Master of Arts in Bioethics (MA/BIO)

Trinity’s Master of Arts in Bioethics program is ideal if you are entering or active in the workplace and you desire to engage contemporary culture in more depth. If you are a healthcare professional, lawyer, scientist, educator, minister, work in a nonprofit organization, or you aspire to address bioethics issues in your future career, you will find that this program is exactly what you need.

Streamlined Program

No course prerequisites, 30 credit hours, thesis optional.

Interdisciplinary

Course work addresses medicine, nursing, law, public policy, international human rights, theology, philosophy, economics, education, and media.

Networking Opportunities

Course offerings in conjunction with annual international bioethics conference at Trinity Deerfield attended by top Christian leaders in the field.

Public Appeal

As a university-based, accredited graduate program (non-seminary), it enhances job opportunities in secular, as well as Christian, settings.

No Need to Relocate

Flexible course offerings in Deerfield, Illinois and Santa Ana, California.  Guided independent study available and conference-based courses

Program Objectives

The MA in Bioethics (MA/BIO) gives students the ethical tools they need to address pressing contemporary issues of life and health. The program equips students to analyze these issues from a biblical-theological perspective, to understand other influential contemporary outlooks on these issues, and to develop effective strategies for engaging the bioethical issues of our day. The program also seeks to provide students with a broad understanding of changes occurring in health care practice and ideology and a deep appreciation for the wisdom of God in the face of bioethical challenges.

The MA in Bioethics is designed with various groups of students in mind: physicians and medical students, nurses and other health care workers; lawyers; those with political, public policy, social service, and ministry interests in pro-life and related areas; individuals who are preparing for an academic career in related college or university fields; and those interested in educating and engaging various constituencies through nonprofit organizations. Emphases in Medical/Clinical Ethics, Nursing Ethics, and Law and Bioethics are available. The program is particularly well suited to those with heavy professional or other responsibilities who need a flexible 30-semester-hour program. Through the completion of short-term campus courses and independent study work, the program can be completed without relocating to the Deerfield, Illinois, area. Contact the Admissions Office for course schedule details.

Program Distinctives 

• Flexible timeframe - Can be completed in one year or spread out very part time over many years.
• Outstanding faculty with degrees from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Emory
• End-of-life issues, reproductive technologies, genetics, aging, stem-cell research, cloning, access to health care, emerging biotechnology
• Distinctly Christian - Provides a biblically grounded theological and cultural framework for understanding and engaging issues in bioethics