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Ethics for Engineers, 2.5 Credits

Etik för ingenjörer, 2,5 Högskolepoäng

Established: 2025-09-23

Established by: Department of Engineering Science

Applies from: V26

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, the student should be able to:

• identify ethical problems, dilemmas, and areas of responsibility in engineering,
• use ethical theories and critical thinking to discuss, analyse and take decisions about ethical aspects of products and systems, but also related to interpersonal relations and to gender equality in the professional role.
• show awareness of the professional responsibilities of engineers in sustainable development.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements. You also need: Physics 2, Chemistry 1, Mathematics 3c or Mathematics D. Or: Physics level 2, Chemistry level 1, Mathematics Further level 1c

The forms of assessment of student performance

Individual written exam. Seminar.

In case of re-examination of seminar, it will be done via individual written assignment.

Course contents

This course provides the students with some basic ethical theories (e.g. consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, discourse ethics, feminist ethics, theories about justice and equal opportunities), and also with critical thinking as decision-making model. The students will work with case studies to analyze examples of situations that engineers might face during their professional lives, and it is planned that they can have the possibility to discuss with professionally active engineers the ethical issues that they have encountered in their careers. Overall, in this course, the students will realize that they will have an impact, as future engineers, on others and on sustainable development. Therefore they have a responsibility for this and consequently they need to develop their critical thinking and be ready to take action.

Other regulations

Course grading: Failed or Passed

Course language: The teaching is conducted in English.

General rules pertaining to examination at University West are available at www.hv.se.

If the student has a decision/recommendation on special support due to disability, the examiner has the right to examine the student in a customized examination form.

Cycle

First cycle

Progressive specialization

G1N - First cycle, has only upper-secondary level entry requirements