Philosophy · Politics · Economics
Power. Markets. Justice.
Who should govern AI? When do markets serve the public—and when do they fail? What makes a law legitimate?
PPE at George Mason brings Philosophy, Politics, and Economics together to address public questions that no single discipline can explain alone. Students learn to reason about justice and rights, understand power and institutions, and analyze incentives, markets, and unintended consequences. The program prepares students for law, policy, government, business, technology, journalism, and graduate study.
Why Mason
Mason: a unique setting for PPE
George Mason offers an unusually strong setting for PPE: proximity to Washington, a distinctive political economy tradition, and faculty working across economics, philosophy, government, law, behavioral science, and technology.
Two Nobel laureates
James Buchanan and Vernon Smith helped transform the study of political decision-making, institutions, markets, and human behavior. Their legacy gives Mason PPE a distinctive intellectual foundation.
Pulitzer winners
Steven Pearlstein, who helped launch Mason PPE, and Roger Wilkins, a longtime Mason professor and civil rights leader, connect the program to a strong tradition of journalism, public affairs, and public debate.
Inside Washington
Students get an inside look at Washington through How Washington Really Works, PPE Conversations with practitioners from government, journalism, law, and policy, and the Roger Wilkins Lecture.
Career paths
Where PPE can take you
Pre-Law
Strong preparation for legal careers and law school: close reading, argument, institutional analysis, and clear writing across complex political, economic, and ethical questions.
Government, journalism, and public affairs
Preparation for careers centered on public institutions and public debate, where understanding policy, incentives, evidence, and competing values is essential.
Business, consulting, and technology
A foundation for careers that require thinking across markets, organizations, regulation, strategy, technology, and the ethical questions that accompany them.
Three culminating courses
Three courses bring PPE to life: debate what justice demands, learn how policy is actually made in Washington, and examine how morality, cooperation, and institutions shape the modern world.
PHIL 353 — Theories of Justice
What is a just society? Students confront competing ideas about freedom, equality, rights, responsibility, and political power—and use them to think through questions involving inequality, punishment, discrimination, democracy, and the proper role of the state.
Fall 2026: Robert Luzecky · Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:00–1:15 p.m. · Online · View course details
Teaches Philosophy at Mason. His research spans socio-political philosophy, continental philosophy, aesthetics, and popular culture. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Purdue University.
GOVT 467 — How Washington Really Works
Learn Washington from the inside—with a view of the U.S. Capitol. The course combines major policy cases with Washington-based meetings and conversations with people who have worked in government, journalism, and the policy world. Students see how ideas collide with institutions, incentives, personalities, and political reality—and how policy actually gets made.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, former Washington Post columnist, and Robinson Professor at Mason. Before journalism, he worked on Capitol Hill as a senior aide to members of Congress, bringing firsthand experience of Washington policymaking into the classroom.
ECON 460 — Morality, Cooperation, and Prosperity in the Modern World
The foundations of a civil society
What makes large-scale cooperation possible? Why do societies differ in trust, morality, institutions, and prosperity—and what happens when values collide? Using current political and social controversies, experiments, history, and cross-cultural evidence, the seminar examines social norms, religion, kinship, institutions, polarization, inequality, migration, AI and moral machines, and the conditions under which civil society can flourish.
Associate Professor of Economics at Mason. His research on morality, cooperation, culture, and institutions has been published in leading academic outlets and is frequently featured in major international media. He is a recipient of the Royal Economic Society Prize.
Beyond the classroom
PPE extends beyond coursework through a flagship public lecture and twice-yearly conversations with invited guests.
The Roger Wilkins Lecture
Named for Roger Wilkins, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, civil rights leader, and longtime Mason professor, the Wilkins Lecture brings major public figures, writers, scholars, policymakers, and legal thinkers to Mason for serious discussion of democracy, law, justice, and public affairs.
On October 27, 2026, Professor Sherrilyn Ifill joined the Mason community for “DEI and the Retreat from Civil Rights.”
PPE Conversations
Once each semester, PPE students meet with an invited guest for a focused discussion of a timely question at the intersection of philosophy, politics, and economics.
Build PPE into your degree
PPE is a concentration within an Economics, Philosophy, or Political Science major. See how the concentration fits within your degree and plan your pathway.
Explore the degree path →Contact
Undergraduate advisers: Philosophy — Katy Hoepf · Political Science — Schar Undergraduate Advising · Economics — Mary Getsey Bernier
PPE program:Jonathan F. SchulzDirector of PPEjschulz4@gmu.edu
PPE news & events
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