Department of Political Science
Minor in Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics
Students on Summer 2022, Fall 2022, or Spring 2023 requirements PHPSECMIN
Requirements
The minor requires at least 15 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
- PPE Gateway. One (1) course:
- ECON-L 260 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Gateway
- PHIL-L 260 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Gateway
- POLS-L 260 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Gateway
ECON-L 260 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Gateway
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 251 or ECON-B 251; and admission to the PPE minor
- Description
- Examines historical and contemporary attempts to understand the normative foundations and real features of our key economic, social, and political institutions. Explores central concepts such as justice, freedom, property, equality, efficiency, wealth, and inequality from the perspectives of philosophy, political science, and economics.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of ECON-L 260, PHIL-L 260, or POLS-L 260.
PHIL-L 260 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Gateway
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 251 or ECON-B 251; and admission to the PPE minor
- Description
- Examines historical and contemporary attempts to understand the normative foundations and real features of our key economic, social, and political institutions. Explores central concepts such as justice, freedom, property, equality, efficiency, wealth, and inequality from the perspectives of philosophy, political science, and economics.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of PHIL-L 260, ECON-L 260, or POLS-L 260.
POLS-L 260 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Gateway
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 251 or ECON-B 251; and admission to the PPE minor
- Description
- Examines historical and contemporary attempts to understand the normative foundations and real features of our key economic, social, and political institutions. Explores central concepts such as justice, freedom, property, equality, efficiency, wealth, and inequality from the perspectives of philosophy, political science, and economics.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of POLS-L 260, ECON-L 260, or PHIL-L 260.
- Philosophy Elective. One (1) course:
- PHIL-P 332 Feminism and Value
- PHIL-P 340 Classics in Ethics
- PHIL-P 342 Problems of Ethics
- PHIL-P 343 Classics in Social and Political Philosophy
- PHIL-P 345 Problems in Social and Political Philosophy
- PHIL-P 375 Philosophy of Law
PHIL-P 332 Feminism and Value
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: 3 credit hours in philosophy or advanced work in a field related to the course topic. Students without this background should take PHIL-P 103
- Description
- Selected topics from philosophical feminism. Topics may include gender and its relationship to sex; the relationship among sexism, feminism and sexuality; theories of the institutions through which sexist norms are perpetuated and reified and of the intersections and interactions amongst sexism, classism, racism and heterosexism. Focus is on philosophical frameworks underlying feminist theorizing.
- Summer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
PHIL-P 340 Classics in Ethics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: 3 credit hours in philosophy or 300-level work in a related field such as religious studies, political theory, or intellectual history. Students without this background should take PHIL-P 140
- Description
- Readings from Plato and Aristotle to Kant, Mill, and Nietzsche. Topics include virtue and human nature, pleasure and the good, the role of reason in ethics, the objectivity of moral principles, and the relation of religion to ethics.
- Summer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
PHIL-P 342 Problems of Ethics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: 3 credit hours in Philosophy or 300-level work in a related field such as religious studies or political theory. Students without this background should take PHIL-P 140
- Description
- May concentrate on a single large issue (e.g., whether utilitarianism is an adequate ethical theory), or several more or less independent issues (e.g., the nature of goodness, the relation of good to ought, the objectivity of moral judgments, moral responsibility, moral emotions, concepts of virtue, cultural conflicts of value, the nature of moral discourse).
- Summer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
PHIL-P 343 Classics in Social and Political Philosophy
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: 3 credit hours in philosophy
- Description
- Readings from Plato and Aristotle to Hobbes, Locke, Hegel, and Marx. Topics include the ideal state, the nature and proper ends of the state, natural law and natural right, social contract theory, and the notion of community.
- Summer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
PHIL-P 345 Problems in Social and Political Philosophy
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: 3 credit hours in Philosophy or in a field related to the course. Students without this background should take PHIL-P 145
- Description
- Problems of contemporary relevance: civil disobedience, participatory democracy, conscience and authority, law and morality.
- Summer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
PHIL-P 375 Philosophy of Law
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: 3 credit hours of philosophy
- Description
- Selective survey of philosophical problems concerning law and the legal system. Topics include nature and validity of law, morality and law, legal obligation, judicial decision, rights, justice, responsibility, and punishment.
