M A S T E R O F B IO ETHIC S
Tackling cutting-edge issues in medicine and bioscience for the good of all
FAST FACTS •The Master in Bioethics is a 36-credit program, including the four-credit capstone •Many classes are held in the late afternoon, allowing parttime students to work while in the program •All capstone projects culminate with a poster presentation in the spring term •Harvard resources include the University’s Safra Center for Ethics and the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School •Students benefit from a global network of faculty, alumni and affiliated organizations
Message from the Program Director Even before the COVID pandemic, one could hardly scan the news headlines without finding reference to a health-related story that deeply challenged our sense of morality. These days, conversations about healthcare and our collective responsibilities as community members have become even more relevant—and consequential. This rapid pace of change is making bioethical decisions increasingly complex. From the research laboratory to the front lines of the ICU, from the State House to the courthouse, our world needs professionals with the knowledge and skills to assess the ethical, legal, and social implications of the decisions we’re faced with as a society, and to champion the right courses of action.
The Harvard Medical School Master of Bioethics (MBE) program was created to educate clinicians, researchers, administrators, attorneys and other professionals to address just these challenges. Our faculty are thought leaders across a wide array of disciplines. The MBE curriculum combines formal grounding in the foundations of bioethics, elective courses in applied ethics, and mentored field experiences applying ethical reasoning in real-world settings. We invite you to come learn and work with us.
Rebecca Weintraub Brendel, MD, JD Director, Master of Bioethics Degree Program Associate Director, Center for Bioethics Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Program Overview MASTER OF BIOETHICS ( MBE)
Specialized skills to tackle the thorniest health-related questions Advances in medical technology have created amazing improvements in health outcomes—but they have also opened the door to increasingly complex ethical questions. What’s the most compassionate way to approach end-of-life care? How can insurers and social programs increase access to care, and when do they go awry? When is it acceptable to manipulate a person’s genes? Finding a satisfying solution to these seemingly unanswerable questions takes specialized skills.
Harvard Medical School’s Master of Bioethics degree program—offered in one-year (full-time) and two-year (part-time) options—provides students with rigorous academic grounding in bioethical issues related to clinical practice and research, as well as health law and policy. Students can customize the program to their specific interests by selecting from a wide range of elective courses. Each student completes a mentored capstone experience that involves either a field placement or research project and that complements their program studies. Our students enroll from diverse educational and professional backgrounds; many already hold a terminal or professional degree in medicine, law, social work, chaplaincy, journalism, and other fields. The common factor is a commitment to wrestling with issues of fairness, equity and justice in health care and medical research.
UPON COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAM, YOU’LL BE ABLE TO: • Understand the moral issues and implications that underlie complex decisions
• Create compelling arguments to support ethical positions
• Engage others to address multifaceted problems in a team setting
“ When the orientation of the discussion is toward building something that is ethical and not solely about deconstructing something that is unethical, we are closer to justice.
”—Matthew Riley, III, MDiv, MBE ’18
Welcome to the community. Harvard University is home to an unbelievable wealth of talent, creativity, and curiosity. We’re eager to have you not only benefit from that tradition, but also contribute to it. As part of the leading academic community focused on bioethics, you’ll build a foundation for future success—and personal and professional relationships that last a lifetime.
A PLACE TO BELONG.
Our bioethics community is closeknit and extremely collaborative. You’ll study alongside peers with wide-ranging life experiences, belief systems, and perspectives as you build the skills to advance your career. To help you make the most of your experience, our faculty and staff advisers—whose ranks include some of the most respected experts in the field—provide close guidance and support at every step of the way. You’ll also build important connections to peers and mentors at our network of affiliated hospitals and institutions.
Outside the classroom, Harvard hosts countless events over the course the year that provide intellectual, academic, and cultural enrichment. We host an annual bioethics conference that attracts leaders in the field from around the world. Boston and Cambridge are also incredible assets—professionally and personally. After completing your program, you’ll continue to benefit from one of the greatest alumni networks in the world. Wherever your path leads, you’ll always be part of Harvard’s community.
Curriculum
Course of Study The Master of Bioethics Degree Program emphasizes rigorous coursework in combination with practical fieldwork, helping you translate foundational principles and knowledge into informed and effective approaches to address contemporary challenges in bioethics. Our multilayered curriculum also develops core competencies for addressing ethical concerns in clinical, research, public sector, and medical industry workplaces. The backbone of the MBE curriculum is the required year-long, eight-credit course, Foundations of Bioethics. In addition, you’ll complete a combination of core and elective courses that provide you with the opportunity to study a broad range of topics, ranging from Narrative Ethics to Global Health Ethics to Health and Human Rights. Most courses are taught at the HMS Center for Bioethics, which draws faculty from more than a dozen Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals and institutions.
