What is Ethics Bowl?
Who will judge the teams?
What criteria are used for judging?
How do we prepare for the event?
Is there a cost to participate?
What do teams receive?
What is the schedule for the competition?
How do I register?

What is Ethics Bowl?

The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (IEB) is a team competition that combines the excitement and fun of a competitive tournament with an innovative approach to education in practical and professional ethics for undergraduate students. Recognized widely by educators, the IEB has received special commendation for excellence and innovation from the American Philosophical Association, and received the 2006 American Philosophical Association/Philosophy Documentation Center's 2006 prize for Excellence and Innovation in Philosophy Programs. The format, rules, and procedures of the IEB all have been developed to model widely acknowledged best methods of reasoning in practical and professional ethics.

In the IEB, each team receives a set of cases which raise issues in practical and professional ethics in advance of the competition and prepare an analysis of each case. At the competition, a moderator poses questions, based on a case taken from that set, to teams of three to five students. Questions may concern ethical problems on wide ranging topics, such as the classroom (e.g. cheating or plagiarism), personal relationships (e.g. dating or friendship), professional ethics (e.g. engineering, law, medicine), or social and political ethics (e.g. free speech, gun control, etc.) A panel of judges may probe the teams for further justifications and evaluates answers. Rating criteria are intelligibility, focus on ethically relevant considerations, avoidance of ethical irrelevance, and deliberative thoughtfulness.

Return to Top

Who will judge the teams?

Judges typically consist of academics and professionals with an interest in ethics. If you are interested in judging an upcoming competition please contact the Levan Institute at usclevan@usc.edu. 

Return to Top

What criteria are used for judging?
Teams are scored on clarity and intelligibility, avoidance of ethical irrelevance, identification and discussion of central ethical issues, and deliberative thoughtfulness. Scores are presented after each round.

• Clarity and Intelligibility: Was the presentation clear and systematic? Regardless of whether or not you agree with the conclusion, did the team give a coherent argument in a clear and succinct manner?
• Avoidance of Ethical Irrelevance: Did the team avoid ethically irrelevant issues? Or was the team preoccupied with issues that are not ethically relevant or are of minor ethical relevance to the case?
• Identification and Discussion of Central Ethical Issues: Did the team's presentation clearly identify and thoroughly discuss the central ethical issues of the case?
• Deliberative Thoughtfulness: Did the team's presentation indicate both awareness and thoughtful consideration of different viewpoints, including especially those that would loom large in the reasoning of individuals who disagree with the team's position?

Return to Top

How do we prepare for the event?
This year's set of cases will be e-mailed to registered teams and posted on this site when the APPE makes it available. It will include all the questions from which competition questions will be chosen. In preparing for the competition, teams should work with their faculty coaches and other experts or advisors for guidance on answers and consistency.

Return to Top

Is there a cost to participate?

$150 is the fee per school. 

** Please note that this cost is subject to change depending on the host of the Ethics Bowl.

What do teams receive?

What is the schedule for the competition? 

Click here for the 2011 competition schedule.

Return to Top

How do I register?

Return to Top