The Department of Political Science offers a Master of Arts degree in Ethics and Policy Studies (EPS). EPS is a unique program for students who have already begun or are planning to enter careers in government, legal or medical professions, or business, and who are curious enough to study the ethical questions involved in the making of decisions in those areas. Such students find that they can contribute more to their families, communities, and professions or businesses if they study ethics, policy, and the relation between the two. Each student in the program can pursue a specialized emphasis in his or her program of studies, contingent on the availability of faculty. EPS draws upon a wide variety of faculty from the UNLV Graduate College . Emphases may come from such areas as ethics in business, ethics in government, environmental ethics, and medical ethics (including health care policy).
EPS students learn about moral and political philosophy, about political science more generally, and about related fields in the liberal arts. This interdisciplinary focus allows EPS students a greater opportunity to study the socio-political context in which ethical decisions in business and the professions are made.



Admission Requirements

Applicants to the MA program should click _here_ for an important
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Letter of Recommendation Form

Admission to the department is competitive, with only
the strongest applicants gaining admission in any given year.
Applicants must submit to the department’s graduate
coordinator 1) official transcripts of all post-secondary
academic work (except work done at UNLV), 2) Graduate
Record Examination (GRE) General Test scores, 3) two letters
of recommendation sent directly by academic referees, and
4) a one-page essay explaining why they want to enter the
master’s program. Another official copy of transcripts must be
submitted to the Graduate College, along with
application forms and fees. Applicants for admission must
have earned:
1. A baccalaureate from an accredited college or university.
2. A grade point average of at least 3.00.
3. Satisfactory scores on the GRE General Test. Minimum
scores are 500 on each of the verbal and quantitative sections of the
exam; we also consider the analytical writing score. In unusual
circumstances, students who do not meet the above criteria
may still be admitted.


Handbook for Graduate Students in MA Program in Ethics and
Policy Studies click here


Degree Requirements

The following core courses are required:
1. EPS 702, 710, 744, and 750.
2. Twelve credits of electives, (which must be approved
by the graduate coordinator), six of which may be outside EPS and Political Science.
3. Six credits of EPS 799.
An overall grade point average of 3.00 is required to
complete the degree. Courses with a grade of B- or below
are not counted toward the degree.


EPS 701 3 credits
Critical Thinking
Skills of argument analysis and synthesis, using the logic of
natural language to locate, evaluate and criticize reasoning
in a variety of idioms. Culminates in a topical argument
analysis and concluding synthesis of a more whole, defended
argument. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

EPS 702 3 credits
Ethics
Focuses on the heritage of Western culture, ethics of the
person and community, questions of conscience, justice, moral
conflict, citizenship, and the issues of consent and dissent.
Work is historical and critical, first on interpretation and then
evaluation leading to student presentation on a problem in
ethics.

EPS 710 3 credits
Seminar in Policy Analysis
(Same as PSC 723.) Aims to enable students to understand
and evaluate a range of methods used by professional policy
analysts, and to present some of the ethical issues surrounding
this practice. Each student required to locate and critique some
examples of policy analysis in his or her own area of interest.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

EPS 712 3 credits
Seminar in Business and Professional Ethics
Exploration of applied ethics, which combines the study of
justice, human rights, corruption, sexism, or racism, etc., with
analysis of existing public- and private-sector practices or laws.
Environmental, medical/health care, business, journalism,
professional, and government ethics may be explored. May
be repeated to a maximum of six credits. Prerequisite: Graduate
standing.

EPS 723 3 credits
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
A close reading of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. Major
themes explored include moral virtue, intellectual virtue,
friendship, and the relationship between philosophy, ethics and
politics. May be repeated to a maximum of six credits.

EPS 724 3 credits
Aristotle’s Politics
Close reading of Aristotle’s Politics. Major issues to be
considered include Aristotle’s political naturalism, pluralism
and regime classification. May be repeated to a maximum
of six credits. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

EPS 738 3 credits
Organizational Ethics
Focuses on the moral culture of the organization, its
practices, reward and punishment systems, rituals, and
languages. Examines differences between organizations
supportive of or punitive of employees’ intellectual integrity
and moral autonomy. Organization as a moral habitat,
functional or dysfunctional; problems of exit, voice, and
loyalty. Prerequisites: Graduate standing or consent of
instructor.

EPS 739 3 credits
Health Care Ethics
Investigates ethical issues in health care. Philosophical
methodologies that help with complex and controversial
decision including principlism casuistry, virtue theory, and
care ethics. Issues include end-of-life care, informed consent,
access to services, HIV, and organ transplantation. May be
repeated to a maximum of six credits. Prerequisites:
Graduate standing or consent of instructor.

