Ethics and Public Affairs

Notice Regarding Admissions for the 2025-2026 Academic Year: We welcome applications for the fall 2026 incoming class. We will be opening the next admissions process as of fall 2025. We encourage interested students to contact us in the meantime, and we look forward to your questions about our unique and specialized program.

Program Description

Students in the Ethics and Public Affairs (EPAF) PhD program will gain a comprehensive understanding of options for solving particular public issues in many different areas.

What makes our program unique is that it combines ethical analysis with social science. EPAF students are taught and supervised collaboratively by philosophers who research public issues along with social science and public policy specialists interested in the values underlying those issues. The guiding framework is public reason – the idea that the exercise of power must be justifiable to the people over whom it is exercised. Alumni will be prepared to compete for academic jobs or for policy-related jobs in government and civil society, or as consultants.

Faculty Research

Possible research topics are as varied as the expertise of Carleton faculty, including gender and other social inequalities, multiculturalism, the environment, health, international development, global inequality, human rights, good governance, and more.

Capital Advantage

As the national capital, Ottawa offers an array of learning and professional opportunities, complemented by ready access to government departments and agencies, parliamentary institutions, media and non-governmental organizations. Today, all of these groups are grappling with ethical questions and the best ways to handle them. The PhD program is supported by a network of professionals who will offer mentorship on developing professional contacts and making research accessible to professional audiences. Practicum courses will allow students to gain valuable work experience in government and civil society or as consultants.