Ethics Bowl
Ethics Bowl is a debate-style competition sponsored by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. Every November, 10-12 students represent UTRGV at the Texas Regional Competition, hosted by St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. The top teams advance to the National Competition in the Spring. Our legacy institution UTPA qualified for the National Competition in 2006-07, 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2014-15.
At the competition, participants discuss six case studies that address current dilemmas in social and professional ethics. Each case presents students with unique challenges as they attempt to ascertain which response to the case is ethically correct. UTRGV’s teams form in the early Fall, after the September release of the case studies for the Texas Regional Competition.
In addition to the national and regional competitions, the UTRGV Philosophy Department offers an Ethics Bowl-themed course each Fall. The course, taught as an upper-level Special Topics in Applied Ethics, provides students who are interested in the annual competition with an opportunity to work with that year’s case studies. It also provides all students who have an interest in ethics with an opportunity to move from abstract understanding of moral theory to practical application.
For general information about Ethics Bowl:
Association for Practical and Professional Ethics
For information about the Texas Regional Competition: