BA in PPE

The Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) The PPE major is designed to help students develop an interdisciplinary toolkit for approaching social and political problems. To do so, the major is divided into three components:

The Common Foundations, which serve to ensure that students develop an understanding of the relevant disciplines of Philosophy, Politics and Economics,
The PPE Core, which serves to ensure that students become comfortable with the integrative skills that a PPE approach to thinking requires, and
The Thematic Concentration, which serves to allow students to explore PPE-related questions at different levels of political and economic organization according to their interests.

The major is completed with a Capstone course, which serves to provide students with experience in integrating these skills to study complex social challenges.

Apply to the PPE Program

Undergraduate Admissions

Students interested in the PPE major or minor programs may contact the Director of the PPE Program for additional information and academic advice.

Contact

Ryan Muldoon, PhD, director of the PPE Program, rmuldoon@buffalo.edu

Degree Requirements

In addition to the requirements of the UB Division of Undergraduate Studies, the BA in PPE requires students to earn a earn a total of at least 45 credit hours. Students must complete 15 courses, with courses consisting of three (3) or four (4) credits each.

Download PDF of Curriculum Requirements

Common Foundations

Students must complete two (2) courses in each of the associated programs:

Two (2) courses in Philosophy:
- PHI 342 Political Philosophy, and
One (1) of the following:
- PHI 105 Contemporary Moral Problems
- PHI 107 Introduction to Ethics
- PHI 162 Law, Morality, Authority
- PHI 238 Philosophy of Law
- PHI 322 Philosophy of Social Sciences
- PHI 335 Contemporary Ethical Theory
- PHI 337 Ethics and Economics
- PHI 341 Social Philosophy
- PHI 438 Topics in Ethics
Two (2) courses in Political Science:
- PSC 200 Empirical Political Science, and
- One (1) of the following:
  - PSC 101 Introduction to American Politics
  - PSC 102 Introduction to International Politics
  - PSC 103 Introduction to Comparative Politics
Two (2) courses in Economics:
- One (1) of the following courses in Microeconomics:
  - ECO 182 Introduction to Microeconomics
  - ECO 405 Microeconomic Theory
- One (1) of the following:
  - ECO 181 Introduction to Macroeconomics
  - ECO 380 Economic Statistics and Data Analytics
  - ECO 407 Macroeconomic Theory

PPE Core

Students must complete one (1) course in each of the following core competencies:

One (1) course in Model-Based Reasoning:
- PHI 185 Model-Based Reasoning
One (1) course in Game or Decision Theory:
- ECO 467 Economics and Game Theory
- PHI 323 Decision Theory
- PSC 393 Game Theory and Politics
One (1) course in Policy and Change:
- PHI 353 Conflict and Dispute Resolution
- PSC 314 Public Policy Making
- PSC 343 The Politics of the Civil War
- PSY 332 Social Conflict and Its Resolution
- PSY 333 Organizational Psychology
- PSY 409 Organizational Development and Change
- SOC 309 Social Change
- SOC 384 Social Movements
- SOC 467 Sociology and Social Policy
One (1) course in Political Economy:
- ECO 464 Public Economics
- PHI 350 Philosophy of Political Economy
- PSC 315 American Political Economy
- PSC 328 International Political Economy
- PSC 413 Comparative Political Economy
- SOC 360 Political Sociology

Thematic Domains

Students must complete four (4) courses from one (1) of the following three domains, where the selected courses are from at least two (2) different departments and at least (3) of those courses are completed at the 300/400 level:

Local Domain Courses:

APY 474 Cities and Cultures
ECO 209 Introduction to Urban Economics
ECO 421 Urban Economics
END 212 Urban and Environmental Planning
END 279 Exploring the Design of Buffalo Niagara
END 301 Perspective on Land Use and Development
END 302 Sustainable Urban Environments
END 304 Transportation in Environmental Design and Urban Life
END 308 Health and Urban Environments
END 313 Local Government, Policy and Politics
END 322 Race and Place in the Built Environment
END 406 Housing and Community Development
END 408 Race, Class, Gender and the City
END 422 Economic Development Planning
END 439 Legal Government Finance and Budgeting
END 441 Nonprofit Management
END 442 Central City Revitalization
END 467 Legal Issues in Planning and Development
GEO 366 Urban Geography
GEO 367 urban Social Geography
GEO 430 Applied Urban Geography
HIS 327 The City in American History
HIS 448 Race and American Urban History
PSC 312 Urban Politics
SOC 315 Sociology of City Life
SOC 342 Social Groups in Urban Spaces
SOC 348 Urban Sociology
SOC 385 Neighborhoods and Health

National Domain Courses:

ECO 201 Economic History of the United States
ECO 208 Introduction to Environmental Economics
ECO 212 Current Economic Problems
ECO 411 Health Economics
ECO 412 Environmental Economics
ECO 425 Money and Financial Institutions
ECO 440 Economics of Education
ECO 443 Labor Economics
PSC 215 Law and the Political Process
PSC 222 Politics and Society
PSC 225 Equality and Justices in the US
PSC 293 Race and the Law
PSC 301 Cases in Civil Liberties
PSC 302 Protecting Civil Liberties
PSC 303 Constitutional Law
PSC 304 Legislative Politics
PSC 307 Political Parties
PSC 309 American Federalism
PSC 384 American Political Principles
PSY 415 Psychology and the Law
PSY 452 Psychology of Prejudice
SOC 206 Social Problems
SOC 211 Sociology of Diversity
SOC 317 Criminal Justice Systems
SOC 321 Race and Ethnicity
SOC 328 Social Inequality
SOC 349 Classical Social Theory
SOC 371 Individual and Society
SOC 373 Law and Society

Global Domain:

ECO 416 Economic Development
ECO 434 International Finance
ECO 435 International Economics
ECO 493 Topics in International Economics
END 363 Cities and Globalization
END 476 Comparative and Global Development Issues
GEO 333 International Trade
GEO 460 Geography of Development
PHI 343 Global Justice
PSC 332 International Organizations
PSC 333 International Relations Theory
PSC 338 Comparative Foreign Policies
PSC 339 International Law
PSC 342 Politics of Developing Nations
PSC 412 Comparative Political Institutions
PSC 418 The International System

Capstone

Students must complete the capstone course:

PHI 485 Integrating Insights from Philosophy, Politics and Economics