Health Care Ethics (CERT)
This 15-credit graduate certificate equips students with skills to navigate complex ethical issues in health care. Coursework covers bioethics, social justice, law and diversity, with both core and elective options. Complete the program in one year to strengthen professional credentials, improve ethical decision-making and enhance your impact in clinical, academic or policy-focused roles.
This program was approved for students entering the university in the Summer 2025-Spring 2026 catalog year. For more information about catalog year, go to Catalog Year Information.
Graduate Certificate in Health Care Ethics
Unit: College of Arts and Sciences (GA)
Department: Philosophy
Program Website
Academic Plan Code(s): HCE_CGR
Program Information
Health care in the twenty-first century faces a series of ethical challenges arising from unprecedented advances in the medical sciences, combined with radical cultural and organizational change. The big business of health care can bring issues of social difference and injustice directly to our attention in the faces of individual patients.
The graduate certificate in Health Care Ethics is a 15 credit hour interdisciplinary graduate certificate is drawn primarily from coursework already offered for the MA and can be completed in one academic year. The certificate focuses on issues of social justice and the importance of race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, and culture on health and health care. The certificate is designed to serve mid-career professionals, faculty and staff on hospital ethics committees, and students in graduate and professional programs who want to enhance their credentials.
Admission Requirements
Students may be admitted to the graduate Health Care Ethics certificate program in any of the three ways:
- Completion of a graduate admissions application;
- Admission to any graduate or professional degree program at UofL, plus a letter of interest with the name of a faculty member who is willing to endorse the student's readiness to pursue the certificate;
- A graduate or professional degree in a related field from an accredited institution of higher learning, plus a letter of interest with one professional reference; or
- Meeting the admissions requirements already established for the MA in Applied Philosophy.
Certificate Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select nine (9) credit hours from the list below: | 9 | |
BETH 621 | Ethical Theory | |
BETH 680 | Foundations of Bioethics | |
BETH 681 | Current Controversies in Health Care Ethics | |
BETH 682 | Health and Social Justice | |
BETH 683 | Race, Medicine, and Health | |
BETH 684 | Clinical Ethics | |
| Select six (6) credit hours from the following: | 6 | |
ANTH 608 | Social and Cultural Theory | |
BETH 685 | Health Care Ethics Internship | |
BETH 601 | Independent Study in Bioethics | |
ECPY 663 | Multicultural and Diversity Issues | |
HIST 589/WGST 532 | History of American Sexualities - WR | |
LAW 826 | Family Law | |
LAW 906 | Race and the Law | |
LAW 923 | Elder Law | |
LAW 924 | Sexuality and the Law | |
LAW 944 | Poverty, Health and the Law | |
LAW 946 | Introductions to Health Law | |
LAW 947 | Mental Health and the Law | |
LAW 959 | Genetics and the Law | |
LAW 977 | Animal Law | |
LAW 978 | Disability Law | |
LAW 980 | Medicine, Bioethics and the Law | |
PAS 615 | Theories of Race and Racism | |
PHIL/PAS 616 | African-American Philosophy | |
PHIL 690 | Philosophical Foundations of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | |
PHPB 612/COMM 652 | Health Communication: Theory and Practice | |
PHPB 630 | Social and Structural Determinants of Health | |
PHPB 635 | Health Promotion Policy Development | |
POLS 668/WGST 656 | Feminist Theory | |
PSYC 656 | Professional and Ethical Issues in Clinical Psychology | |
SOC 675 | Social Inequality & Stratification | |
SOC 685 | Race and Ethnicity | |
SOC 740 | Social Policy | |
MSSW 602 | Social Welfare Policy I | |
MSSW 603 | Diversity, Oppression, and Social Justice Practice | |
MSSW 622 | Social Welfare Policy II | |
MSSW 626 | Research Methodology and Design | |
MSSW 633 | Social Work and Human Sexuality | |
MSSW 636 | Advanced Death & Grief | |
MSSW 684 | Spirituality and Social Work | |
| Minimum Total Hours | 15 | |
Students may graduate with the Certificate after completing nine (9) credit hours of core Bioethics (BETH) courses plus six (6) credit hours of electives drawn from either i) additional core courses, or ii) the list of approved electives in the HCE MA program, or another elective approved by the director of graduate studies for the Philosophy department.
At least nine (9) credit hours must be at the 600 level. An average of a B, with no more than one C, will be required for graduation; GPA of 3.0 or above.