Graduate Education in Bioethics

Dalhousie University does not offer any degree programs or formal concentrations in bioethics. However, it is possible to pursue an MA or PhD in philosophy with an informal specialization in bioethics and it is also possible to pursue an interdisciplinary PhD drawing on such disciplines as Philosophy, Law, Social Anthropology, Medicine, or any of the Health Professions.

Department of Philosophy - MA/PhD
Faculty of Graduate Studies - Interdisciplinary PhD
Health Law Institute - LLM
Graduate courses

Department of Philosophy - MA/PhD

The Department of Philosophy regularly offers graduate courses in bioethics that may be taken as part of a graduate degree in Philosophy or as part of another graduate program. The Department's faculty has extensive experience supervising both Masters and Doctoral theses.

Please click here for information on this program.

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Faculty of Graduate Studies - Interdisciplinary PhD

Interdisciplinary work in bioethics at Dalhousie is approached on a highly individualized basis. Each program of study will be unique and must be negotiated with the Faculty of Graduate Studies and prospective faculty supervisors. For further information regarding the potential to pursue graduate studies through a number of disciplines that intersect with bioethics, prospective students are encouraged to consult the Faculty of Graduate Studies for programme requirements.

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Health Law Institute - LLM

The Health Law Institute offers several courses in Health Law and Policy which may form a part of an informal specialization in the Master of Laws degree or part of an interdisciplinary graduate degree. Several of these courses include substantial attention to issues at the intersection of law and bioethics. Please click here to go to the HLI website.

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Graduate courses

In support of the above degree programs, the Department of Bioethics offers a number of relevant graduate courses:

BIOT 5000.03: Advanced Topics in Bioethics
The seminar involves critical examination of the bioethics literature. The application of various methodologies utilized in contemporary bioethical analysis will be highlighted. It will be of interest to graduate students in medicine, health professions, health law, and philosophy, whose thesis topic involves a substantial bioiethical component.

BIOT 5001.03: Research Ethics
This seminar involves critical examination of the research ethics literature, with particular attentioin to a range of topics, including: informed consent; research involving specific groups/communities; risks/limits to allowable risks; emergency room research; and placebo controls. It will be of interest to graduate students in medicine, health professions, health law, and philosophy.

BIOT 5101.03: Directed Readings in Bioethics I
This is an advanced level directed reading course designed for graduate students. Instructors and topics can vary.

BIOT 5102.03: Directed Readings in Bioethics II
This is an advanced level directed reading course designed for graduate students. Instructors and topics can vary.

BIOT 5801.03: Topics in Health Care Ethics: Theories and Methods in Health Care Ethics
In this class, participants explore some of the current debates among different theoretical perspectives about the proper theoretical groundwork for bioethics and the methodologies associated with these diverse theories. Particular attention will be paid to canonical work in the field, such as the principles approach of Beauchamp and Childress, while examining feminist and other alternatives. Participants will consider the ways different theories identify, frame, and reason about ethical questions that arise in the realm of health and health care.

BIOT 6046: Qualitative Health Research: Determining Evidence
Where do the statistics leave off, and values, attitudes, and practices come in? How do you build a qualitative evidence base? This advanced graduate course will tackle ways of knowing, getting at, and understanding health. It will ground students in the theories, methodologies and methods of qualitative health research. The objective is to provide students with an understanding and demonstrated competence in data gathering techniques, description, interpretation and analysis of health matters. The course is designed to balance theoretical and practical components in order to meet the needs of graduate students in health disciplines working towards developing their own research project.

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