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School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs About PPPA

Quality & Achievement. Creativity. Knowledge & Wisdom.

Respect. Fairness & Integrity.

Diversity. Community Service. Collaboration.

Fun.

 

The School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs has a long history of excellence. PPPA is dedicated to understanding and offering a variety of topics that encourage critical thinking about world issues with a multi-disciplinary approach.

PPPA is unique within the College of Arts and Sciences with its unification of three disciplines:

Political Science, Philosophy and Public Affairs.

 

We are engaged in scholarship, teaching, mentoring and public outreach to address the ethical, philosophical, and political challenges facing the world. Our school prepares students to be effective and fully engaged citizens, as well as preparing them for number of careers which require analytic thinking and the knowledge of sophisticated research methods. We endorse academic freedom and expression of diverse viewpoints, and promote an environment of intellectual curiosity.

Politics, Philosophy & Public Affairs

Politics

We are dedicated to understanding and teaching political science using a variety of research methods, and our goal is to create an inclusive and diverse community that excels in advancing our understanding of politics.

Philosophy

We are a thriving community of philosophers with a broad range of scholarly interests, with foundational strengths in logic and philosophy of science which are complemented with research in ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of technology, language, epistemology, metaphysics and the philosophy of food.

Public Affairs

We provide a foundation for critical thinking, creativity and communication skills, while also providing a depth of knowledge and the ability to apply that foundational knowledge to solve real world problems in public service and governance.

RESEARCH

Our faculty research examines a variety of important topics including international relations, constitutional law, feminism and politics, pragmatism, biomedical ethics, political psychology, international relations, public law, metaphysics, judicial politics, political civility, environmental philosophy, political advertising, philosophy of science, environmental ethics, and much more.

Some current research questions being examined by our faculty:
  • How can developing political trust help to curb political violence and conflict in Africa?
  • Is it ethical to use memory-modifying technologies?
  • How effective are digital ads in winning elections?

TEACHING

Our award-winning faculty provide a wide breadth of knowledge across a variety of disciplines. Our faculty members are deeply engaged within the University community, as well as with the worldwide academic community, and are devoted to providing students with a robust classroom experience, in addition to a variety of vigorous experiential learning programs.

OUR HISTORY

The B.A. in political science was first awarded in 1930 and the M.A. in 1932 by the History and Political Science Department at the State College of Washington (renamed Washington State University in 1959).

In 1956, the History Program separated into its own department, and in 1982 the Department of Criminal Justice was reorganized and housed within the Department of Political Science. For the next 28 years, the Criminal Justice Program was part of the political science department until it left to become a stand-alone department again in 2011.

At this point, an opportunity arose to pursue a dynamic merger integrating the Departments of Philosophy and Political Science in Pullman into one school, along with the Public Affairs program in Vancouver.

From this, the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs was born, a program offering undergraduate majors in political science, philosophy, and public affairs; a masters in general political science, a masters in political science with a global justice and security studies concentration; a graduate certificate in bioethics and a Ph.D. in political science. The Pullman campus awards the political science masters and doctoral degrees.

Claudius O. Johnson Tower

Artistically angled shot of a red brick and concrete mid century multi storied building with the title "Claudius O. Johnson Tower" across the middle. The School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs is housed on the 7th and 8th floors of the Claudius O. Johnson Tower. Claudius O. Johnson became the first full time professor and chairman of the newly formed Department of History and Political Science in 1928. He served as the chair of the department until 1951 and then retired from the faculty in 1960. In 1967, the Claudius O. Johnson Tower was dedicated in his honor.

Multiple scholarships bearing his name are given to political science students on an annual basis.

Claudius O. Johnson Biography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

School Leadership:

 

Director: Travis Ridout, tnridout@wsu.edu

Associate Director: Michael Goldsby, michael.goldsby@wsu.edu

Administration: pppa@wsu.edu