Honours Bachelor of Arts in Ethics and Contemporary Social Issues for Algonquin College Law Clerk Graduates

Program description

Ethics is the branch of study that deals with human behaviour and values in the context of the society in which we live. Ethics seeks to answer two questions: how to live one’s life well and how to do the right thing.

Offered by the Faculty of Philosophy, the Public Ethics undergraduate program provides a basic understanding of the major ethical issues within contemporary society, and of ethical problems in such areas as religion, politics, health, business, communications, justice, environment, public affairs, etc. Applying key ethical theories, students analyze these issues, identify their inherent values and conflicts, and suggest possible solutions to these ethical dilemmas.

In addition to the foundational courses,* the program offers courses on the theories developed by leading thinkers in the fields of ethics and moral and political philosophy. Students are given an opportunity to deepen their understanding of specific subjects by applying their theoretical knowledge to concrete ethical challenges.

*The foundational courses are a compulsory part of every bachelor’s degree program offered at Saint Paul University.

What you’ll learn

During your studies you will explore the major fields and themes of philosophy and their related issues, in order to define, explain and clarify an ethical problem.

You will also learn to communicate your knowledge effectively (in writing and orally), and to take a position on an ethical dilemma and suggest possible solutions.

Why choose Saint Paul University?

• For its small class sizes and close student-teacher ratio
• For its safe, secure and friendly campus with personalized services
• For its bilingual setting in the heart of the national capital
• For its diverse student population and international vision
• For its solid reputation, experience, history and Catholic tradition

Career opportunities

• Aboriginal affairs officer
• Analyst
• Columnist
• Development officer
• Editor
• Essayist
• Ethics advisor in the private and public sector
• Journalist who specializes in this area
• Liaison officer for immigrant settlement
• Policy analyst
• Policy officer
• Press secretary
• Public programs officer
• Researcher

Click here to find out more about Admission Scholarships at Saint Paul University.

Other programs that may interest you

• Honours Bachelor of Arts in Conflict Studies

• Sophie Cloutier, Associate Professor
• Richard Feist, Associate professor
• Louis Perron, Associate Professor
• Rajesh Chandra Shukla, Associate Professor
• Monique Lanoix, Associate professor
• Chantal Beauvais, Rector
• Matthew McLennan, Associate Professor
• Julie Paquette, Associate Professor

Applications: A step-by-step guide

STEP 1: Choose a program of study
STEP 2: Learn about admission requirements
STEP 3: Submit your application
STEP 4: Gather the documents needed for the assessment of your application
STEP 5: Assessment of your application
STEP 6: Accept your offer of admission
STEP 7: Choose your courses

STEP 1: CHOOSE A PROGRAM OF STUDY

Undergraduate programs:

• Certificates
• Bachelors
• Ecclesiastical Programs
• Other Programs
• College Credit Transfer

STEP 2: LEARN ABOUT ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

 

• Ontario applicants
• Quebec applicants
• Applicants from the Atlantic and Western provinces
• International applicants
• Applicants from other universities
• Mature applicants

Ontario applicants

From secondary school
Have an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with at least six 4U or 4M level courses, including one 4U level course in English or français.

From Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT)

• After one year of studies
  You are eligible if you have completed one year of a college program and have obtained the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with one language course (English or français) at the college or 4U level.
• After a two- or three-year program
  If you have completed a two- or three-year college program, you can obtain up to 30 credits of advanced standing (transfer credits).

Our transfer agreements
Saint Paul University has developed a number of transfer agreements with colleges, allowing applicants to receive upwards of 30 units in equivalencies. Find out more by consulting our articulation agreements page. 

Quebec applicants

From secondary school
Have a Secondary School Diploma with an average of 84%, including one course in English or français at the Secondary V level.

From Cégep
Have completed 12 courses of general studies (not including physical education and refresher courses), including English (603) or français (601). Applicants who have successfully completed 12 courses of general studies may obtain up to 15 credits of advanced standing, and those who have successfully completed more than 12 courses of general studies may obtain up to 30 credits of advanced standing.

Applicants from the Atlantic and Western provinces

Have a Secondary School Diploma, including one course in English or français at the Grade 12 level.

