Here’s your task: Make the world better. Determine who needs to be involved, make a plan and execute it. Then devise a means to concretely measure the plan’s societal impact and present the results to stakeholders.

How do you start?

One way is by speaking with UB students in the Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) program. The program’s majors come up with innovative approaches to make the world better every year for their capstone project.

PPE student teams have started a tutoring program that provides homework helpers in Buffalo Public Schools. They’ve built libraries, with thousands of donated books and complete cataloging, that are now fixtures in local homeless shelters. They organized crowdfunding events for local nonprofits that have generated valuable microgrants for these groups.

The results are recognizable in the community, and now the university’s PPE program is being recognized as a “Hidden Gem” by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), a nonprofit whose mission is to promote academic excellence, academic freedom and accountability in higher education.

The ACTA’s Hidden Gems initiative “shines a light on … programs that guide students through a high-quality and coherent interdisciplinary education across the liberal arts.”

“This recognition validates what we’ve been working toward,” says Ryan Muldoon, professor of philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences, and director of the PPE program. “We’ve worked hard to develop a program that provides students with valuable skills and insights to make important contributions to society.

“It’s an honor to be recognized at a national level by the ACTA as a Hidden Gem.”

The university’s PPE program teaches students to understand and address complex social problems by drawing on insights from the complementary disciplines of philosophy, political science and economics. PPE combines core courses with electives that can focus on local, national or global levels of governance, depending on a student’s particular interests. It’s offered as a major or a minor, in addition to a recently launched micro-credential in community leadership.

The PPE program has also developed a vibrant academic community.  The PPE club is also now one of the largest university clubs on campus, with members making connections both within and beyond UB.

PPE can serve as a major for students interested in law, the social sciences, business, government or other careers aimed at civic involvement.

“We want students to discover that they’re capable of doing great things,” says Muldoon. “The capstone projects make a difference in the community. Along the way, they also make a difference to the way students see themselves. On more than one occasion, students have told me, ‘I didn’t think I could do that.’

“But they are doing it. And it’s great to see.”