Is genetic enhancement of humans ethically justified? Should we proceed with research trying to clone people? Does the fact that we can prolong someone's life in a permanent vegetative state mean that we should? For decades, the growth of scientific knowledge and technical ability in medicine, genetics and the biological sciences has led to many such perplexing ethical questions. In the Master of Bioethics course, you will learn to think ethically and critically, helping you to keep pace with current advances in biomedical technology, and to anticipate those yet to come.
While a Master of Bioethics is particularly well suited to healthcare professionals and scientists who face complex ethical issues in their working lives, it also offers important skills development for those formulating related public policy and law, as well as for anyone who wishes to explore issues of public concern.
An interdisciplinary approach is taken to key issues including ethical theory, questions of life and death, ethical issues in patient care, human-research ethics, legal and policy issues in bioethics, and ethical issues in professional life. It is suitable for students with little or no prior background in ethics or philosophy, but also for philosophy graduates with an interest in further study of bioethics.
You will have the opportunity to engage with industry and participate in study tours and field schools, both in Australia and overseas. For example, you may undertake collaborative work with the World Health Organisation, either at Monash or Geneva.
The teaching staff has an excellent reputation for research and teaching, and they are active and prominent contributors to public debate and professional discussions about a variety of issues in bioethics. The Monash University Centre for Human Bioethics is one of the world's top- eight bioethics centres.
The course is structured in three parts: Part A. Foundations for advanced bioethics, Part B. Core Master's study and Part C. Advanced expertise. All students complete Part B. Depending upon your prior qualifications, you may receive credit for Part A or Part C or a combination of the two.
[Note that if you are eligible for credit for prior studies you may elect not to receive the credit.]
PART A. Foundations for advanced bioethics
These studies will provide an orientation to the field of bioethics at advanced undergraduate or graduate level. They are intended for students whose previous qualification is not in a cognate field.
PART B. Core Master's study
These studies draw on best practices within the broad realm of bioethics practice and research. They provide a structured program of units in ethical theory, applied ethics, healthcare ethics, research ethics, and related policy issues.
PART C. Advanced expertise
The focus of these studies is professional or scholarly work that can contribute to a portfolio of professional development. You have two options.
The first option is a program of coursework study where you select the units to suit your own interests.
The second choice is a 24 point research thesis. Students wishing to use this Masters course as a pathway to a higher degree by research should take this second option.
Students admitted to the course, who have a recognised honours degree in a discipline cognate to bioethics, will receive credit for Part C, however, should they wish to complete a 24 point research project as part of the course they should consult with the course coordinator.
The Master of Bioethics is a one year advanced master's programme which is coordinated by the Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law (CBMER) at KU Leuven.
Lectures, small-group discussions, case studies, and research activities characterise this programme, which is capped with a publishable research paper. Then, return to your workplace with a better understanding of today's ethical issues. Or perhaps your future is on an institutional review board, a clinical ethics committee, or within a government agency, regulatory body, or medical association. Then again, perhaps you'll take up a teaching or research career. Or you may pursue a career as a clinical ethicist at a hospital or health care facility.
The programme (60 ECTS) consists of a series of core bioethics courses, a research component and a series of electives.
Truncus communis of Core Bioethics Courses (22 ECTS)
A Research component (23 ECTS): a Seminar Interdisciplinary Research in Bioethics (5 ECTS) and a Master’s thesis Research Project (18 ECTS)
Elective specialisation courses (15 ECTS): In function of their background, expertise and research project, students can select from a number of courses that are offered at KU Leuven from the fields of Medicine, Theology, Philosophy, Social Sciences, Anthropology and Psychology. These elective courses allow for the development of more personal trajectories.
The program aims at dealing with the most important traditions in bioethics together with major contemporary movements, as well as the conceptual, methodological and practical issues in different areas of bioethics. The programme wants to pay specifically attention to European traditions in philosophy, theology and ethics.
