Bioethics and Medical Humanities, Minor

Program Description

The tremendous current activity in the biomedical sciences affects both the public and private sectors, including medical care, the pharmaceutical industry, genetics, environmental epidemiology, agricultural science, the insurance industry, occupational health, forensic sciences, and behavioral variation. All these areas go beyond the science itself, with varied impact on people in different age, sex, ethnic, geographic, or economic segments of society. For that reason, life and health sciences research has major social implications that bear on humanities disciplines ranging from ethics and history to religious studies and literature, affecting clinical practice, agricultural practice and research, public policy and private investment. Understanding these issues is important for an informed citizenry. Students electing the BMH minor will start with a basic background of biology coursework, and will take a curriculum that includes 18 credit hours, beginning with an introductory course on basic ideas of bioethics, followed by a choice of other relevant humanities courses, and capped with an integrative course involving original research by the student. The minor will be suitable for students in almost any major, especially students going on to further academic work or careers in health, the life sciences, informatics, forensic or legal professions.

What is Bioethics and Medical Humanities?

Should we use medical science to enhance our mental or physical performance? Where does therapy end and enhancement begin? Do we have a right to choose the time and means of our own death—and should medical personnel be permitted to assist us? Can we have a meaningful discussion about physician-assisted suicide in a country without universal access to health care? Do we have a right to health care? Is it wrong for governments to try to influence our food choices in order to promote public health? And does it make a difference if corporations are already doing so in ways that undermine health? These are the kinds of questions we explore in bioethics using philosophy, fiction, film…and much, much more.

You Might Like This Program If...

• You are interested in health care ethics, food ethics, and environmental ethics.
• You want fresh perspectives on ethical issues, new and old—from the genetic modification of our food to the genetic modification of ourselves!
• You want to be part of animated discussions about pressing issues that affect us all.
• You are pre-med or pre-law, or studying philosophy, gender and sexuality, global health, anthropology, biobehavioral health, nursing, health communication, etc.
• You intend to pursue a career law in medicine, nursing, law, public health, among many others, or you intend to work in the bioinformatics or pharmaceutical sectors.

Program Requirements

Requirements for the Minor

A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Prescribed Courses
Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better
BMH 490	Bioethics and Medical Humanities Capstone Course	3
PHIL 132/RLST 131	Bioethics	3
Additional Courses
Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better
Select 12 credits (at least 3 credits at the 400 level) of the following: 1		12
Ethics
BBH 301W	Values and Ethics in Biobehavioral Health Research and Practice
BIOL 461	Contemporary Issues in Science and Medicine
NURS 464	Dying and Death
PHIL 432	Medical and Health Care Ethics
or STS 432	Medical and Health Care Ethics
PHIL 498
WMNST 458	Critical Feminist Issues in Reproduction
Humanities
CAS 253	Health Communication
CAS 453	Health Communication Theory and Research
HIST 103	The History of Madness, Mental Illness, and Psychiatry
Other
ANTH 470	Our Place in Nature
ANTH 471H	Biology, Evolution, and Society
CSD 269	Deaf Culture
FDSC 280
HPA 301W	Health Services Policy Issues
KINES 345	Meaning, Ethics, and Movement
WMNST 250	Sexual Identity over the Life Span

Academic Advising

The objectives of the university’s academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.

Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee’s unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.

READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY

University Park

Liberal Arts Academic Advising
814-865-2545
http://starfish.psu.edu
http://www.la.psu.edu/current-students/undergraduate-students/advising/advisers-by-major

Career Paths

Potential career paths include: medicine, law, health or life sciences, health administration, health infomatics, or forensics.

Contact

BIOETHICS PROGRAM
332 Pond Laboratory
University Park, PA 16802
814-867-0811
mmekel@psu.edu

https://bioethics.psu.edu/