JD/MA in Bioethics: Curriculum

Law School Curriculum

Law School JD degree requirements for students entering Fall 2009 include satisfactory completion of 88 semester credits, and six semesters of full-time enrollment (defined as 12 semester credits or more). First-year students are required to take a core curriculum totaling 30 credits and comprised of the following courses: Beyond that, all courses are elective, except that a student must take a course in Professional Responsibility (3 credits) and Constitutional Law II (3 credits) before graduating. In addition, each student must satisfy a second-year writing requirement (typically by participating in a moot court or serving as a staff member on one of the Law School's law reviews), as well as a third-year writing requirement (typically satisfied by taking a course meeting this requirement, completing an independent research paper meeting this requirement, which may be an MS thesis, Plan B paper, PhD dissertation, or capstone project, or serving as an editor on one of the Law School's law reviews).

To see requirements for students entering in years other than 2009, visit www.law.umn.edu/current/degreerequirements.html.

In addition, all students in the Joint Degree Program in Law, Health & the Life Sciences take a professional seminar. This 1-credit Proseminar is taught cooperatively by faculty involved in the Joint Degree Program, offered on a pass-fail basis, and required each Fall semester that a student is enrolled in the Joint Degree Program.

JD/MA in Bioethics

The Master of Arts in Bioethics degree prepares students to tackle the most pressing and controversial issues facing society involve bioethics concerns: definitions of death, end-of-life decision making, ethics of research on human subjects, conflicts of interest in research, ethics of human embryonic stem cell research, ethics of organ donation and transplantation, and ethics of public health emergency planning, to name only a few. Professionals facing these issues, policy makers charged with crafting public policy about them, and individuals facing them in their own lives all benefit from the contributions of those with advanced graduate training in bioethics and the sophistication that comes with it.

The MA in Bioethics is a two-year, 30-credit program, consisting of 20 course credits, 10 thesis credits and writing a thesis. Of the 20 required course credits, at least 1 BTHX course, and at least 2 courses total are to be taken at the 8xxx level. The final exam will be oral. The Plan A final exam committee must include two Bioethics graduate faculty members and one graduate faculty member outside of Bioethics. For a JD/MA in Bioethics student, this will typically be a Law faculty member.

The mission of the Center for Bioethics is to advance and disseminate knowledge concerning ethical issues in health care and the life sciences. The Center carries out this mission by conducting original interdisciplinary research, offering educational programs and courses, fostering public discussion and debate through community outreach activities, and assisting in the formulation of public policy.

Combining Curricula

Students in the Joint Degree Program combine their Law and science/health curricula by cross-counting up to 12 Law credits in their science or health program and up to 12 non-law credits in their Law School program. For more details, click on "Cross-Counting Courses" above.

JD/MS or JD/PhD students are eligible for a minor in bioethics, bioinformatics, or human genetics.

Students in the Joint Degree Program combine their Law and science/health curricula by cross-counting up to 12 Law credits in their science or health program and up to 12 non-law credits in their Law School program. For more details, click on "Cross-Counting Courses" above.

JD/MS or JD/PhD students are eligible for a minor in bioethics, bioinformatics, or human genetics.