Philosophy, Politics, and Law Certificate
The Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL, pronounced “People”) certificate provides students with the opportunity to learn about the philosophical foundations, history, and social practice of human rights and liberties in modern democracies. Students are expected to gain a deep understanding of how our legal and political institutions have functioned in the past, how they currently function, and how they ought to function, as well as how citizens might play a meaningful role in them.
While philosophical analysis focuses on what constitutes legitimate political authority and its exercise over individual behavior, one also need to understand how human social and political life actually works. Conversely, one’s grasp of political, legal, and social behavior is greatly enriched by a conceptual and foundational perspective on the norms of behavior. Political Science, philosophy, and other disciplines such as history, sociology, or economics are thus perfectly complementary when it comes to advancing one’s understanding of our legal and political institutions.
Students who successfully complete the PPL certificate will gain substantial knowledge of democratic political ideas, practices, and institutions from multiple disciplines as well as solid skills in reading, writing, oral communication, and analytic thinking. This is a useful background for students planning to pursue graduate degrees in law, philosophy, political science, or history. It is also a good springboard for careers in business, public service, international affairs, journalism, and teaching.
The PPL certificate requires students to take a total of 27 credits (9 courses), including 9 credits (3 courses) in philosophy, 9 credits (3 courses) in political science, and 9 credits (3 courses) in either history, sociology, or economics. In philosophy and political science, it is required that at least 1 course (3 credits) be upper-division in each discipline. The certificate will be easy to complete for students who decide to major or minor in either philosophy or political Science, or both.
Courses taken to fulfil the PPL certificate also satisfy a wide range of general education requirements, including E, H, S, X and Y.
To stay in the program, students must maintain an overall G.P.A. of 3.0. All courses chosen for the certificate must be completed with a grade of C or better.
The certificate is jointly administered by the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Political Science, and the Pre-Law Program. Primary contacts are Prof. Soazig Le Bihan (soazig.lebihan@umontana.edu) and Prof. Ramona Grey (ramona.grey@umontana.edu), Chair of the Political Science Department.
Students interested in pursuing the PPL certificate must receive formal approval from one of the primary contacts listed above.
General Certificate Requirements
Additional requirements for graduation can be found on the Degree/Certificate Requirements for Graduation page.
Unless otherwise noted in individual program requirements, a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in all work attempted at the University of Montana-Missoula is required for graduation. Please see the Academic Policies and Procedures page for information on how your GPA is calculated.
Courses taken to satisfy the requirements of a major, minor, or certificate program must be completed with a grade of C- or better unless a higher grade is noted in the program requirements.
Post-Secondary Certificate - Philosophy, Politics, and Law
- This certificate requires a GPA of 3.0.
Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Philosophy | ||
| Complete three of the following core ethics courses. At least one of the course taken must be upper-division (300-level or above). | 9 | |
| Introduction to Philosophy | ||
| Introduction to Ethics | ||
| Intro Ethics and Environment | ||
| Intro to Political Ethics | ||
| Moral Philosophy | ||
| Intro to Logic: Deduction | ||
| History of Ancient Philosophy | ||
| History of Modern Philosophy | ||
| Historical Figures in Phil | ||
| Law and Morality | ||
| Law and Discrimination | ||
| Ethics of Climate Change | ||
| Justice | ||
| Iris Murdoch's Ethics | ||
| Rousseau | ||
| Topics in Value Theory | ||
| Philosophy of Law | ||
| Political Science | ||
| Complete three of the following courses. At least one of the course taken must be upper-division (300-level or above). | 9 | |
| Tribal Sovereignty | ||
| Intro to American Government | ||
| Intro to Comparative Government | ||
| Intro to International Relations | ||
| Intro to Political Theory | ||
| American Foreign Policy | ||
| Experimental Offering: American Government | ||
| Media, Public Opinion, Polling | ||
| State and Local Government | ||
| American Political System | ||
| US Multicultural Politics | ||
| Montana Government and Politics | ||
| Experimental Offering: Political Theory | ||
| American Political Thought | ||
| Contemporary Issues in Political Theory | ||
| Experimental Offering: Public Administration | ||
| Public Administration | ||
| Public Policy Issues and Analysis | ||
| Courts and Judicial Politics | ||
| Global Health Issues | ||
| Politics of Global Migration | ||
| Experimental Offering: American Government | ||
| Politics of Social Movements | ||
| American Political Participation | ||
| Political Psychology | ||
| Health Care Policy | ||
| Experimental Offering: Political Theory | ||
| Utopianism and its Critics | ||
| Modern Political Theory | ||
| Experimental Offering: Public Administration | ||
| Development Administration | ||
| Ethics and Public Policy | ||
| American Constitutional Law | ||
| Civil Rights | ||
| History, Sociology, and Economics | ||
| Complete three courses in the following categories. At least one of the course taken must be upper-division (300-level or above). | 9 | |
| American History (HSTA) | ||
| European and World History (HSTR) | ||
| Economics (ECNS) except for ECNS 481 | ||
| Sociology (SOCI) except for SOCI 225 and SOCI 318 | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |