The Minor | At a Glance | Frequently Asked Questions

Bioethics Minor

Updated Summary of Requirements (April 1, 2005) 

Course Requirements : 21 credit hours including one course at the introductory level --either RELG 265 (Theol., Ethics, Medicine) or PHIL 154 (Life and Death); BIOL 121 (Human Biology), or BIOL 149 (Survival Biology), or BIOL 201; 6 credit hours in ethical and/or political theory (one of these two courses must be in ethics; and one must be at the 300 level or higher--i.e., one theory course may be at the 100-200 level); and 9 credit hours at 300-level or higher in bioethics electives or closely related courses, 6 credits of which must be in regular bioethics courses. 

The biology requirement cannot be automatically satisfied by substituting advance placement credits from high school.  Students with advance placement credits in hand may satisfy the requirement by taking one other university-level biology course at the 300 level or higher.

In order to fulfill the bioethics electives requirement of 9 credit hours, students may opt to take one course that, while not specifically focused on bioethics, still relates in a substantial way to the issues or methods of bioethics--e.g., BIOL 425 (Human Genetics), ECON 416 (The Economics of Health), ANTH 329 (Marriage, Mortality and Fertility), SOC 426 (Health Care Systems). A list of such courses will be kept current by Professor John Arras, Program Director. 

While most such electives should be at the 300-level or higher, some exceptions will be approved (e.g., for ANTH 234 "Race, Gender and Medical Science"). Which courses will so count will be up to the discretion of the Program Director. 

Students may take up to 3 credits for an appropriately structured internship in partial fulfillment of the Bioethics Electives requirement. 

A maximum of 12 credit hours may be double counted both towards the student's major and this minor. The type and number of courses that will be eligible for double counting for each student will be handled on a case-by-case basis by the Program Director in collaboration with students and their academic advisers. The Director of the Bioethics Minor will work with closely related departments (e.g., Philosophy and Religious Studies) to ensure that appropriate limits are set on the number of bioethics electives that may count towards their respective majors.