The Health Ethics Certificate program is ideal for both students and working professionals such as physicians, nurses, healthcare administrators, and those serving on hospital ethics committees or considering such health ethics issues in their daily employment. The certificate program will help the learner develop an understanding of the ethical issues related to health and healthcare and will foster skills in analyzing and resolving ethical problems and conflicts in the healthcare environment.
The Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics and Medical Epidemiology (BBME) Department offers the Graduate Certificate in Health Ethics in partnership with the MU Center for Health Ethics. The Certificate may be completed entirely online or through articulation with residential graduate and professional coursework.
Health Ethics Certificate Courses
Required Courses - 6 credits
BBME 8565 – Healthcare Ethics (3 credits - Online)
This discussion-based course focuses on various bioethical debates such as abortion, genetics, resource allocation, and end of life decision making. Rather than deal with these issues merely on a theoretical level, students have an opportunity to work through these issues in the context of difficult applied cases and policy development.
At least one additional Core Ethics Course from among the following:
- BBME 7564 – Health Ethics Theory (3 credits - Online)
- BBME 7566 – Health Informatics Ethics (3 credits - Online)
- BBME 7567 – Health Organizational Ethics (3 credits - Online)
- BBME 8485 – Problems in Biomedical Informatics (Applied Bioethics Independent Study) (1-6 credits – In-person or Online)*
- BBME 8515 – Problems in Medical Ethics and Clinical Ethics Consultation Practicum (5 credits – In person)*
- IN_MED 6515 – Problems in Medical Ethics (Medical Students Only - 5 credits – In person)*
Elective Courses - 6 credits
Six additional ethics-related elective credits are required to complete the certificate. Students may cross count credits from their home degree program (with permission of the certificate coordinator), take additional core ethics courses, or take courses from other departments. Each study plan is reviewed individually. Sample electives outside the ethics core include, but are not limited to:
- BBME 7900 – Medical Ethics and the Law (3 credits)
- SOC_WK 7220 – Advanced Social Work Practice in Integrated Healthcare (3 credits)
- SOC_WK 7395 – Death, Grief, and Loss (3 credits)
- LAW 5530 – Elder Law (3 credits)
- LAW 5614 – Health Law (3 credits)
- LAW 5897 – Sex, Reproduction & the Law (2 credits)
- HLTH_ADMIN 8574 – Health Care Law (3 credits)
- HLTH_ADMIN 8575: Health Policy and Politics (3 credits)
For course descriptions, see BBME Course Offerings. Current students may check MyZou for up-to-date schedule information.
Apply to the Health Ethics Graduate Certificate Program
Certificate-seeking students apply to the Graduate Certificate Program in Health Ethics by completing and submitting the Graduate Studies online application.