Applicants from other universities

Applications from other Canadian or international universities will be assessed based on the applicant’s previous secondary and post-secondary studies. University equivalency credits may be granted depending on the studies completed and the program into which the person is admitted.

International applicants

Have a diploma attesting to 12 years of education equivalent to the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). Persons who have completed a secondary diploma attesting to 13 years of education, such as the Baccalauréat de l’enseignement secondaire français, can receive up to 30 credits of advanced standing. 

Mature applicants

When the applicant’s academic record does not meet normal conditions for admission, it is possible to apply as a mature applicant, provided that the person has not been enrolled in full-time studies for at least two consecutive years. In order to be considered for admission, applicants must have experience that can be considered sufficient preparation for pursuing undergraduate studies.

STEP 3: SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

 

You have two options

 

OPTION 1

If you are applying for admission to an undergraduate program at more than one Ontario university, including Saint Paul University:

• Complete the application form available at the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC).

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Because Saint Paul University is federated with the University of Ottawa, you will find programs offered by Saint Paul University listed under the University of Ottawa.

OPTION 2

If you are applying for an undergraduate program at Saint Paul University only, or if you are applying for a master’s or doctoral program:

• Complete the following form.

 

 

STEP 4: GATHER THE DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF YOUR APPLICATION

 

In order for us to assess your application, you must submit official transcripts for all of your previous studies (secondary, college and university). These transcripts must be sent directly from your academic institution to the following address:

 

Saint Paul University
Office of Admissions and Student Services
223 Main Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 1C4
CANADA

 

However, to expedite the assessment process for your application, you can scan your documents and e-mail them to the Office of Admissions at admission@ustpaul.ca and then send your official documents through the mail.

 

STEP 5: ASSESSMENT OF YOUR APPLICATION

Once the Office of Admissions receives all the required documents, it will begin to assess your application. One of the following decisions will be sent to you at the email address you gave us, as well as to your postal address.

Possible decisions

• Offer of admission
  The Office of Admissions will send you an offer of admission (unconditional).  
• Conditional offer of admission
  The Office of Admissions will make you a conditional offer of admission, with specific conditions that you must meet by a certain deadline. You can still proceed to registration (course selection).
• Deferred decision
  The Office of Admissions can inform you that some information is missing and therefore the University is unable to make a decision regarding your eligibility. If applicable, the Office will tell you which documents to send and by what date.
• Refusal
  The Office of Admissions will inform you of the reasons for the refusal.

 

STEP 6: ACCEPT YOUR OFFER OF ADMISSION

To accept an offer of admission and a scholarship offer, if applicable, you must sign the form entitled Admission acceptance form that accompanies your offer of admission and send it to Saint Paul University by email, before the deadline, to the following address admission@ustpaul.ca or mail it to:

Saint Paul University
Office of Admissions and Student Services
223 Main Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 1C4
CANADA

 

STEP 7: CHOOSE YOUR COURSES

With your offer of admission, you will receive all the information you will need to choose your courses. You will also receive the contact information for our academic advisors; you can meet with them one on one or during information sessions for guidance and to help you finalize your course selection.

Discipline Specific Courses (54 units)

Compulsory Courses (39 units)

• PHI 1105 Introduction to Critical Thinking
• PHI 2141 Fundamentals of Democracy and Governance
• PHI 2142 Utilitarian Ethics
• PHI 2143 Deontological Ethics
• PHI 2144 Virtue Ethics
• PHI 2146 Social Justice
• PHI 2181 Human Knowledge
• PHI 2182 Philosophical Anthropology
• PHI 3133 Feminist Ethics
• PHI 3307 Ethics, Multiculturalism and Immigration
• PHI 3308 Ethics and Public Service
• PHI 4121 Applied Ethics in Organizational Contexts
• PHI 4181 Research Project

Optional Courses (15 units)

6 units from:

• PHI 2111 History of Western Ethics
• PHI 2121 Ethics and New Biotechnologies
• PHI 2185 Ethics and Education
• PHI 3134 Environnemental and Animal Ethics
• PHI 3383 Conservatism and Libertarianism
• PHI 3385 Marx and Marxian Traditions

9 units from:

• PHI 3129 Ethics, AI and Big Data
• PHI 3309 Ethics and Religion
• PHI 4119 Ethics, War and Terrorism
• PHI 4155 Selected Topics in Ethics and Politics
• PHI 4313 Ethics and Disability
• PHI 4901 Internship II

Elective Courses (6 units - must be of 3000 or 4000 level)

HTP 1102 - Approaches in the Humanities: Interpreting the Human Experience

Introduction to theoretical approaches in the Humanities and to the methods that are applied to interpret the multiple expressions of human experience, particularly those expressed in important works of art and literature.