- Summer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Political Science Elective. One (1) course:
- POLS-P 303
- POLS-Y 305 Constitutional Rights and Liberties
- POLS-Y 317 Voting, Elections, and Public Opinion
- POLS-Y 321 The Media and Politics
- POLS-Y 342
- POLS-Y 343 The Politics of International Development
- POLS-Y 349 Policy Making Around the Globe
- POLS-Y 375 War and International Conflict
- POLS-Y 376 International Political Economy
- POLS-Y 379 Ethics and Public Policy
- POLS-Y 381 Classical Political Thought
- POLS-Y 382 Modern Political Thought
- POLS-Y 383 Foundations of American Political Thought
- POLS-Y 384 Developments in American Political Thought
- POLS-Y 344
POLS-Y 305 Constitutional Rights and Liberties
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Extent and limits of constitutional rights; selected Supreme Court decisions interpreting American constitutional system.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
POLS-Y 317 Voting, Elections, and Public Opinion
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Determinants of voting behavior in elections. The nature of public opinion regarding major domestic and foreign policy issues; development of political ideology; other influences on the voting choices of individuals and the outcomes of elections; relationships among public opinion, elections, and the development of public policy.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
POLS-Y 321 The Media and Politics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines the contemporary relationship between the media and politics, including use of the media by politicians and public officials, media coverage of governmental activities, and media coverage of campaigns and elections. Course focuses primarily on the United States, but includes comparative perspectives.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
POLS-Y 343 The Politics of International Development
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines the key debates and issues regarding how "poor" countries develop economically and socially. Analyzes the interactions between politics and economics in the development process at the global, national, and local levels. Cases for comparison will include countries from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
POLS-Y 349 Policy Making Around the Globe
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Compares public policies and policy making among both advanced industrial democracies and the developing world. Surveys policy areas such as immigration, health care, education, and workers' rights.
- Summer 2025CASE GCCcourseSpring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
POLS-Y 375 War and International Conflict
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- The nature of war. Theories and evidence on the causes of war. Discussion of the ways in which war has been conceived and perceived across time and of methods employed to study the phenomenon of war.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
POLS-Y 376 International Political Economy
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Theories about the interaction between the international economic and political systems are the subject of this course. Works from each of the main traditions -- liberal, Marxist, and statist -- will be assigned. Specific topics covered will include (among others): the politics of trade, aid, foreign investment, and international monetary affairs; theories of dependency and imperialism; the politics of international competition in specific industries; the stability/ instability of international economic regimes.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
POLS-Y 379 Ethics and Public Policy
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- This course examines the ethical responsibilities of public officials in democratic societies. It explores such topics as the meaning of moral leadership, the appeal to personal conscious in public decision making, and the problem of "dirty hands" among others. A special concern is how institutional arrangements affect moral choices.
- Summer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
POLS-Y 381 Classical Political Thought
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An exposition and critical analysis of the major political philosophers and philosophical schools from Plato to Machiavelli.
- Summer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Summer 2025CASE GCCcourseSpring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
POLS-Y 382 Modern Political Thought
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An exposition and critical analysis of the major political philosophers and philosophical schools from Machiavelli to the present.
- Summer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
POLS-Y 383 Foundations of American Political Thought
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Explores the evolution of American political ideas from colonization through ratification of the Constitution and its implementation.
- Summer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
POLS-Y 384 Developments in American Political Thought
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Explores the evolution of American political ideas under the Constitution of the United States, and its promises and problems.
- Summer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Economics Elective. One (1) course:
- ECON-E 303 Survey of International Economics
- ECON-E 305 Money and Banking
- ECON-E 308 Survey of Public Finance
- ECON-E 309 Topics in Economics
- ECON-E 327 Game Theory
- ECON-E 331 International Trade
- ECON-E 337 Economic Development
- ECON-E 341 Economics of Labor Market
- ECON-E 344 Health Economics
- ECON-E 351
- ECON-E 361
- ECON-E 362 Public Finance: Taxation
- ECON-E 364 Environment and Resource Economics
- ECON-E 385 Economics of Industry
ECON-E 303 Survey of International Economics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 252 or ECON-B 252
- Description
- Basis for and effects of international trade, commercial policy and effects of trade restrictions, balance of payments and exchange rate adjustment, international monetary systems, and fixed versus flexible exchange rates.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ECON-E 305 Money and Banking
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 252 or ECON-B 252
- Description
- Monetary and banking system of the U.S. The supply and control of money. The impact of money on the U.S. economy. Topics in the application of Federal Reserve monetary policy. Analytical treatment of the Federal Reserve system and the commercial banking industry.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ECON-E 308 Survey of Public Finance
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 252 or ECON-B 252
- Description
- Major elements of taxation and public expenditures.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ECON-E 309 Topics in Economics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 252 or ECON-B 252
- Description
- Study of a topic area in economics. Topics will vary. Intended primarily for those wanting exposure to economics beyond the introductory level.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ECON-E 327 Game Theory
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 321 or ECON-S 321
- Description
- Mathematical analysis of strategic interaction. Noncooperative games played once or repeatedly, with perfect or imperfect information. Necessary condition for a solution (equilibrium) as well as sufficient conditions (refinements). Cooperative games, such as bargaining and market games. Numerous applications, including experimental games.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ECON-E 331 International Trade
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 321 or ECON-S 321
- Notes
- Only 6 credit hours from ECON-E 303, ECON-E 331, and ECON-E 332 may be counted toward a major in economics
- Description
- Theories of trade pattern, positive and normative aspects of trade and trade-related policies in competitive and non-competitive markets; effects of trade liberalization and economic integration; trade policies by developed and developing nations; international factor movements.
