Requirements of the Major

The B.A./B.S. in Ethics, History, and Public Policy (EHPP) is an interdepartmental major offered jointly by the Departments of History and Philosophy. It is available as a primary or additional major.

Preparing students to be leaders is a vital goal of colleges and universities in every democratic society. The intellectual challenges facing public and private sector leaders have expanded dramatically since the pioneering EHPP program began in 1996, but the need remains as great as ever for broadly educated, ethically sensitive, and technically skilled leaders.

EHPP prepares students to demonstrate sophistication and flexibility in their command of interdisciplinary knowledge; deep historical understanding of how modern-day policy problems have emerged and evolved; and clear, rational criteria for ethical and socially just decision making. The curriculum provides students with a strong humanistic foundation for developing such high-level, historically grounded, and ethically attuned leadership capacities. It also offers ample room for specialization in a wide range of policy areas in which the History and Philosophy departments have special expertise, e.g., medicine and public health, criminal justice, environment, technology, artificial intelligence (AI), gender, civil rights, immigration, and education.

Program Outcomes/Learning Objectives

1. To identify and distinguish historical, ethical, and policy arguments.  
2. To evaluate historical evidence, normative justifications, and causal claims relevant to historical, ethical, and policy arguments.
3. To identify and articulate similarities and differences between cases across time, place, and disciplinary context.
4. To craft policies that address real-world problems with sensitivity to history, power- dynamics, ethical values, and stakeholder needs and interests.
5. To work effectively with others with the goal of producing collaborative research on historical, ethical, and/or policy issues. Whether working independently or within a team, individuals learn to conduct relevant research under time and resource constraints.
6. To establish an historical grounding in American, International and/or Policy History in a relevant professional or social domain that aligns with that individual’s postgraduate goals.
7. Optional: To encourage the pursuit of internships, research assistantships, and/or undergraduate fellowships in Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., or internationally that enhance their understanding of contemporary public affairs and the historical roots of current policy debates.

Please view the undergraduate catalog for the most up to date listing of courses that satisfy this requirement.