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Study Bioethics at Otago

Shape the future of healthcare and bioscience

Science, technology and healthcare are hugely powerful tools that bring ethical and legal challenges and opportunities.

Bioethics explores the current and future impacts of the biosciences and healthcare on people and society, animals and the environment. It determines the right way for us to respond to these as individuals, professionals and a society.

You will learn to identify and think through these complex bioethical issues from a range of perspectives, equipping you with the knowledge and skills to make a greater contribution to your community, workplace, and beyond.

Why study Bioethics?

Consider studying bioethics because it is a way of advancing your own future and the world’s future.

It can advance your future by enhancing and showing your ability to critically analyse and think through problems. This skill is highly valued and sought-after in future employment or other work.

Bioethics can advance the world’s future by giving you the ability to see where change is needed and equipping you with the skills to advocate for, perhaps initiate, that change.

With the great power of science and healthcare comes great responsibility. Bioethics gives you the knowledge and skills to address the biggest challenges of our time and make a meaningful impact.

Career opportunities

There are many jobs and careers to which bioethics graduates are particularly suited. If you seek a future in (life) sciences or healthcare, or already work in these areas, skills and knowledge gained through bioethics increase the value you can contribute to the profession.

Bioethics graduates stand out in fields like

  • Healthcare and Medicine – Improving patient care and ethical practices
  • Policy Development – Shaping policies that impact health, technology, and the environment
  • Scientific Research – Ensuring ethical practices in research and innovation
  • Technology – Navigating complex ethical issues arising with the use of new and emerging technologies

Bioethics at Otago

Undergraduate opportunities

Bioethics is available as a minor for a BCom, BA, MusB, BPA, BTheol, BSc, BHealSc, BACom, BASc or BComSc degree. It is the only one of its kind in New Zealand.

Completing five papers earns you a minor in Bioethics.

A minor is a great way to delve into a secondary subject area in depth. Identifying ethical issues and using reason to evaluate, discuss and argue about them is a valuable skill. Bioethics allows you to cover all the major areas where ethical questions frequently arise.

Through the minor, you’ll learn how to think critically about the present and future challenges we face and discover paths toward thoughtful solutions.

Postgraduate opportunities

There are many postgraduate degrees and diplomas offered, including a Certificate of Proficiency, Graduate and Postgraduate Diplomas, the Master of Health Sciences (endorsed in Bioethics), the Master of Bioethics and Health Law (MBHL), and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Bioethics.

Most masters' students complete a dissertation or thesis, and coursework.

Postgraduate students may be yet to start their careers, or can come from a range of professional backgrounds and include healthcare professionals, law graduates, and those with policy roles.

Recommended high school subjects for undergraduate study

The minor does not require specific prior learning. You do not need to have completed certain courses in secondary school to start the minor. You can also take individual bioethics papers on their own.

Students come from a range of backgrounds including law, philosophy, medicine, the life or health sciences, religious studies, social sciences, and psychology.

The transferability of many skills gained in Bioethics suits this breadth of students. It means that students may apply the skills learnt to their original field of study and enrich it further or take it in new directions.

Further study opportunities

Whether you are looking to bridge your undergraduate studies to advanced knowledge or aiming to specialise in a specific field, Otago offers a range of graduate and postgraduate options to suit your aspirations.

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If doctors understand bioethics they’re likely to be able to help their patients better.

Adam Faatoese

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I learnt how to approach new and often complicated situations using a framework of jurisprudence and ethics.

Greg Lewis

Programme details

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Papers

View a list of all related papers below.

More information

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Regulations on this page are taken from the 2025 Calendar and supplementary material.

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