The Practical Ethics Certificate is a multidisciplinary program of study applying ethical concepts and principles to contemporary social issues. Courses are drawn from anthropology, economics, environmental studies, humanities, philosophy, political science, social science, and sociology, examining how ethical reasoning bears on public policy and social questions across these fields. It is a General Certificate completed alongside a York undergraduate degree rather than a stand-alone credential, offered by the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies on a full-time basis. It admits students in the Fall, Winter, and Summer terms, so students can begin whenever it fits their degree schedule. On completion it is recorded on the transcript alongside the student's primary degree, documenting focused, cross-disciplinary study of applied ethics and its application to contemporary policy debates.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: General admission requirements of York University apply; programme-specific prerequisites are published on the official programme page. Ontario applicants need an Ontario Secondary School Diploma with six 4U/M courses including ENG4U, plus any program-specific prerequisites — for example MHF4U for the Schulich BBA and most Science and Lassonde programs, SCH4U and SPH4U for Lassonde engineering, and SBI4U for Nursing and Global Health. Competitive averages vary widely by program, from the low-to-mid 70s for most Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and Glendon BAs up to the low 90s for the Schulich BBA; equivalent province-by-province requirements are published for every other Canadian curriculum. International applicants are assessed against their own national curriculum — York publishes dedicated requirement sets for US High School/AP, International Baccalaureate, GCE A-Level, Baccalauréat Français, Bachillerato and other systems — and must meet the same program prerequisites. Unless exempt, applicants must show English proficiency (undergraduate minimums: IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 88, Duolingo 120, PTE Academic 60, CAEL 60, Cambridge C1 Advanced 180; Nursing and Schulich require IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 94), and Glendon's French-medium programs require French proficiency. Test results are valid for two years.