EPS 740 3 credits
Seminar in Organizational and Public Morality
How organizational practices and policies produce moral
consequences. What kinds of organizational responsibility
belong to these practices, and how the person working in an
organization maintains, balances, or loses moral integrity
in such circumstances. Case studies from business,
government, professions and community organizations.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing or consent of instructor.

EPS 741 3 credits
Environmental Law and Policy Seminar
(Same as ENV 703.) Substantive aspects of major federal
environmental laws and their concomitant regulations, as
well as the policy underlying their promulgation and
implementation. The present status and implementation of
the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act,
the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act, and the comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act. Examines
policies underlying the existing laws, their derivative
regulations, and changes considered by Congress for these
laws. Prerequisites: EPS 701, 702, or 712.

EPS 743 3 credits
Policy Formation: The Problem of Legitimacy
What makes a policy legitimate? Analyzes the public
policymaking process in terms of such ethical considerations
as public vs. private good, legality vs. morality,
accountability of policymakers, enforcement of decisions,
and evaluation of programs. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

EPS 744 3 credits
Citizenship and Public Policy
Examines the meaning of democracy and explores various
proposals for strengthening the life of active citizenship.
Balances academic and theoretical concerns with strategic
and empowering ones. Students develop a working concept
of democratic citizenship and a plan for integrating this
concept into real-world policymaking. Prerequisite:
Graduate standing.

EPS 745 3 credits
Seminar in Public Law and Public Policy
(Same as PSC 733.) Focuses on the role of the courts in
shaping the different policy areas in the American political
system. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

EPS 746 3 credits
Seminar in Jurisprudence
Study of the role of morality in the historical and recent
debates over the nature of law including: Is a conceptual
separation of law and morality desirable?; legal validity;
the justification of the judicial decision; finally, the
importance of jurisprudence in helping to resolve public
policy disputes. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

EPS 747 3 credits
Seminar on the Public Policy Process
(Same as PSC 721.) Examines the roles of the legislative
and executive branches of government in public policy
formation and implementation. Surveys empirical techniques
used in the field, assesses the impact of ethical theories on
the public policy process and explores selected policy issues
in detail. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

EPS 748 3 credits
History and Policy
(Same as HIST 748.) Interdisciplinary historical analysis of
American policy formation and failed versus workable
policy ideas. Areas of investigation may include policy
studies in fields such as labor, urban development, minorities
and diplomacy. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

EPS 749 3 credits
Seminar: Political Sociology
(Same as SOC 776.) Explores relations between states and
social institutions such as social classes, interest groups and
systems of cultural and material production and
reproduction. Covers issues such as theories of the state,
political behavior, and frameworks for development of
solutions to various contemporary problems. Prerequisite:
Graduate standing.

EPS 750 3 credits
Advanced Studies in Public Policy
(Same as PSC 729.) Designing, researching, and writing an
original study in a policy area of the student’s choice.
Attention to issues of both fact and value in the construction
of an intellectually compelling argument. Guidance in
developing a prospectus, a pilot project and a research paper.
Prerequisites: EPS 701, 702, 710, and 712.

EPS 790 1-9 credits
Ethics and Policy Selected Topics
Designed to allow special attention to be given to ethics
and policy problems by way of philosophy, history, political
science, sociology, communication studies, or related
disciplines. May be repeated, with permission, to a maximum
of nine credits.

EPS 794 3credits
Independant Study and Research in Ethics and Policy
Studies
May be repeated to a maximum of three credits with consent
of instructor.

EPS 799 3-6 credits
Thesis
Thesis may be repeated, but only six credits will be applied
to the student’s program. May be repeated to a maximum of
18 credits with consent of advisor. S/F grading only.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing and consent of instructor.

Chair

Tamadonfar, Mehran (1987), Associate Professor; B.A., M.A., University
of Tehran; Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder.

Graduate Coordinator

Fott, David S. (1992), Associate Professor; B.A., Vanderbilt University;
A.M., Ph.D., Harvard University.

Advisory Committee

Bernick, Lee (2000), Professor; B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
University of Oklahoma.
Fernandez, Kenneth (2004), Assistant Professor; B.A., University
of California, San Diego; M.A., Ph.D., University of California,
Riverside.
Lutz, Mark (2006), Assistant Professor; B.A., University of Chicago; M.A.,
Ph.D., University of Toronto.
Schollmeier, Paul (1989), Professor, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
University of Chicago.
Simich, Jerry L. (1973), Associate Professor; B.A., California State University,
Long Beach; Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara.
Titus, Dina (1977), Professor of Political Science; B.A., College of William and Mary; M.A., University of Georgia; Ph.D., Florida State University.