Master of Bioethics by coursework
Over the past two decades, there has been increasing community concern about ethics in science, especially in the health sciences and the biological sciences. The Master of Bioethics is a response to that concern, and will enable those taking it to deepen their understanding of ethical issues in health care and the biological sciences. While the course is particularly well-suited for those health care professionals and scientists who face complex ethical issues in their working lives, it will also be valuable for those involved in the formulation of public policy and law regarding these issues, as well as for anyone who simply wishes to explore issues of public concern in greater depth.
Course details:
Handbook entry: 0122
Fee & other details: Course Finder entry for 0122
Coordinator:
General:
The Master of Bioethics by coursework is available both to on-campus students and also to students from anywhere in the world through distance education.
Master of Bioethics students who have completed at least one semester of the course are eligible to apply for an annual fellowship of $9000 to work during the Australian summer as an intern in the Department of Ethics, Equity, Trade, and Human Rights at the World Health Organisation in Geneva. For more information, please see the Monash-WHO Fellowship page.
Course Structure:
For details of units studied in both on-campus and distance education modes, please see the course Handbook entry.
Please note that:
- All students will begin their course with APG5393 Ethics (formerly coded CHB5101).
- Students who choose to study APG5731 Bioethics supervised research paper of 9000 words (formerly coded CHB5206), are advised to enrol in this unit in their second year (as the third or fourth unit in their sequence).
Course Length:
In both on-campus and distance education modes:
- students studying part-time enrol in one unit each semester and complete the course in two years,
- students studying full-time enrol in two units per semester and complete the course in one year.
Credit Provision:
Candidates who have already completed a unit in ethics that, in the opinion of the graduate coordinator of the Centre for Human Bioethics, is of a standard at least equal to that of APG5393 Ethics, and covering essentially the same content as APG5393, may be given an exemption with credit for that unit. Normally at least a distinction result must have been achieved for that unit, and it cannot have been part of another degree on the basis of which a candidate has met the entry requirements for the Master of Bioethics by coursework. If the equivalent unit in ethics was part of another degree on the basis of which a candidate has met the entry requirements for the Master of Bioethics by coursework, then an exemption without credit may be given for APG5393.