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APPE IEB® National Competition

Undergraduate students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill took home the national championship in the APPE Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (APPE IEB)®, which was held February 24 and 25 in Cincinnati. The final match against University of California, Santa Barbara featured cases about AI and affirmative action.

In the final, the students discussed the following questions:

  • What sorts of limits should be put on AI, in light of the threats it poses, and whose responsibility is it to impose those limits?
  • Given that "not one university or college president has said they will step back from their commitment to achieving diversity," which means of furthering diversity are morally permissible and which are not and why?

Over two days, 36 teams of undergraduate college students from across the country wrestled with these and other thorny issues using a set of cases that were drawn from real-life ethical challenges in education, business, life, and politics. The teams participating in the APPE IEB®, were judged not by their answers to specific questions, but by their ability to identify and analyze the ethical dimensions of each case in a clear, focused, and thoughtful manner and with an appreciation for varied perspectives.

A team of case writers works on cases throughout the summer and fall and students have approximately two months to prepare for the competition. More than 200 teams from more than 150 schools compete in regional competitions each fall to earn a berth to the national competition.

Semi-finalists in the competition were teams from Taylor University and Whitworth University and Quarterfinalists were teams from Georgia Tech, Stanford University, Utah Valley University, and Vanderbilt University.

The national competition is held in conjunction with APPE’s annual conference each year.

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UNC Wins the Ethics Bowl
national competition

INTERESTED IN LEARNING ABOUT THE APPE IEB®?

2024 Teams

Cameron University
Carleton College
Coastal Carolina University
Colorado State University
DePauw University
Georgia Tech
Marion Military Institute
Northern Kentucky University
Oakland University
Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma State University
Ripon College

Rollins College
San Jose State University
Seattle University
Stanford University
Taylor University
Texas State University
The Citadel
Tufts University
U.S. Naval Academy
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Central Arkansas

University of Chicago
University of Florida
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
University of North Carolina
University of North Georgia
Utah Valley University
Vanderbilt University
Weber State University
Whitworth University
William & Mary
Yale University

Event Schedule

Saturday, February 24

1:00 p.m.: Team Check-In Opens

3:30 p.m.: Judge and Moderator Check-In

4:00 p.m: Volunteer Training

4:30 p.m.: Opening Plenary

5:00 p.m.: Round One Matches

6:30 p.m.: Round Two Matches

Sunday, February 25

9:00 a.m.: Round Three Matches

10:30 a.m.: Round Four Matches

Noon: Announcements

1:00 p.m.: Quarterfinals

2:30 p.m.: Semi-Finals

4:00 p.m.: Finals, Award Ceremony & Closing Reception

Save the Date!

Next year's competition will be held in Norfolk, Virginia, Feb. 22 and 23, 2025.

In the News

Here are some recent media hits on the 2023 competition:

National ethics competition comes to Portland (Oregon Public Radio)
Listen in.

Portland finally landed a bowl game (Willamette Week)
Read it here.