• MA Degree Requirements
• Curriculum

The Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program (MH&B) of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University offers an interdisciplinary, part-time Master's program serving students in medicine and law, other graduate students, and working professionals in related fields. This degree can be earned independently or as a joint degree with an MD, JD, PhD, or MS in Genetic Counseling. The freestanding program offers a rigorous master's level education in the legal, historical, philosophical, and cultural aspects of bioethics, with additional emphasis on the medical humanities, and the values-oriented social sciences.

MH&B students develop an understanding of the philosophical foundations and social contexts of bioethics, as well as the ability to apply their knowledge practically in teaching, consultation, and making bioethics decisions. The course of study provides an opportunity for students to grow professionally in their chosen area by combining the essential theoretical foundations with the best practices of research, pedagogy, and ethics consultation.  Graduates will be able to analyze ethical questions as well as promote and guide a community of discourse on ethical issues in academic medicine, hospitals, and public policy forums. An MD with an MA in MH&B, for example, will be well prepared to lead ethics committees, create ethics policy, and conduct in-service ethics education, gaining an advantage in academic medicine and in academic and community hospitals that need to meet ethics goals as part of the ongoing certification process. A PhD or JD with an MA in MH&B will be especially well prepared to teach in medical schools and to integrate the medical humanities and bioethics into traditional academic curricula.

The program consists of two years of course work and one year of thesis research and writing. The curriculum consists of ten courses, an individually-designed reading tutorial in preparation for the research project, and a Master's thesis research project that integrates the core curriculum with the student’s chosen area of concentration.

Applicants should contact the program or see http://bioethics.northwestern.edu/masters to learn about program-specific requirements for admission.

Faculty

The primary appointment for those faculty with joint or affiliate status in another program is noted in parentheses.