The program is based upon course and seminar work, reflection on practical experience, and research in public ethics. The program is designed for students wishing to specialize in public ethics at the graduate level or to prepare themselves for doctoral work; for mid-career professionals wishing to reflect and build on their professional experience and previous studies and who may wish to advance their carriers, make career changes, or prepare for doctoral studies.

Program Objectives

The program is designed to prepare graduates who are public ethics analysts and consultants with competencies in the following:

• To discern the values and ethical concerns involved in particular policy statements or social and political practices and to propose appropriate strategies for taking these values and ethical concerns into consideration in the further formulation of policy statements and establishment of such practices at regional, national and international levels;
• To study more deeply the major ethical questions raised by society;
• To discern the values and the ethical concerns arising from, or involved in, a society defined more and more in terms of information creation and transfer and to propose appropriate strategies for taking these values and ethical concerns into consideration in the further evolution of an information-oriented communication society.

The program operates within the general framework of the general regulations of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (FGPS) of the University of Ottawa, which are posted on the FGPS website.

The professors included in the list below are members of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. This means that they are authorized to supervise or co-supervise theses. A complete list of the faculty and staff members associated with the program can be found at http://www.ustpaul.ca/index_e.asp

ARCHIBALD, Clinton, Adjunct Professor
Public administration; Political commentator; Governance

BEAUVAIS, Chantal, Associate Professor
Edith Stein, Ethics

CLOUTIER, Sophie, Assistant Professor
Research in environmental and medical ethics, political philosophy of Hannah Arendt, genetics and religion

DWYER, Rocky, Adjunct Professor
Human resources management and ethics; leadership

FEIST, Richard, Associate Professor
Ethics; metaphysics; phenomenology; philosophy of science and mathematics, process philosophy (especially Alfred North Whitehead)

GILMORE, Alan, Adjunct Professor
Accountability and ethics in government; corporate ethics

MELCHIN, Kenneth, Full Professor
Economics Ethics; Business Ethics; Social and Political Ethics; Lonergan Studies

PERRON, Louis, Associate Professor
Contemporary continental philosophy; Phenomenology and hermanentics; Jean Ladrière; Ethics

RIOUX, Jean-François, Associate Professor
History of conflict resolution; peacebuilding; conflict analysis; disarmament and arms control; ethics of armed intervention

SHUKLA, Rajesh, Assistant Professor
The relation between ethics and public policy, environmental ethics, and Karma theory.

SWEET, William, Adjunct Professor
Late 19th and early 20th century Anglo-American philosophy (particularly, the origins of analytic philosophy and British idealism); ethical theories and applied ethics (especially, cross-cultural ethics); political philosophy, The philosophy of Jacques Maritain

WALTERS, Gregory, Full Professor
Social and Political Ethics; human rights; biotechnology and ethics; genetics and ethics; nanotechnology and ethics

• Have obtained an honours bachelor’s degree, or the equivalent, in philosophy, ethics, political science, governance studies, public policy, or in another discipline judged relevant, with a minimum grade point average of 70% (B);
• Submit two letters of reference, at least one of which must be from a professor;
• Be proficient in at least one of Canada’s two official languages, and have a good enough reading knowledge of the other official language to be able to read texts in that language.

In exceptional cases, candidates who do not hold the equivalent of an honours bachelor’s degree as defined above may be admitted to the master’s program, provided they can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Admissions Committee, that they possess adequate knowledge and professional experience (for example, experience as a policy analyst in the public sector). Depending on the case, such candidates may be required to complete qualifying courses in pertinent disciplines prior to admission.

A. Master's Program with Research Paper (24 cr.)

B. Master's Program with Thesis (24 cr.)

Language of Instruction

Duration of the Program

Minimum Standards

Academic Unit Coordinates