Undergraduate Program—Bioethics Minor
Bioethics is a well-established interdisciplinary field that is centered in philosophy but includes interaction with research in medicine, biological sciences, and other social sciences. Bioethics addresses foundational moral questions concerning life in all of its forms and in a wide variety of contexts, including issues in medical and clinical ethics, distributive justice in health care, environmental and climate ethics, and more.
The Bioethics Minor is intended for students with a variety of academic interests and career goals. In particular, well-trained professional ethicists are in increasing demand, and practitioners and research in medicine, bioengineering, and the life sciences are face challenging moral questions and are increasingly expected to have training in ethics. The course of study will also play a key role in preparing students to be informed citizens on questions of pressing importance to everyone.
The minor will require seven courses, (twenty-eight units): one from each of 5 core categories and two elective courses from a selected list. A maximum of two may be lower-division courses. All courses must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a C– or better.
Core Requirements for the Bioethics Minor
Core bioethics. Minors must take one from each of the five core categories:Ethics
PHIL 13. Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 160. Ethical Theory
Biomedical Ethics
PHIL 163. Biomedical Ethics
Social Ethics
PHIL 26. Science, Society, and Values
PHIL 27. Ethics and Society
PHIL 162. Contemporary Moral Issues
PHIL 164. Technology and Human Values
PHIL 167. Contemporary Political Philosophy
Philosophy and Science
PHIL 12. Scientific Reasoning
PHIL 137. Moral Psychology
PHIL 145. Philosophy of Science
PHIL 147. Philosophy of Biology
PHIL 149. Philosophy of Psychology
PHIL 150. Philosophy of Cognitive Sciences
PHIL 151. Philosophy of Neuroscience
PHIL 152. Philosophy of Social Science
Topics in Bioethics
PHIL 173. Topics in Bioethics
Electives for the Bioethics Minor
Minors must take two courses, drawn from a selected list:
BILD 36. AIDS, Science, and Society
BILD 38. Dementia, Science and Society
FMPH 40. Introduction to Public Health
FMPH 50. Primary Care and Public Health
HISC 116. History of Bioethics
PHIL 10. Logic
PHIL 120. Symbolic Logic
PHIL 148. Philosophy and the Environment
PHIL 169. Feminism and Philosophy
PHIL 170. Philosophy and Race
USP 143. The US Health Care System
Enrollment in these courses is subject to the normal prerequisites and requirements in place in these departments. Outside elective courses need not be from any single department, though students are encouraged to consult with affiliated faculty in philosophy for assistance selecting a coherent group of courses in this category.
Grade rules for majors/minors: All courses applied toward the major and minors must be completed with a grade of C– or better. Further, a GPA of 2.0 must be maintained in courses applied toward the major or minor. It should be noted that courses taken under the Pass/Not Pass (P/NP) grading option cannot be applied toward the major or minors.