MA in Applied Ethics for Professionals

This programme is a rigorous and intellectually challenging introduction to philosophical ethics, and, in particular, applied or “practical” ethics, based in the Department of Philosophy. It is designed for professionals in the Gauteng region with some management and leadership experience and presupposes no background in philosophy. It is not a programme in “professional ethics”—e.g. business ethics, biomedical ethics, technology and ethics, etc.—though some such material is sometimes covered in one or more of the electives. Rather, its emphasis is on learning methods and techniques for thinking about ethical issues of any sort. It includes exposure to the principal ethical theories and critical examination of some well-known work in various sub-fields of applied ethics. It is not a distance-education programme; regular attendance at seminars is required. To accommodate the professional lives of our participants, seminars, exams, and other programme activities are held on Saturday mornings, about 19 in the first year and 10 in the second.