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.
Background required
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.
