Ethical and Professional Issues in Engineering

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course seeks to develop a solid foundation for reasoning about the difficult ethical, professional, and social controversies that arise in the engineering field. Emphasis is placed on identifying the appropriate legal and professional context and applying sound critical thinking skills to a problem. Topics covered include relevant professional codes of ethics, encryption/privacy/surveillance, freedom of speech, "cracking" of computer systems, development of safety-critical software, whistle blowing, and intellectual property. This course relies heavily on case studies of real incidents, both historical and current. In collaboration with Notre Dame Global, there will also be an international component integrated throughout the course to provide additional historical and cultural perspectives to the course.