Further the program supports the students in developing academic and professional competences needed to conduct research in bioethics independently. They are encouraged to participate in the scientific debate in the domain of bioethics. It intends to support students in critically analysing the literature, writing scientific articles and submitting papers to (inter)national conferences and journals. The program also intends to prepare the students to integrate their theoretical knowledge with requisite attitudes and skills, in order to be able to apply these in a professional and clinical context. The students will be able to participate in clinical ethics committees (CECs) and research ethics committees (RECs), to deal autonomously with complex ethical problems in the field of health care and/or research, to analyse these problems and to reflect on them, and to discuss ethical issues within a cross-cultural context.
Finally the program stimulates the students to develop a critical attitude towards ethical problems and the scientific bioethical literature. It stimulates student to adapt a life-long learning attitude that is essential when one is professionally active in health care. Students are stimulated to develop openness towards different positions and teaches them to work in a multidisciplinary way. The program intends to increase moral sensibility and to develop a continuous awareness for ethical issues in clinical practice.
Graduates are presented with a diverse spectrum of professional possibilities.
At least one in three of the students thas has graduated from the programme have gone on to work on a research project or undertake a doctoral degree.
Many graduates return to their workplace with a better understanding of the ethical issues involved there. Some serve on institutional review boards or clinical ethics committees or find positions at government agencies, regulatory bodies and medical associations.
Others are employed as professors at universities or researchers at independent research institutes. Some graduates pursue careers as clinical ethicists at hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Advances in biomedicine, neuroscience, and public health raise some of the most difficult ethical and societal questions today. The Bioethics & Society course allows you to study these questions drawing on concepts, theories, and methods from philosophy and the social sciences. This will enable you to understand how bioethics influences the world, and how you can make an impact in the world.
The course is taught in the heart of London, with immediate access to King’s hospitals and laboratories, and close to government, health policy think-tanks, patient advocacy groups, medical and scientific societies, and the private health sector. We offer a unique ‘real-world’ approach to bioethics, allowing students to understand the social and political contexts in which bioethical controversies arise and proposed solutions are developed. In the course of their studies, students are equipped with essential knowledge and skills to make a contribution to resolving bioethical problems. In addition, internship opportunities enable students to gather practical insights and to build professional networks.
The course is ideal for health professionals, graduates of a relevant discipline, policy makers and shapers, and anyone wishing to develop a more rigorous understanding of the ethical and societal issues in biomedicine, neuroscience, and health policy today. Our Masters degree lays the foundation for future careers; for example, in government, national and international NGOs, teaching, or research in bioethics or social sciences. The course will also enhance existing careers in clinical practice, biomedical research, public health, and health policy.
Teaching
We will teach you through a combination of lectures and seminars, and you will typically have 15 hours of this per module. We also expect you to undertake 135 hours of independent study for each module. For your 12,000 word dissertation, we will provide three 2-hour workshops and six half-hour supervisory sessions to complement your 591 hours of independent study.
Assessment
The department assesses students on a combination of essays, written examinations, oral presentations and the dissertation. The nature of assessment varies by module.
Graduates from this course have gone onto the following destinations:
The Master of Bioethics and Health Law (MBHL) degree is an interdisciplinary postgraduate programme which consists in writing a research dissertation under supervision and completing papers worth an additional 120 points from a schedule of papers. The degree may be awarded with distinction or credit. The degree draws on the resources of both ethical and legal theory, and attends to bioethical problems arising from the increasing use of technology in medicine and changes in the resourcing and delivery of health care.
The Philosophy, Politics and Economics of Health MA aims to equip students with the skills necessary to play an informed role in debates concerning distributive justice and health. It explores the central ethical, economic and political problems facing health policy in the UK and globally, especially in relation to social justice.
The programme covers relevant areas of moral and political theory, comparative policy analysis, and health economics, to allow students to come to a wide understanding of background issues, history and constraints, in order to be able to make a positive contribution to current debates in this field.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of three core modules (45 credits), five optional modules (75 credits) and a research dissertation (60 credits).
