St. Thomas University (STU) is launching its new master’s degree program in bioethics, an innovative, interdisciplinary program combining science, ethics and human behavior.
The program commenced for the fall semester.
Today’s advances in technology has helped make substantial, beneficial gains in the areas of healthcare and research.
But these advancements in science and technology often outpace the school’s ability to understand, and come with critical ethical questions and challenges.
“Bioethics can be described as what may be done versus what can be done with regards to science and technology today,” said Father Alfred Cioffi, the Florida Blue endowed chair in bioethics and director of STU’s Institute for Bioethics. “The distinction between can and may is not just a grammatical distinction but an ethical distinction because we can do many things technologically, but should we do them – that’s when our master’s program kicks in and helps individuals evaluate critical situations.”
The program is a fully accredited Master’s of Science consisting of eight courses totaling 30 graduate credits.
Graduates will not only be improving the progress of healthcare, but will be equipped to engage in deep analysis of the bioethical issues of contemporary society.
Having as advanced degree in the field of bioethics opens various professional opportunities, especially the clinical setting, government regulatory agencies and institutional review boards.
For more information, contact Cioffi at acioffi@stu.edu.