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

Degree: Juris Doctor (JD)
Juris Doctor (JD) Program Information

Program Overview

This program combines the Master of Arts in Bioethics and Medical Humanities with the Doctor of Jurisprudence and is offered in cooperation with the School of Graduate Studies and the School of Law. Advances in health sciences have created new and difficult moral choices for individuals, their families, and the health professionals who work with them.

The Department of Bioethics is dedicated to responding to the challenge of health care choices faced in today's society. It focuses on the ethical, cultural, and policy dimensions of healthcare, technology, and the life sciences. Professionals from many arenas, including public health, prevention sciences, health sciences, the life sciences, and the social sciences have contributed to and drawn from the field of Bioethics.

The JD Degree is a terminal degree; persons with the degree may pursue a variety of career paths. The MA in Bioethics and Medical Humanities is considered a supplemental degree— it enhances careers in other fields. The combined JD/MA program provides excellent preparation for students who desire to practice health law by giving law students firsthand experience in multiple healthcare settings. It is designed to help students identify and assess challenges facing the medical and health law professions in the coming decades, and explore a broad range of health law and policy issues. The program emphasizes the interdisciplinary and inter-professional nature of the field and includes a significant clinical component.

Students must apply and be accepted to each degree program to qualify. New students can apply to both programs simultaneously; current law students may apply before the end of their first year. Students are expected to complete course requirements for the two degrees in either three-and-one-half years, or three years combined with some summer school work. The curriculum for this dual degree program begins with one year of full-time study in law school.

Program Requirements

The Department of Bioethics accepts 6 credit hours of elective law courses toward MA elective requirements. The law school accepts 12 credit hours of the required BETH 401 and BETH 402 courses as law elective credits toward the JD degree.

Students must be separately admitted to both degree programs in order to pursue a dual degree, the qualitative requirements of both degrees must be fully met, and the two degrees must be earned simultaneously. Students must begin coursework in the second degree program prior to beginning the fifth semester of law school work. Also, no coursework completed prior to official matriculation in the law school may be counted towards the law school degree.