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 background
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.
If doctors understand bioethics they’re likely to be able to help their patients better.
Adam Faatoese
I learnt how to approach new and often complicated situations using a framework of jurisprudence and ethics.
Greg Lewis
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Programme details
Compare programmes for this subject as a major and minor (where available).
A minor subject can be included in many of our undergraduate degrees. To earn a minor, you typically must complete a minimum of 90 points in that subject, with at least 18 points at the 300-level.
Your minor can be a subject more commonly taken for a different degree. For example, a BCom majoring in Marketing can include Japanese as a minor subject. To include this subject as a minor in your application, first find a major subject through our Subject Search or Study Match.
You can check what’s required to receive the minor accreditation in the programme details below.
Available as a minor subject for a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Music (MusB), Bachelor of Performing Arts (BPA), Bachelor of Theology (BTheol), Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), Bachelor of Entrepreneurship (BEntr), Bachelor of Health Science (BHealSc), Bachelor of Arts and Commerce (BACom), Bachelor of Arts and Science (BASc) or Bachelor of Commerce and Science (BComSc) degree
| Level | Papers | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 100-level | 18 | |
| 200-level | BITC 201 Bioethics and the Life Sciences | 18 |
| 300-level | BITC 301 Bioethics: Healthcare Issues and Global Perspectives A student may substitute one of the required papers above 100-level with a paper at the same level as the substituted paper or above from the following list: ANTH 322, ANTH 323, CLAS 340, CHTH 323, HIST 229, INDV 301, MFCO 222, PHIL 338. | 18 |
Total | 90 |
Papers
View a list of all related papers below.
BITC papers
| Paper Code | Year | Title | Points | Teaching period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BITC201 | 2025 | Bioethics and the Life Sciences | 18 points | Semester 1 |
| BITC202 | 2025 | Animal Ethics | 18 points | Semester 1 |
| BITC210 | 2025 | Special Topic | 18 points | Not offered in 2025 |
| BITC301 | 2025 | Bioethics: Healthcare Issues and Global Perspectives | 18 points | Semester 1 |
| BITC401 | 2025 | Theories of Biomedical Ethics | 30 points | Semester 1 |
| BITC403 | 2025 | Issues in Law, Ethics and Medicine | 15 points | Semester 1 |
| BITC404 | 2025 | Ethics and Health Care | 30 points | Semester 2 |
| BITC405 | 2025 | Bioethics in Clinical Practice | 30 points | Semester 2 |
| BITC406 | 2025 | Health Research Ethics | 15 points | Semester 1 |
| BITC407 | 2025 | Advanced Health Research Ethics | 15 points | Semester 2 |
| BITC412 | 2025 | Special Topic | 15 points | Not offered in 2025 |
| BITC790 | 2025 | MHealSc Dissertation | 60 points | Semester 1, Semester 2, Full Year, 1st Non standard period (1 January 2025 - 19 December 2025), 2nd Non standard period (21 February 2025 - 6 February 2026) |
| BITC890 | 2025 | MBHL Dissertation | 60 points | Semester 1 (21 February 2025 - 18 June 2025), Semester 2 (14 July 2025 - 8 November 2025), Full Year (21 February 2025 - 8 November 2025), 1st Non standard period (24 February 2025 - 21 February 2026), 2nd Non standard period (10 July 2025 - 26 June 2026 |
More information
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