Georgia State Creates Master’s Degree Program In Philosophy, Politics And Economics

ATLANTA—Georgia State University is offering a new master’s degree program in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) to prepare students for careers in government, public service, entrepreneurship and the corporate world.

The master in interdisciplinary studies (MIS) program is also designed to prepare students to participate meaningfully in the public discourse about the nature of good political and economic institutions, as well as the policies and practices best suited for creating and sustaining them.

“The interdisciplinary nature of this program will prepare our graduates for a range of careers,” said Andrew Jason Cohen, coordinator of PPE programs and a professor of philosophy.

“Knowledge of economics is helpful in any field as businesses need to consider how best to work with existing monetary and fiscal policy and varying supply and demand,” Cohen said. “Knowledge of political science is similarly helpful as businesses need to work within a world beset with politics of all kinds, including those determining regulatory structures. Philosophical acumen also helps in any field as graduates will be able to present—both orally and in written form—persuasive cases for ways to improve their firms, thereby also improving their careers.”

Georgia State has offered a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in PPE since 2017. The bachelor’s and master’s programs include more than two dozen affiliated faculty from Georgia State’s College of Arts & Sciences and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.

The MIS program, which can be completed in 18 months, will start in fall 2021.

“In one way, PPE is a very old field dating back at least to 18^th-century social philosopher and political economist Adam Smith,” Cohen said. “In other ways, PPE is a very new field, making use of the theoretical frameworks of the three fields, but also recent empirical social science.”