General Minor

The Minor in Ethics in Society is open to students from any major who wish to explore the ethical dimensions of urgent challenges facing our society today.

Whether it is the fairness of immigration policies, the social consequences of climate change, or the moral challenges that homelessness poses for a just society, a Minor in Ethics in Society can help students acquire the tools needed to arrive at well-reasoned and well-informed positions on a wide variety of controversial topics. 

Through coursework in the Minor, students are challenged to build a more robust philosophical foundation for thinking about practical ethical issues than what is typically provided by their major.

A Minor in Ethics in Society requires six courses for a minimum of 25 units.  All courses must be taken for a letter grade. Students may not double-count courses between the minor and other academic programs (ie, major or minor) unless in the circumstances outlined here under the "Special Requirements for Students Pursuing Minors". 

Course Requirements:

Foundational Courses

One course in political philosophy from the list of courses below:

• ETHICSOC171 - Justice
• ETHICSOC174L - Justice Across Borders

One course in moral philosophy from the list of courses below:

• ETHICSOC20 - Introduction to Moral Philosophy
• ETHICSOC170 - Ethical Theory
• ETHICSOC178M - Introduction to Environmental Ethics
• ETHICSOC185M - Contemporary Moral Problems

Foundational courses must be taken for a letter grade, and for a minimum of 4 units. 

ETHICSOC Electives

• Two or three ETHICSOC courses at the 100+ level relating to the student's chosen theme of the minor. 

ETHICSOC electives must be taken for a letter grade, for a minimum of 3 units each, and must add up to a minimum of 8 units.

University-Wide Electives

• Two or three courses at the 100+ level that address moral or political problems, in either theory or practice, relating to the student’s chosen focus. These courses should be focused around a central theme (ie., environmental ethics, ethics and politics, ethics and economics, etc). 
• These electives may be other ETHICSOC offerings OR courses with substantial ethical content in other university departments. Courses hosted by other university departments must be reviewed and approved for counting towards the program with the Student Services Administrator. Syllabi/relevant coursework may be requested for this review process.

These electives must be taken for a letter grade, for a minimum of 3 units each, and must add up to a minimum of 8 units.

Application Process:

1. Meet with the Program Administrator to review application requirements and program expectations
2. Fill out and submit the EiS Minor Application Form
   1. To submit the application form, you will also need to provide the following materials listed below. You will need to compile the below documents into a single folder, and provide us with the link to access the folder and download the form/materials when filling out the application form.
      1. Download and fill in the appropriate Course Planning spreadsheet.
         1. Note: You will need to make sure you're signed into Google Drive with your Stanford email.
      2. Attach a one page narrative describing the central organizing theme of your minor
      3. Sign the final page of the EiS Minors Guide (provided to you after your meeting with the Program Administrator)
3. The Program Administrator will review your application, and inform you of your approval. 
4. Upon receiving approval from the Program Administrator, you can officially declare the minor via Axess. Do NOT submit your minor declaration via Axess without prior confirmation/approval from the Program Administrator. 

Deadline: There are no specific deadlines for students to apply for the EiS Minor. However, we request that students apply before the quarter that they are planning to graduate. 

Click here to view/submit the EiS Minor Application.

Please send any questions to Student Programming Administrator, Gillyn Maung at gmaung [at] stanford.edu (gmaung[at]stanford[dot]edu).  Please note that submitting an application and receiving confirmation/approval is required before declaring the minor in Axess.