A Postgraduate Diploma of 120 credits is available, consisting of three core modules (45 credits), and five optional modules (75 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
Students may choose from the list of recommended modules below, or other relevant modules in UCL, with the approval of the convenors. Please note that some modules fill up very quickly, so places cannot be guaranteed.
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of up to 12,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is taught through a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials. Student performance is assessed through examinations, presentations and coursework (depending on the options chosen), and the dissertation.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Philosophy, Politics and Economics of Health MA
Applicants for this programme may be eligible for a number of funding opportunities including UCL graduate scholarships. The Health Humanities Centre can nominate one candidate to apply for a Wellcome Trust Master's Award.
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
Graduates have gone on to funded research in bioethics and in health policy, and to jobs in the health service, law, journalism, as well as medical education.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Employability
The programme equips students with an ability to think precisely and rigorously about complex problems in health systems and beyond; to work with others to explore solutions; and to write cogently and concisely. Public and private sector health employers and NGOs particularly prize these skills in graduates. The skills that the programme teaches also provide an ideal springboard to further academic study.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
This MA is the only Master's programme in the world of its type. The compulsory modules provide necessary core skills, while the wide range of options enables students to further their own particular interests.
UCL is at the forefront of research in interdisciplinary research and teaching in philosophy, health humanities and global health through units such as the Health Humanities Centre, the Institute for Global Health and the Institute of Health Equity. The programme draws on highly regarded researchers in a range of UCL departments, and students benefit by instruction from some of the leaders in their fields.
Students further benefit from UCL's location in London, which is one of the world centres of philosophical activity, home of a number of internationally renowned journals - Philosophy; Mind & Language; Mind - and which enjoys regular visiting speakers from across the world. London has over 60 active philosophers making it one of the largest and most varied philosophical communities in the world.
This programme explores the links between the humanities and medicine from a humanities point of view. Among the questions it considers are: What can the humanities contribute to healthcare? How do they differ from the sciences? And what can they tell us about illness?
The Medical Humanities are a growing field of scholarship that produces powerful, innovative analyses of today’s healthcare issues. You will study the fundamentals of the field and develop analytical and critical skills that will enable you to address questions such as:
You will leave us with a deep understanding of how a variety of humanities disciplines conceive of health and illness and of the contributions these can make to healthcare. The disciplines we cover include Philosophy, Literature, Film, Psychiatry, Art History and Nursing, leading to skills in the visual, bioethical, literary, historical and philosophical analyses of healthcare.
Based on our previous Literature & Medicine MA, this MSc allows you to choose from a broader range of modules, interact with a wider range of students, and gain a firm grounding in the medical humanities by following common required modules. Your fellow students will come from a wide variety of academic and health backgrounds, from biosciences such as medicine, nursing, psychology and from health law, social work and humanities such as philosophy, film and literary studies.
The MSc in Medical Humanities incorporates the previous King's MA Literature and Medicine programmes. The course allows students to choose a broader range of modules within their degree, interact with a wider range of students, and gain a firm footing in the medical humanities by following common core modules. Students will come from a wide variety of academic and health backgrounds: biosciences such as medicine, nursing, psychology; from health law and social work and humanities trainings in philosophy, film and/or literary studies. They will develop further skills in visual, bioethical, literary, historical and philosophical analyses of health care.
Teaching
If you are a full-tme student, we will give you five to nine hours of teaching each week through lectures and seminars, and we will expect you to undertake 34 hours of self-study. .
If you are a part-time student, we will give you three to five hours of teaching each week through lectures and seminars in your first year and two to four hours in your second year, and we will expect you to undertake 23 hours of self-study in your first year and 11 in your second year.
You will write your dissertation in your summer, for which we will give you four hours of supervision.
Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.
Assessment
We will normally assess you through coursework. Typically, 20-credit modules will be assessed through a 4,000-word essay and 40-credit modules through two 4,000-word essays. Your dissertation will be a 15,000-word essay.