ECON-E 337 Economic Development
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 321 or ECON-S 321
- Description
- Characteristics of economically underdeveloped countries. Obstacles to sustained growth; planning and other policies for stimulating growth; examination of development problems and experience in particular countries.
ECON-E 341 Economics of Labor Market
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 321 or ECON-S 321
- Notes
- R: ECON-E 370 or ECON-S 370
- Description
- Analysis of the functioning of labor markets with theoretical, empirical, and policy applications in determination of employment and wages in the U.S. economy.
ECON-E 344 Health Economics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 321 or ECON-S 321
- Notes
- R: ECON-E 370 or ECON-S 370
- Description
- Systematic introduction to health economics and economics of health care, emphasis on basic economic concepts such as supply and demand, production of health, information economics, choice under uncertainty, health insurance markets, Medicare and Medicaid, managed care, government intervention and regulation. Survey course with some topics in some depth.
ECON-E 362 Public Finance: Taxation
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 321 or ECON-S 321
- Notes
- Only 6 credit hours from ECON-E 308, ECON-E 361, and ECON-E 362 may be counted toward a major in economics
- Description
- U.S. tax structure, income redistribution effects, and efficiency in resource allocation. Use of welfare theory and microeconomic models to evaluate particular issues.
ECON-E 364 Environment and Resource Economics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 321 or ECON-S 321
- Description
- Basic theory of common property resources applied to environment and resource conservation problems. Topics include economic efficiency, equity, measurement problems, and policy formulation.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
ECON-E 385 Economics of Industry
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ECON-E 321 or ECON-S 321
- Description
- Empirical analysis of market structure and behavior. Location, technology, economies of scale, vertical integration, conglomerates, barriers to entry, and competitive practices. Economic assessment of product performance and environmental impact.
- PPE Captstone.
- ECON-L 460 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Capstone
- PHIL-L 460 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Capstone
- POLS-L 460 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Capstone
ECON-L 460 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Capstone
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- Consent of PPE program administrator
- Description
- Centers on historical and contemporary attempts to make headway on challenging issues of social significance by drawing on the theoretical and methodological resources of Philosophy, Economics, and Political Science. Students work closely with faculty from the three disciplines on an interdisciplinary research project.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of ECON-L 460, PHIL-L 460, or POLS-L 460.
PHIL-L 460 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Capstone
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- Consent of PPE program administrator
- Description
- Centers on historical and contemporary attempts to make headway on challenging issues of social significance by drawing on the theoretical and methodological resources of Philosophy, Economics, and Political Science. Students work closely with faculty from the three disciplines on an interdisciplinary research project.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of PHIL-L 460, ECON-L 460, or POLS-L 460.
POLS-L 460 Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Capstone
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- Consent of PPE program administrator
- Description
- Centers on historical and contemporary attempts to make headway on challenging issues of social significance by drawing on the theoretical and methodological resources of Philosophy, Economics, and Political Science. Students work closely with faculty from the three disciplines on an interdisciplinary research project.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of POLS-L 460, ECON-L 460, or PHIL-L 460.
- Minor GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
- Minor GPA. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the minor—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
- Minor Minimum Grade. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the minor.
- Minor Upper Division Credit Hours. At least 9 credit hours in the minor must be completed at the 300–499 level.
- Minor Residency. At least 9 credit hours in the minor must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
Minor Area Courses
-
Unless otherwise noted below, the following courses are considered in the academic program and will count toward academic program requirements as appropriate:
- Any course contained on the course lists for the academic program requirements at the time the course is taken—as well as any other courses that are deemed functionally equivalent—except for those listed only under Addenda Requirements
- Any course directed to a non-Addenda requirement through an approved exception
Exceptions to and substitutions for minor requirements may be made with the approval of the unit's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.
The minor in Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics (PPE) is a selective admission minor program. To be eligible for admission students must:
- Bloomington Residency. Have completed at least 30 credit hours at IU Bloomington.
- Fundamentals of Economics I. One (1) course with a grade of A- or higher:
- ECON-B 251 Fundamentals of Economics for Business I
- ECON-E 251
ECON-B 251 Fundamentals of Economics for Business I
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- First course in a two-course sequence that introduces business students to essential economic concepts. Examines the economic notions of cost and gains from trade, determinants of economic growth, consumer and firm behavior in competitive and non-competitive environments, the effects of taxation, externalities, moral hazard and adverse selection, and basic game theory.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of ECON-B 251 or ECON-E 251.
- Summer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
- Application. Submit an application to the PPE governing committee.