HTP 1103 - People, Social Justice and Ecology

Social and ecological challenges facing humanity today, and related issues of social justice. These questions will be examined from a perspective of community building and efforts towards ecological and social transformations for a hopeful future.

HTP 1105 - Critical Analysis, Reading and Writing Academic Works

Development of abilities to read critically and understand academic works. Focus on formal writing skills: techniques of clear expression and construction of texts, argument development and organization. This course also includes a library laboratory component with focus on research skills, citations, and academic integrity.

HTP 1106 - The First Peoples in Canada

Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives on the First Peoples in Canada, cultural diversity, traditional practices and beliefs, relationship with the environment, changing roles and structures influenced by colonization. Contemporary issues faced by First Nations, Métis and Inuit, including cultural genocide and trauma.

ISC 2306 - Media and Ethics

Constitutive elements of ethical behavior. Basic ethical criteria in media communication. Rights in communication situations. Deontology codes in use in several institutions. Case analysis in media praxis: persuasion communication and fiction.

PHI 1105 - Introduction to Critical Thinking

Explores the various sides of Critical Thinking: the nature of arguments, common errors in reasoning as well as evaluating evidence and information. Enables students to acquire and develop research and writing skills.

PHI 2111 - History of Western Ethics

When offered, this course would take one of the following three forms: I. Ancient and Medieval Ethics: Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman Ethics. Selection from Plato’s Dialogues, and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. Selection from the Epicureans, Stoics, Neoplatonists, and Aquinas. II. Early Modern Ethics: Renaissance Humanists, Hobbes, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, and Hume. III. Post-Kantian Ethics. Selections from Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, J.S. Mill, T.H. Green. Selections from Moore, the positivists and post-modernists. Western ethics may be compared and contrasted to selected non-Western traditions.

PHI 2121 - Ethics and New Biotechnologies

Impact of robotics and new technologies on the patient-healthcare practitioner relationship, medical interventions, the manner in which we perceive our own bodies, and transhumanism.

PHI 2141 - Fundamentals of Democracy and Governance

Study of the fundamentals of democracy and governance, and of its principal thinkers and critics, starting from Plato. Distinction between ancient and modern forms of democracy. Overview of the principles of political liberalism underpinning contemporary democracies. Comparison between democracy and other forms of government. Study of different models of governance and of the implications of a managerial conception of politics.

PHI 2142 - Utilitarian Ethics

General history of utilitarianism, with readings from main thinkers in the tradition from its beginnings up to the present day (Bentham, Mill, Sidgwick, Singer, Lazari-Radek). Study of applied dimensions of this approach, as well as of its limitations.

PHI 2143 - Deontological Ethics

General history of deontology, with readings from main thinkers in this tradition from its beginnings up to the present day (Kant, Ross, O’Neill). Study of applied dimensions of this approach, as well as of its limitations.

PHI 2144 - Virtue Ethics

General history of virtue ethics, with readings from main thinkers in this tradition from its beginnings to the present day (Aristotle, MacIntyre, Nussbaum, non-western perspectives). Study of applied dimensions of this approach, as well as of its limitations.

PHI 2146 - Social Justice

Explores, from the perspective of social justice theories, issues such as social inequalities, poverty, refugees, war, and environmental degradation. Examines criticisms of this perspective.

PHI 2181 - Human Knowledge

Study of the traditional, universalist, approach to knowledge as well as contemporary standpoint approaches, such as feminist and postmodernist.

PHI 2182 - Philosophical Anthropology

Study of different philosophical conceptions of the human being.

