Admission: A Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree, preferably with undergraduate or graduate courses in one or more of the following areas is generally required for admission: medical, professional, or environmental ethics; political or legal philosophy; ecology and environmental policy; medical anthropology; history or sociology of medicine; health care administration, law, or policy. In some cases, a certificate course in medical ethics may also be suitable qualification for admission, as may extended service on a medical center bioethics committee or institutional review board. Also required: GRE, TOEFL (international applicants), and an essay on some moral issue in medical or environmental policy or practice. Students may begin in either fall or spring semesters.

Degree Requirements: A total of 32 points is required for the M.A. degree. The course of study involves the two required courses, Advanced Introduction to Bioethics (G83.1005) and Contemporary Debates in Environmental Ethics (E50.2020), plus electives. Students must also do a practicum in a medical or environmental organization in the greater New York area, studying and reporting on the moral issues that are addressed (or neglected) in the work of the organization. Also required is a final master’s project in which students write a research paper expanding the practicum report or, alternatively, an expanded essay from one of the courses.

The following is a sample of a full-time course plan:

Fall Semester

• Advanced Introduction to Bioethics
• Contemporary Debates in Environmental Ethics
• Cultures of Biomedicine
• Comparative Health Care Systems

Spring Semester

• Advanced Introduction to Ethics
• Clinical Ethics
• Environmental Values, Policies, and the Law
• Colloquium on Health, Medicine, Law, and Society
• Summer Session
• Practicum and Master’s Essay

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