Further academic study in medicine and/or the humanities, if you are hoping to study on a Medical Humanities PhD programme or a career in journalism or bioethics.
Do you want to explore the key issues in the field of philosophy of religion and ethics? Are you looking to develop your professional or academic career path?
On the MA Philosophy of Religion and Ethics programme you will explore a variety of questions – for example: Are there shared human values? How do we negotiate different belief systems in pluralistic societies? Is there a conflict between science and religion? Do people with different religious views have the same morals? Is life without God meaningless?
You will be taught by a vibrant community of philosophers, pursuing original research on a wide range of topics on which expert supervision is available.
We also offer an on-campus programme over one or two years – for more information, see Philosophy of Religion and Ethics MA.
You will study six modules in total, two of which are core Philosophy modules:
You will also study a core module in theory and methods: Research Skills and Methods (for Philosophy) if you are writing a dissertation in Philosophy, or Research Methods in Theology and the Study of Religion if you are writing a dissertation in Theology and Religion.
Your remaining three modules are optional. Distance learning modules available in Philosophy and Theology and Religion typically include:
You can also take Bioethics or Ethics and Global Ethics, if not taken as core.
You are permitted to choose one optional module outside your main discipline.
Assessment
Modules are assessed by written assignment; students are also expected to participate in online discussion. You will also complete a 15,000-word dissertation, with support from a supervisor.
Although much of the course is delivered through our ‘virtual learning environment,’ support is always available.
You will have a personal tutor and dissertation supervisor to guide you and answer any questions, and you have access to a wide range of online resources too.
You also have the opportunity to meet other students and academic staff through online chats and discussion forums.
For more information on distance learning including answers to frequently asked questions, student experiences and funding opportunities, please see our distance learning website.
Your degree will provide excellent preparation for employment and this will be further enhanced by a range of employability support services offered by the University.
The University's Careers Network provides advice and information specifically for postgraduates that will help you to develop an effective career and skills development strategy, and to make the most of your time with us at the University. The College of Arts and Law also has a dedicated careers and employability team to deliver local support.
In addition to a range of campus-based events and workshops, Careers Network provides extensive online resources, and comprehensive listings of hundreds of graduate jobs and work experience opportunities.
You will also be able to access our full range of careers support for up to two years after graduation.
Postgraduate employability: Philosophy
Birmingham's Philosophy postgraduates develop a range of skills that are highly desirable in the job market, including: articulacy; precise analytical thought; clarity; rigour in formulating complex problems; and the ability to analyse and construct sound arguments.
Due to the transferable nature of their skills, Philosophy postgraduates traditionally enter a wide range of employment areas, from teaching and lecturing to publishing. Employers that graduates have gone on to work for include: BBC; Friends of the Earth; Birmingham Children?s Hospital; Highways England; and University of Birmingham.
The Master of Health Sciences (MHealSc) degree allows study at a postgraduate level across a range of health disciplines, and research experience (thesis, dissertation or project) in the student's area of specialisation.
Normally before embarking upon study within the Master of Health Sciences programme, students would first complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Health Sciences (PGCertHealSc) and/or a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Sciences (PGDipHealSc). Students are normally required to obtain a B average over their Postgraduate Diploma in order to be admitted to Masters study.
The Master of Health Sciences (MHealSc) comprises 120 points. This can be a thesis worth the entire 120 points, a 60 point dissertation and further papers to the value of 60 points, or 30 point research project and 90 points of further papers.
A 30 point research methods paper is a requirement for the Master of Health Sciences. It can be taken as a generic “unendorsed” option or as an "endorsed" option from those listed below.
Each “endorsed” option has different requirements so it is important to seek course advice before you apply. You can obtain information about each endorsement by clicking on the links below.
The Master of Health Sciences is taught from three campuses (Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington). Contact details at each campus are listed below. Alternatively, contact [email protected] for guidance.