PHI 2185 - Ethics and Education

Examination of the philosophical and psychological research on the formation of ethical judgments. Relationships between judgment, feeling, and moral action. Examination of how various learning theories can be incorporated into teaching ethics to children, how ethics may be taught to children both inside and outside a religious context. Education as a pillar of democratic citizenship.

PHI 3129 - Ethics, AI and Big Data

Study of emerging ethical issues and dilemmas prompted by the Internet and related technologies. Range of topics that could include privacy, cyber-bullying, algorithms governance, control society, accessibility issues, and the monetization of data. Foundations of artificial intelligence, and ethical and public policy issues linked to emerging and possible artificial intelligence technologies.

PHI 3133 - Feminist Ethics

Examination of the development of critical theories and new ethical models in different feminist currents. How these ethics take into consideration the marginalized voices of oppressed groups.

PHI 3134 - Environmental and Animal Ethics

Explores ethical issues concerning non-human animals and the environment, such as harvesting non-human animals for food production and the social problems arising from global warming.

PHI 3307 - Ethics, Multiculturalism and Immigration

This course examines the relation of ethics, multiculturalism, and immigration, studies the questions regarding the possibility of a multicultural ethics, and addresses the issues and debates arising from cultural relativism and identity politics in the functioning of modern societies.

PHI 3308 - Ethics and Public Service

Ethical issues relating to the public sector. Definitions of the common good and of public service. Study of the role of public policy in the functioning of various states and governments, and the implications of their coherence or conflict in the social, political and economic realms.

PHI 3309 - Ethics and Religion

This course examines the philosophical foundations of various ethical and religious traditions and addresses the possibility of their convergence in modern liberal societies.

PHI 3383 - Conservatism and Libertarianism

Explores the various kinds of conservative and libertarian philosophies with an emphasis on their differing views on the nature of truth and reason. Investigates conservative and libertarian critiques of social justice.

PHI 3385 - Marx and Marxian Traditions

Analysis of Marxist theories as well as non-western and recent post-marxist interpretations and their mobilization in thinking through oppression and power relationships.

PHI 3901 - Internship I

A minimum of 130 hours professionally supervised in an environment that includes a component of public ethics or analysis of public policies. The internship incorporates a cumulative reflective practice component in order to encourage the critical integration of theory and practice. The internship culminates in the writing of a detailed practicum report. Prerequisite: 24 PHI credits with a cumulative grade point average of 8.0. Graded S/NS.

PHI 4119 - Ethics, War and Terrorism

Analysis of ethical, political, and public policy dimensions of armed conflict in a global era: just war theory, humanitarian intervention, war and diplomacy, emerging military technologies, torture, detainment, state of exception, and human rights.

PHI 4121 - Applied Ethics in Organizational Contexts

Analysis of ethical issues emerging in organizational contexts. Case studies to demonstrate how ethical decisions are made on the ground.

PHI 4155 - Selected Topics in Ethics and Politics

Study of a particular topic, thinker or tradition. Critical analysis of the link between ethics and politics.

PHI 4181 - Research Project

Writing of a major research project. Application of what the student has learned over the course of the B.A. to a topic of his or her own interest.

PHI 4313 - Ethics and Disability

Analyzes models of disability from medical to social and political models. Critically investigates the implications of these models for the social construction of individuals as disabled.

PHI 4901 - Internship II

A minimum of 130 hours under professional supervision in a work environment related to ethics. The student develops a clearly defined research project integrating his or her theoretical knowledge. The internship culminates in the writing of a practicum report detailing the outcomes of the project while integrating a critical reflection on theory and practice. Prerequisite: PHI3901 Internship I. Graded S/NS.

Contact Us

Office of the Associate Vice-Rector, Strategic Enrolment Management
Room 148
Saint Paul University
223 Main Street
Ottawa, ON
K1S 1C4
CANADA

Notice to gmail address holders, be sure to check your junk mailbox regularly, as due to your server's firewalls our email response to your application may end up there.

Telephone: 613-236-1393 ext. 8990
Fax: 613-782-3014
admission@ustpaul.ca

Hours of Operation

Monday to Friday	8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
	1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Please leave your documents in the mailbox in front of room 148 when our offices are closed.