UNCP 4604 Ethical Design for Social Impact

What makes design ethical? By exploring the real-world factors and practical circumstances in which design emerges, this course will consider the ethics of how people make and rely on the products and services that shape our experience of the modern world. Our examination of theoretical approaches to designs social impacts, our discussion of case studies that illuminate designs role in the pursuit of social justice, and our reflections on our own responsibility to design things ethically will provide a comprehensive picture of the conditions that both catalyze and thwart ethical design. Students will leave this course with concrete ideas for how they might play consequential roles in developing ethical designs that positively impact society.

Course overview

Department
Capstone
School
MCAS
Credits
3
Level
Undergraduate
Offered
Annually

Course evaluations

Response-weighted averages from Boston College’s official course evaluations (Avalanche/Blue).

Course rating
4.00 / 5 · Very Good
7 responses
Instructor rating
4.29 / 5 · Very Good
7 responses
Terms evaluated
1
Most recent: Spring 2026

Scales: overall ratings run from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent); agreement questions from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); weekly effort from 1 (up to 1 hour) to 5 (10 or more hours).

Evaluations by term and instructor
TermInstructorCourse overallInstructor overallWell organizedClear learning objectivesIntellectually challengingHelpful assignmentsApplicable beyond courseAttendance necessaryWeekly effortResponses
Spring 2026Sunanda Bhattacharya4.04.33.44.14.04.04.44.6≤ 1 hr/week7 of 9

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-10-09. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

Sections

  • Section 01
    Spring 2027 · Sunanda Bhattacharya · Hayden Hall Room 204 TuTh 04:30PM-05:45PM · Offered