Our MSc Biochemistry course will give you research experience and professional skills in contemporary biochemistry, opening up a future career in industry or academic research.
Biochemical understanding is fundamental to all biological disciplines. While much of modern biochemistry aims to provide an understanding of fundamental biological processes at a molecular level, it also contributes to the solving of medical problems and the discovery of safe and effective drugs.
This is a research-focused course that uses an interactive approach to learning through seminars, workshops, small group tutorials and research placements rather than a traditional lecture-based format.
You will undertake two research projects, as well as units covering science communication and experimental design and statistics. You will also attend tutorials where you will learn about biosciences research at Manchester and a workshop on bioethics.
Research focus
Develop your research skills in preparation for a career in the biosciences industry or academic research.
We use a range of teaching and learning methods, including tutorials, workshops, seminars and research placements.
Find out more by visiting the postgraduate teaching and learning page.
We will assess your progress using:
The course starts in September and runs for 12 months. You require 180 credits to complete the course, of which:
Research projects
Your projects each run for 18 weeks starting in October and April.
Transferable skills
45 credits are achieved through completion of activities that develop your transferable skills in essential areas such as experimental design, statistics, bioethics (included in the tutorial and workshop unit) and science communication.
Experimental Design and Statistics runs at the start of the year to prepare you for your research projects. Elements of the other units run throughout the year alongside your research projects.
Disclaimer: Our units teach the current trends in life sciences. Consequently, details of our units may vary over time. The University therefore reserves the right to make such alterations to units as are found to be necessary. Before accepting your offer of a course, it is essential that you are aware of the current terms on which the offer is based. This includes the units available to you. If in doubt, please contact us.
You will be able to access a range of facilities throughout the University.
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: [email protected]
Our graduates acquire a wide range of subject-specific and transferable skills, as well as extensive laboratory research experience.
Graduates typically enter professional careers in research, the health service or industrial environments.
Manchester has a strong record of placing students in PhD programmes at the University and other universities.
Our MRes Biological Sciences course offers a unique opportunity to experience research projects across a broad range of disciplines and laboratory environments before you start a career in research.
You will gain research experience and professional skills - perhaps in a different area to your first degree - before deciding on a future career in industry or academic research. This will allow you to make an informed choice about the research area you want to go into.
You choose two laboratory placements from a list provided by your programme director. Projects on this list come from any of our areas of research within the biological and biomedical sciences. As we have over 200 research-active labs, we can offer a wide range of projects to choose from. For an idea of the breadth of available projects, browse our Research pages.
Our course will also help you to develop transferable skills in essential areas such as experimental design, statistics, bioethics and science communication.
Wide range of research projects
Choose placements with more than 200 labs at the University to help you decide on an area to specialise in for your future research career.
We use a range of teaching and learning methods, including tutorials, workshops, seminars and research placements.
Find out more by visiting the postgraduate teaching and learning page.
We will assess your progress using:
The course starts in September and runs for 12 months. You require 180 credits to complete the course, of which:
Research projects
Your projects each run for 18 weeks starting in October and April.
Transferable skills
45 credits are achieved through completion of activities that develop your transferable skills in essential areas such as experimental design, statistics, bioethics (included in the tutorial and workshop unit) and science communication.
Experimental Design and Statistics runs at the start of the year to prepare you for your research projects. Elements of the other units run throughout the year alongside your research projects.
Disclaimer
Our units teach the current trends in life sciences. Consequently, details of our units may vary over time. The University therefore reserves the right to make such alterations to units as are found to be necessary. Before accepting your offer of a course, it is essential that you are aware of the current terms on which the offer is based. This includes the units available to you. If in doubt, please contact us.
"For me, the people were the highlight of the MRes. We had a really close bunch of people and we all got on so well and had a great social network."
Rachel Clapp / MRes Biological Sciences
You will be able to access a range of facilities throughout the University.
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service .
MRes graduates acquire a vast array of subject-specific and transferable skills, and gain extensive laboratory research experience.