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The program gave me the tools to think critically about ethics in healthcare, and the confidence to develop and share a position on controversial ethical issues that would have seemed daunting a year ago.
”—Gali Katznelson, MBE ’18
Program Courses The course of study for the MBE requires 36 credits, of which 32 are earned through classroom study and four are earned through the Capstone Experience. Foundations of Bioethics This course is required for all MBE degree candidates. It provides a multilayered approach to bioethics, from the philosophical underpinnings to the application of theory to central challenges in bioethics. Core Curriculum Degree candidates complete three additional required courses: Introduction to Clinical Ethics, Introduction to Research Ethics, and Health Law, Policy and Bioethics. Elective Credits In addition to the required coursework, 12 elective credits must be taken in either courses offered through the MBE program or in other parts of the Harvard University. Capstone Experience Every student’s journey culminates in a Capstone experience, which takes the form of a yearlong mentored project.
Program Tracks Overview
Full-Time, 1-Year Full-time students can complete their degree in one academic year. This rigorous approach requires students to earn 16-18 course credits each semester during the fall and spring. You can also take up to 4 credits during winter session in January. Full-time students begin their Capstone Experience during their first semester.
Part-Time, 2-Year Our two-year, part-time option is designed for students who are managing out-of-classroom responsibilities in addition to their studies. In this track, you’ll earn approximately 7–12 course credits per semester. During the first year, you’ll focus on Foundations of Bioethics I and II; during the second year, you’ll complete your Capstone Experience.
*In the evolving public health circumstances, the MBE program will flexibly adapt to deliver courses that meet our students’ needs. A 2-year virtual option is available for mid-career professionals. ** For more information, please visit https://bioethics.hms.harvard.edu/education/master-bioethics/curriculum.
Capstone Experiences The MBE program includes a hands-on capstone experience in which students put theory into action— which is critically important when it comes to understanding the gravity and consequences of ethical decision-making. You’ll be paired with a faculty mentor working on the front lines of bioethics, where you’ll have the chance to see and participate in the type of endeavor you will practice after graduation. Working collaboratively, you’ll gain practical experience and a deeper understanding applying what you learned during your coursework in real-world settings. Placement options for the program’s capstone experience are designed with the program director and faculty to align with each student’s professional expertise and bioethics interest. Examples of past placements our students have pursued include: •Working in clinical bioethics: working in a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital with an ethics consultant; ethics support services; clinical ethics committees •Engaging with research bioethics: working in a research compliance office; reviewing study protocols; attending IRB meetings; working with data safety monitoring boards and consent monitors •Shaping public policy: working with a state agency such as the Department of Public Health on ethical aspects of crisis standards of care. Capstone projects take place in Boston and around the world. Where will your capstone take you? bioethics.hms.harvard.edu/MBE-Capstone
Examples of Capstone topics include:
Exploring the ethics of physician-assisted death and end-of-life care
Evaluating the ethics of solitary confinement in prisons and jails
Scientific limitations and ethical considerations of heritable gene editing
Attaining legal protection against weight discrimination
Program Leadership
“
The quality and rigor of dialogue in the classes is unprecedented, and the faculty are the best and most inspiring individuals in the field.
”—Jasmine Panton, MBE ’16
World-class thinkers. Compassionate mentors. Harvard Medical School attracts the best and brightest faculty from all around the world. As a student in the MBE program, you’ll have access to outstanding teachers and mentors from the Medical School, its affiliates, and the entire University.
MBE Program Leadership
Rebecca Weintraub Brendel, MD, JD MBE Program Director
Brooke Shinnamon Tempesta, EdD MBE Associate Director
Amanda Chieco, MS Education Coordinator
Center for Bioethics Leadership
Robert Truog, MD, Director
Christine Mitchell, RN, MS, MTS, Executive Director
Genevieve Saphier, RN, MSN, WHNP Director of Administration
Edward Hundert, MD, Associate Director
Rebecca Weintraub Brendel, MD, JD Associate Director
Mildred Solomon, EdD Fellowship Director
“My Harvard MBE degree has provided me the academic foundation, ethical space and operational platform to effectively function as a Bioethicist in Sub-Saharan Africa.
”—Gloria Mason Ross, MBE ’17
“My Harvard MBE degree has provided me the academic foundation, ethical space and operational platform to effectively function as a Bioethicist in Sub-Saharan Africa.
”—Gloria Mason Ross, MBE ’17
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If you want to change your life and engage in a more thoughtful way of understanding the world, the MBE program is what you need.
”—Elias Pavlopoulos, MPH, MBE ’17
LEARN MORE AND APPLY hms.harvard.edu/bioethics CONTACT US 641 Huntington Avenue, 2nd Floor Boston, MA 02115 EMAIL bioethics_masters@hms.harvard.edu