  • School of Medicine opens in a new tab
Give Feedback

Stanford University is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges opens in a new tab.

Give Feedback
Stanford
University
  • Stanford Home
  • Maps & Directions
  • Search Stanford
  • Emergency Info
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Trademarks
  • Non-Discrimination
  • Accessibility
© Stanford University.  Stanford, California 94305.
Skip to main content
Stanford University
Bulletin
Ethics in Society
School of Humanities & Sciences
  • Minor
  • IHN
Program Info
  • About the Program
  • Minor
    • Policies
    • Learning Outcomes
  • Interdisciplinary Honors
  • Courses
  • Contact Us
Undergrad Info
  • Admissions
  • Advising
  • General Education
Loading program
  1. Home
  2. Programs
  3. Undergraduate
  4. Ethics In Society
  5. Minor

Minor

Minor
  • Ethics in Society opens in a new tab
Program Minimum Units
25 Units
University Minimum Units
18 Units
Interests
Ethics, Social Justice & Inequality, Government, Politics & Current Events, Human Rights, Technology
Academic Areas
Social Sciences, Humanities & Arts, Law

Overview

The program in Ethics in Society, which operates under the umbrella of the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society, is designed to foster scholarship, teaching, and moral reflection on fundamental issues in personal and public life. The program is grounded in moral and political philosophy but extends its concerns across various traditional disciplinary domains. The program is guided by the idea that ethical thought has application to current social questions and conflicts, and it seeks to encourage moral reflection and practice in areas such as business, technology, international relations, law, medicine, politics, science, and public service.

Students cannot both earn a minor in Ethics in Society and enroll in the Honors Program. Students must choose one or the other.

Students interested in applying to either of the Ethics in Society minors should plan to contact the Student Services Specialist, to discuss the application process.

Requirements

Minor in Ethics in Society - General Track

Foundational Courses (Part 1)

One course in political philosophy:

Complete any of the following course(s):
ETHICSOC 171

Justice

4-5 Units
ETHICSOC 174L

Justice Across Borders

4 Units

Must be taken for a letter grade, and for 4-5 units each.

Foundational Courses (Part 2)

One course in moral philosophy:

Complete any of the following course(s):
ETHICSOC 20

Introduction to Moral Philosophy

5 Units
ETHICSOC 170

Ethical Theory

4 Units
ETHICSOC 178M

Introduction to Environmental Ethics

4-5 Units
ETHICSOC 185M

Contemporary Moral Problems

4-5 Units

Must be taken for a letter grade, and for 4-5 units each.

ETHICSOC Electives

Two or three ETHICSOC courses totaling a minimum of 8 units at the 100-level or above relating to the minor’s theme.

Courses must be taken for a letter grade, and be a minimum of 3 units each.

University-Wide Electives

Two or three courses at the 100-level or above totaling a minimum of 8 units that address moral or political problems, in either theory or practice, relating to the student’s chosen focus. These may be other ETHICSOC offerings OR courses with substantial ethical content in other university departments.

Students are encouraged to reflect on the coherence of their coursework and organize it around a central theme, such as environmental ethics, ethics and public policy, ethics and economics, ethics and health care, ethics, race, etc. Ethical Reasoning courses that fit the student’s thematic focus may be counted towards the University-wide electives in the minor.

Courses must be taken for a letter grade, and be a minimum of 3 units each.

Elective/specialization course choices must be reviewed and approved for counting towards the program with the Student Services Specialist. Syllabi/relevant coursework may be requested for this review process.

Subplans

Optional
Students have the option to complete a subplan as part of this program. A subplan is an officially declared and defined set of requirements that allows students to go deeper into a discipline or focus within a program.

Minor in Ethics in Society - Ethics and Technology Subplan

Foundational Courses (Part 1)

One course in moral/political philosophy:

Complete any of the following course(s):
ETHICSOC 20

Introduction to Moral Philosophy

5 Units
ETHICSOC 170

Ethical Theory

4 Units
ETHICSOC 171

Justice

4-5 Units
ETHICSOC 174L

Justice Across Borders

4 Units
ETHICSOC 178M

Introduction to Environmental Ethics

4-5 Units
ETHICSOC 185M

Contemporary Moral Problems

4-5 Units

Courses must be taken for a letter grade and must be 4-5 units each.

Foundational Courses (Part 2)

One course in ethics and technology:

Complete any of the following course(s):
ETHICSOC 131X

Ethics in Bioengineering

3 Units
ETHICSOC 151C

Ethical STEM: Race, Justice, and Embodied Practice

4-5 Units
ETHICSOC 182

Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change

5 Units

Course must be taken for a letter grade and must be 4-5 units.

ETHICSOC Elective

One ETHICSOC elective at the 100 level or above.

Must be taken for a letter grade and must be 4-5 units.

Ethics & Technology Electives

Three electives that cover various topics on technology, human values, and social impact from an interdisciplinary perspective. This is not an exhaustive list of all courses that could count towards the E&T electives, other courses must be submitted to the Student Services Specialist for approval.

Complete at least 3 of the following courses:
BIO 4N

The Science and Ethics of Personalized Genomic Medicine

3 Units
BIOE 122

BioSecurity and Pandemic Resilience

2-5 Units
BIOE 177

Inventing the Future

3 Units
COMM 124

Truth, Trust, and Tech

4-5 Units
COMM 154

The Politics of Algorithms

4-5 Units
CS 152

Trust and Safety

3 Units
CS 181

Computers, Ethics, and Public Policy

4 Units
ENGR 110

Perspectives in Assistive Technology (ENGR 110)

1-3 Units
ENGR 148

Principled Entrepreneurial Decisions

3 Units
GENE 104Q

Law and the Biosciences

3 Units
HUMBIO 174

Foundations of Bioethics

3 Units
INTLPOL 268

Hack Lab: Introduction to Cybersecurity

3 Units
MED 73N

Scientific Method and Bias

3 Units
MS&E 296

Technology, Innovation and Great Power Competition

4-5 Units
MS&E 254

The Ethical Analyst

3 Units
NBIO 101

Social and Ethical Issues in the Neurosciences

2-3 Units
PHIL 20N

Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence

3 Units
PHIL 60

Introduction to Philosophy of Science

4 Units
POLISCI 114S

International Security in a Changing World

5 Units
PUBLPOL 103F

Ethics of Truth in a Post-Truth World

3 Units
PUBLPOL 134

Ethics on the Edge: Business, Non-Profit Organizations, Government, and Individuals

3-4 Units
STS 1

Introduction to Science, Technology & Society

4 Units

Courses must be taken for a letter grade, must be at least 3 units each, and must total to a minimum of 8 units.