Campus Ethics
At the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics we welcome SCU students, faculty, and staff into conversation about the critical issues of our time, and we support the personal and academic exploration of ethics.
We are dedicated to helping everyone in the campus community address the choices that shape their personal character and lead to lives of value. Research grants, fellowships, internships, and events highlight our offerings, which include peer-led programs for students and a community of scholars for faculty and staff.
Programs for Students
SCU students engage their classmates in exploring ethical issues on campus and in the larger world. Fellowships, internships, and research grants are program highlights.
Programs for Faculty and Staff
More than 80 affiliated scholars work with the Ethics Center on events and projects. Grants are available for research and teaching in applied ethics.
Everyday Ethics: Frameworks in Action
Making Ethical Choices: A Student Guide to Ethical Lenses
Every day, we make choices that shape who we are and how we impact the world around us. These short videos introduce foundational ethical frameworks to help students think more critically about the decisions they face — in school, at work, and in life. By learning to see situations through different ethical lenses, students gain tools to make thoughtful, responsible, and value-aligned choices.
2025 Student Project Showcase
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics's 2024-25 Fellows and Interns present their ethics-focused projects in this year's student showcase.
Before you Prompt
A creative and ethical inquiry into what it means to be a designer, or any kind of creator, in an AI-saturated world.
By Zara Shroff ’25, a 2024-25 Hackworth Fellow at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
In this podcast students inquire about programs on campus that support diversity, equity and inclusion.
Podcast explores notification to students about student resources at Santa Clara University.
In this podcast students inquire about the return of Recreational Sports to campus.
In this Podcast students explore the COVID-19 response at Santa Clara University.
Ethics Articles
Articles on ethics covering many fields/disciplines, including diversity, internet ethics, sports ethics, and other topics.
Ethics Cases
Case studies pertaining to ethical issues in various fields.
Ethics Curricula
Curricula include lesson plans and course modules for middle, high school, and college students, as well as online courses, webinars, and curricula resources.
Free Speech and Civil Discourse
For the 2017-18 academic year, the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics focused on the theme of freedom of speech and civil discourse. We explored the theme through public events, the work of a team of undergraduate fellows, and the provision of educational materials about key, contested ethical issues related to the theme.