Ethics and Leadership Flag: Information for Students

UT Austin’s new core curriculum, which is now being implemented by individual colleges and schools, requires all undergraduates to earn credit for flagged courses in six areas: Writing, Quantitative Reasoning, Global Cultures, Cultural Diversity, Ethics and Leadership, and Independent Inquiry. Upon full implementation, students will be required to earn credit for one course flagged for Ethics and Leadership in order to graduate. You should check with your advisor to find out how many flag requirements have been implemented for your degree program.

The Ethics and Leadership requirement is intended to equip you with the tools necessary for making ethical decisions in your adult and professional life. Courses carrying this flag expose you to ethical issues and to the process of applying ethical reasoning in real-life situations.

Ethics and Leadership courses may be flagged simultaneously with any of the other flags, but there is a three-flag limit per course.

What is an Ethics and Leadership flag class like?

Ethics and Leadership courses are taught in departments all over campus, both at the upper and lower divisions, and cover a wide variety of topics. For example, an Ethics and Leadership class might focus on ethical issues in the health care industry, ethical decision-making in times of war, or advertising ethics. No matter the topic, all Ethics and Leadership classes must meet the following requirement:

At least one-third of the course grade must be based on work in practical ethics, i.e., the study of what is involved in making real-life ethical choices.

Each instructor will use the flag requirement in unique ways to enhance the class. You might be asked to think through case studies involving ethical issues or dilemmas, determine what actions you would take if pressured by a superior at work, or argue from multiple perspectives before asserting your own view. Any such activities are designed to help you master course content, increase your awareness of factors that bear on ethical decision-making, and equip you to be your best self in difficult situations.

How will I know if a course carries the Ethics and Leadership flag?

When choosing classes, you can consult the online course schedule to find out whether a course carries an Ethics and Leadership flag. You can search the course schedule by flag to see a list of all courses carrying the flag that semester. Or you can search by class to see if a specific course carries the flag. If it does, it will be marked with a small yellow box that includes the letters “EL”, as in this example:

A course might carry more than one flag (maximum of three), as in the following example. In this case, you should make sure that one of the yellow boxes is marked with the letters “EL”.

During the semester, you can also consult your course syllabus for information on which flag(s) the course carries. To determine which flag requirements you have already fulfilled, you or your advisor should check the degree audit system.

For more information, contact the Center for Strategic Advising.