Degree: Master of Arts (MA)
Field of Study: Bioethics and Medical Humanities
Bioethics and Medical Humanities (MA) Program Information

Degree: Master of Science (MS)
Field of Study: Genetic Counseling
Genetic Counseling (MS) Program Information

Program Overview

The Department of Genetics & Genome Sciences and Department of Bioethics offer a dual degree program between the Master of Science in Genetic Counseling and the Master of Arts in Bioethics and Medical Humanities Programs. The dual degree program provides a comprehensive curriculum integrating foundational principles of genetics and ethics. The goal of the program is to train Genetic Counselors who wish to apply additional Bioethics expertise into their clinical practice and/or research.

The dual degree program allows graduates to engage in both contemplative analysis and application of knowledge in the counseling of patients and should allow graduates to be more prepared to participate in the ongoing national dialogue about the ethical, legal, and social implications of advances in genomic technology as well as research within their home institutions and with other counselors nationwide regarding issues of new genomic testing technology, concerns about genetic services, and issues related to genetic discrimination, privacy, and the return of genetic and genomic results.

Admissions

Students who would like to enroll in the dual degree program will apply and be admitted into each program separately.  While admissions committees for each program will communicate with each other regarding applicants, each admissions committee will decide independently about the suitability of the applicant to their program.

Student Advisors

Once students have been admitted, the Director of the Genetic Counseling Training Program and the Director of the MA Program in Bioethics and Medical Humanities will act as student advisors for each of the two programs individually but will meet monthly to assess student progress, address any student or faculty concerns, and assure that student progress in each of the programs, and their overlapping components, are being achieved. 

Program Requirements

The curriculum for the Dual Genetic Counseling/Bioethics Degree consists of 62 credit hours to be completed in 2.5 years. Students enrolled in the dual degree program will spend their first year taking courses entirely within the Genetic Counseling Program and then will spread out their Bioethics coursework over the next 1.5 years while continuing with required coursework and clinical rotations in the genetic counseling program.

In addition to both a written and oral comprehensive examination as part of the Genetic Counseling Training Program, the dual degree requires a research project be carried out for the completion of both degrees.  For the dual degree, students will be required to choose a research project that includes ethical, legal, or social issues of genetic counseling practice, clinical genetics or genomics, or genetic research. Students will also be required to include at least one Bioethics Faculty member on their Research Project Committee.

Sample Plan of Study