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M.S. in Bioethics

Ethical questions have always been at the core of health and medicine. Today, biotechnologies and health care innovations bring exciting new opportunities but also raise new questions.

The Bioethics program at New York Medical College examines the intersection of bioethics and society. Using history, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and law and a scientific approach, you will look at how bioethical challenges affect the health care industry. The issues you confront are not just theoretical or academic—they are the very real challenges we face in medicine today.

Whether you are a senior health executive or a health care provider, this M.S. program will teach you how to apply ethical principles in health care. In addition to courses in clinical ethics and humanities, the program also offers instruction in Jewish bioethics and values-driven health care leadership.

What You'll Learn

After graduating from the program, you’ll be able to:

  • Identify the central theories, concepts and models of bioethics
  • See how integral ethical values are to medical practice and health care delivery
  • Apply ethical principles at both the clinical and organizational level
  • Reach ethically defensible resolutions using ethical reasoning
  • Use communication skills and strategies to implement ethical resolutions.

Bioethics Advanced Certificate

We also offer the option to earn a Bioethics Advanced Certificate. This 12-credit program gives you a foundation in bioethics and a broad overview of how the law and morality intersect with medicine.

Choose two of the three core courses required for the M.S. program, and any two electives. If you enroll in the M.S. program in the future, you can apply your certificate credits toward your M.S. degree. Both programs cover the same central goals and objectives and prepare you to address ethical scenarios in a health care role.

Bioethics Program Goals & Objectives

The M.S. degree has two main goals:

Goal 1: To train you as a scholar of ethics and to be competent in ethical deliberation

You will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to understand, analyze, plan and act on personal and professional values related to bioethics. More specifically, you will become proficient in:

  • Demonstrating awareness of the ethical, legal and social implications of issues related to bioethics
  • Examining existing frameworks and challenging normative assumptions and expectations
  • Communicating your decision and moral action strategy to various stakeholders and parties

Goal 2: To increase exploration and interest in social and humanities-based health questions.

We train you to become self-directed, life-long learners. You will develop proficiency in:

  • Demonstrating awareness of how language and culture influence our understanding of health, wellness and illness
  • Engaging in personal reflection into your attitudes, beliefs, opinions and feelings about your own and others’ cultural and moral premises around health issues.

Upon graduation, whether you earn an M.S. degree or an Advanced Certificate, you should be able to demonstrate the following core competencies:

  • Identify basic theories, concepts, and models of bioethics.
  • Develop the skills of ethical reasoning to reach ethically defensible resolutions.
  • Appreciate the ways in which ethical values are integral to the practice of medicine and health care delivery, both in the clinical encounter and from an organizational perspective.
  • Develop communication skills and implementation strategies to deal effectively with ethical issues.

Program Curriculum and Overview

The M.S. in Bioethics is a 36-credit program, including an independent project. Depending on your goals, you will write a thesis or complete a practicum. Currently, this program is offered online and you can complete the coursework when it is convenient for you.

Through the coursework, you will learn how to apply ethical deliberation to three major areas:

  1. Society and social policies
  2. The clinical encounter
  3. A hospital’s or health system’s organizational culture and ethos

3 required courses are needed to complete the program:

  1. Theories and Practice in Bioethics
  2. The Patient-Clinician Relationship
  3. Ethical Leadership and the Business of health care

These three core courses provide a strong foundation in ethical thinking. For the remaining 27 credits, you will choose any of our nine electives.

To explore all of our course options, review the Bioethics curriculum.

After The Program

After completing the program, your knowledge of bioethics will inform your managerial work and make you a better, more ethically aware professional. You’ll also be prepared for further graduate work in health sciences or in fields like history, philosophy, and law. Through the Jewish bioethics track, the program is also of interest to rabbinical students who want to work in rabbinics, chaplaincy or in a health care setting.