Ethics

As a Jesuit and Catholic institution, Georgetown is deeply committed to the study of ethics.

The university is home to leading experts in fields such as bioethics, metaethics, and philosophy. Faculty research explores the moral dilemmas associated with an array of issues, such as international affairs, business, medicine, and human rights. Across schools, Georgetown’s commitment to educating future leaders about ethical values is reflected in its curricula and student programming. Several university centers, such as the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, are devoted to understanding the importance of moral principles in education, science and technology, and international relations, among other fields and disciplines.

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Chair of East Asian Languages and Cultures Receives Honorable Mention As One of Top Philosophers in the World

Philip J. Ivanhoe, chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and scholar of Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism, was given an honorable mention on the list of the top 25 influential philosophers in the world by Academic Influence.

GU-Q Professor Publishes Research on the Historical Roots of Islamic Responses to COVID-19

Georgetown Law Scholars on China's Human Rights Violations in Hong Kong

McCourt School Joins Sciences Po as Founding Academic Partners in New McCourt Institute

Select Academic Programs

Minor in Religion, Ethics, and World Affairs

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs sponsors this program through which students can earn a minor in the College or the School of Foreign Service. Participants explore the role of faith and values across topic areas.

Minor in Philosophy and Bioethics

The Department of Philosophy and the Kennedy Institute of Ethics co-sponsor this undergraduate minor. Students discuss the ethical dimensions of medicine, public policy, and technology.

Ph.D. in Philosophy

Georgetown's Department of Philosophy sponsors this Ph.D. program for graduate students. The program has particular strengths in bioethics, ethical theory, the history of, the Roman Catholic philosophical tradition, the philosophy of language and mind, and political philosophy.

Select Centers, Institutes,
and Research Programs

Children stand with a CSJ student volunteer

Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and ServiceGeorgetown Unit

Established in 2001, the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service is a center for service-based scholarship and community outreach in pursuit of the common good.

Edmund D. Pellegrino Center for Clinical BioethicsGeorgetown Unit

Established in the 1990s, the Edmund D. Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics in the Medical Center is a university-based ethics resource for individuals who shape and give health care. The center is committed to the dynamic interplay between theory and practice, experience, and reflection.

Georgetown Institute for the Study of Markets and EthicsGeorgetown Unit

The Georgetown Institute for the Study of Markets and Ethics in the McDonough School of Business brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars and teachers to advance understanding of the ethical issues inherent in the functioning of the market society.

Kennedy Institute of EthicsGeorgetown Unit

The Kennedy Institute of Ethics is a center for practically engaged ethics at Georgetown University. Established in 1971 with a founding interest in medical ethics, it is one of the oldest academic ethics centers in the world.

Justice and Peace Studies students in a classroom

Program on Justice and PeaceGeorgetown Unit

The Georgetown University Program on Justice and Peace is a transdisciplinary, cross-cultural community that fosters creative and collaborative explorations of complex questions of practical morality and domestic and global politics.

Past Event

July 19

Business Ethics: Saving Grace or Oxymoron?

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Past Event

June 17

Speaking Up for Endangered Species in a Time of International Turmoil

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Past Event

June 01