Bioethics Certificate Program

Certificate Programs offer focused academic training in specific areas of public health, such as bioethics.

Certificate programs typically require less time and coursework than a degree, making them appealing to:

  • Current Bloomberg School of Public Health degree students desiring specialization in particular topic areas
  • Individuals seeking to learn more about specific areas of public health.

The Berman Institute’s Bioethics Certificate Program is geared not only toward current Johns Hopkins University graduate students, but also non-degree-seeking students as well as a broader general audience.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

  1. Describe the essential theories and methods that underpin the ethics of public health, clinical care, science and research;
  2. Recognize ethical issues and questions that arise in public health, clinical care, science and research;
  3. Articulate and critique policy and scholarly arguments to engage with long-standing and emerging debates in bioethics;
  4. Distinguish various ethics advisory functions in practice settings; and
  5. Apply ethical theories and methods to real-world ethical dilemmas.

ELIGIBILITY

The certificate program is open to graduate students in all JHU programs, with the exception of Master of Applied Science candidates, who will need to complete their MAS degree program prior to applying to the certificate program. The program is also open to individuals who are not enrolled in degree programs at JHU.

REQUIREMENT FOR SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION

The certificate program requires a minimum of 18 term credits.  Students will complete three required courses totaling 9 credits, and then choose three courses from the Berman Institute course list totaling 9 credits to fulfill the 18-credit requirement to complete the certificate program. 

All required and elective courses must be taken for a letter grade; a minimum grade of C is required in all certificate coursework and students must maintain a 2.75 or better overall GPA for all certificate coursework.  All courses must be completed within a three year period.

The student should review the section of the website that addresses completion before completing certificate program requirements.  The student’s transcripts will not indicate that the certificate was earned until the Notification of Completion form has been submitted, verified by the certificate program, and processed by the Registrar.

COURSE OF STUDY

Students should check the course catalog to confirm when the courses are offered.  The term and time may change from what is listed in the table below and some courses are only offered every other year.  Students should also check for pre-requisites and whether instructor consent is required.

Course No. Course Title No. Credits Online Term Campus Term
Introduction to Online Learning

All students are required to complete this free course before taking other online courses. 

0 1,2,3,4
Summer
550.860 Academic and Research Ethics at JHSPH

All students are required to complete this free online course during their first term of study.

0 1,2,3,4
Summer
Core Course (9 credits required)
700.601 Foundations of Bioethics 3 1
700.602 Hot Topics in Bioethics 3 2
700.603 Introduction to Ethical Theory 3 1
Elective Courses (minimum of 9 credits)
700.621 Ethics in Clinical Practice: Fundamentals, Problems and Approaches 3 2
700.622 Bioethics, Human Rights, and Global Health 3 2
700.625 Bioethics and the Law 3 4
700.630 Food Ethics 3 3
700.632 Ethics, Policy, and Emerging Biomedical Technologies* 3 4*
700.640 Global Food Ethics and Policy 2 Summer
700.641 Germs, Genes, Patients and Populations 3 3
700.642 Vulnerability in Childhood- From Ethics to Advocacy 3 3
700.840 Bioethics Program Independent Study 2 1, 2, 3, 4, S, Wi

*Course is offered every other year

CONTACT INFORMATION

Certificate Program Contact
Name Penny White
Phone 410.614.5580

Faculty Sponsor
Name Travis Rieder