The University has a strong record of placing students in PhD programmes at Manchester and other universities, and several of our graduates have pursued research careers in industry.
The Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Ethics course allows you to gain knowledge and understanding of ethical and medico-legal theories without the need to complete a full master's course.
There is an emphasis on the application of bioethical and legal theory which caters to the practical needs of healthcare and legal professionals and those in related fields.
The Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Ethics course aims to:
Assessment of all taught course units is by assessed coursework in the form of essays of 4,000 words per 15 credit course unit and up to 7,000 words for the 30 credit core course unit.
On this certificate you are required to successfully complete 60 credits of course units.
The optional 15 credits course units on offer each year may vary due to staff availability.
Those studying the campus-based certificate will complete the 30 credit core unit in Philosophical Bioethics in Semester 1 and Research Ethics and Ethics and Genetics modules in semester 2, on the full-time basis
Those studying the distance learning certificate are normally expected to complete the 30 credit core unit in Philosophical Bioethics and the 15 credits module in Ethics and Genetics in Year 1 and Research Ethics in Year 2.
The School is offering a number of awards for students applying for masters study. To find out more please visit our Master's funding opportunity search page .
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: [email protected]
Successful graduates are able to progress within a wide variety of roles in both medical, legal and ethical fields. Graduates from previous years have, for example, proceeded to specialise in medico-legal practice and academic careers, and the degrees have enhanced the careers of health care professionals.
Are you looking to explore Global Justice topics such as international trade, climate change, war, and biomedical science and apply ethical theories to these areas?
This programme will develop your knowledge of key global issues, and provide you with conceptual and analytical frameworks to enable you to understand and reflect on the ethical dimensions of these issues. It offers a range of core modules which provide a foundation for your studies, with the opportunity to apply your learning to areas of specific interest through your choice of dissertation topic.
The programme is ideal for those who are interested in international affairs, and who wish to pursue or develop careers in NGOs, related areas in public or private sectors, or research positions. It is designed to accommodate those wishing to study full-time as well as those wishing to study part-time around other commitments.
We also offer an on-campus programme over one or two years – for more information, see Global Ethics and Justice MSc.
Delivered by the Centre for the Study of Global Ethics in the Department of Philosophy, the programme features three core Global Ethics modules:
You will also choose one of: Bioethics, or Philosophy of Health and Happiness.
You will then choose two optional modules from a range which typically includes:
Assessment
Modules are assessed by written assignment and participation in online discussion. You also complete a 15,000-word dissertation, with support from a supervisor.
Although much of the course is delivered through our ‘virtual learning environment,’ support is always available.
You will have a personal tutor and dissertation supervisor to guide you and answer any questions, and you have access to a wide range of online resources too.
You also have the opportunity to meet other students and academic staff through online chats and discussion forums.
For more information on distance learning including answers to frequently asked questions, student experiences and funding opportunities, please see our distance learning website.
Your degree will provide excellent preparation for employment and this will be further enhanced by a range of employability support services offered by the University.
The University's Careers Network provides advice and information specifically for postgraduates that will help you to develop an effective career and skills development strategy, and to make the most of your time with us at the University. The College of Arts and Law also has a dedicated careers and employability team to deliver local support.
In addition to a range of campus-based events and workshops, Careers Network provides extensive online resources, and comprehensive listings of hundreds of graduate jobs and work experience opportunities.
You will also be able to access our full range of careers support for up to two years after graduation.
Postgraduate employability: Philosophy
Birmingham's Philosophy postgraduates develop a range of skills that are highly desirable in the job market, including: articulacy; precise analytical thought; clarity; rigour in formulating complex problems; and the ability to analyse and construct sound arguments.
Due to the transferable nature of their skills, Philosophy postgraduates traditionally enter a wide range of employment areas, from teaching and lecturing to publishing. Employers that graduates have gone on to work for include: BBC; Friends of the Earth; Birmingham Children?s Hospital; Highways England; and University of Birmingham.
