Graduate Certificate in Bioethics and Medical Humanities (GC-BMH)

The Ethics and Art of Healthcare Delivery

“The patient is not simply a set of biological problems to be solved, but a person to be healed – and that can happen even if the body doesn’t survive.”  
– Prof. Peter A. DePergola II, PhD, MTS, HEC-C
Director, Master of Arts in Bioethics and Medical Humanities Program

Program Background

The Graduate Certificate in Bioethics and Medical Humanities (GC-BMH) credential is a rigorous and enriching academic program offering courses in person, online, or in combination. The GC-BMH helps pre-health students and current healthcare professionals improve skills needed in clinical practice, theoretical research, and academic teaching.

Who Should Apply?

Rapid advances in modern medicine mean a greater need for leaders in the field who can think critically about emerging issues involving the treatment of patients. The GC-BMH program is geared toward students from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds, both clinical and non-clinical, who are seeking to learn about bioethics and medical humanities and their application to the practice of healthcare.

The GC-BMH program appeals to traditional students with bachelor’s degrees in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, or health sciences, as well as to current healthcare professionals with advanced degrees (MA/MS, MSN/DNP, MTS/MDiv/DMin, MBA/MHA/MPA, MSL/MJ/JD, MD/DO, PhD/ThD/DPhil) who are seeking to enhance their primary training.

Program Duration

The GC-BMH can be completed within one year or less. With the permission of the program director, students may elect to complete the program over multiple years.

Requirements for Admission

The successful applicant will possess:

• A bachelor’s degree (or higher) from an accredited institution.
  • All majors and backgrounds are welcome.
• A completed online application, including (1) official academic transcripts for all degrees held; (2) resume or CV; (3) statement of purpose addressing (i) what draws you to graduate studies in BMH, (ii) the unique perspectives you will bring to the BMH community at Elms College, (iii) the experiences that have prepared you to study BMH at the graduate level, and (iv) your career aspirations upon earning the GC-BMH; (4) two letters of recommendation, at least one of which must be from a former or current academic advisor; and (5) application fee.

Standardized test scores are not required for admission to the program. While students are recommended to have completed at least some ethics and/or health science courses, it is not required.

International students may apply with the same materials as US students and, if necessary, submit an English proficiency exam score. International students will also need to provide proof of funding for tuition and living expenses in United States Dollars (USD). International students are not eligible for US government loans, but they may be eligible for certain private loans with or without a US cosigner at private financial institutions.

Requirements for Program Completion

In order to complete the certificate:

• Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA or better in the program.
• Students must complete 18 credits of graduate coursework in the time agreed upon by the student and program director.
• All courses must be taken through Elms College unless special provisions are made with the program director.
• Students cannot withdraw from courses unless they are granted a leave of absence by the program director.

Program Bridge Options

Students enrolled in the Undergraduate Minor in Bioethics and Medical Humanities (UM-BMH) and the Graduate Certificate in Bioethics and Medical Humanities (GC-BMH) are eligible to transfer credits into the MA-BMH program.

Full-time UM-BMH students who complete program requirements at the undergraduate level are eligible to transfer up to six credits into the GC-BMH and MA-BMH programs.

Full-time UM-BMH students are also able to complete program requirements at the graduate level free of additional charge. Up to six (and, in special circumstances, nine) credits of courses taken at the graduate level are eligible to be transferred into either the GC-BMH or MA-BMH programs.

GC-BMH students are eligible to transfer up to nine (and, in special circumstances, twelve) credits earned into the MA-BMH program.

Clinical and Organizational Rotations in Ethics (CORE) Program

GC-BMH students who are existing employees of Baystate Health may elect to enroll in the Clinical and Organizational Rotations in Ethics (CORE) program offered by the Office of Clinical and Organizational Ethics at Baystate Health/UMass Chan Medical School – Baystate (BH/UMCMS-B), which is less than five minutes from the Elms College campus. The CORE program provides students with an experience-based internship to learn the requisite scholarly and professional skills necessary to navigate complex healthcare ethics consultations in a supervised, guided manner.

CORE interns focus on integrating clinical, organizational, and professional ethics across a large academic healthcare system. The program also provides students with a robust and substantive apprenticeship to undertake clinical and organizational ethics consultations, including active participation in the pre-consultation phase.

CORE interns are intensely supervised at BH/UMCMS-B. Duties of CORE interns include, but are not limited to, professional ethics education for healthcare personnel, clinical and organizational ethics research, policy review and/or development on ethical issues, and prospective and retrospective case consultation.

Each 3-credit CORE internship requires approximately 150 hours of work in the Office of Clinical and Organizational Ethics at BH/UMCMS-B.

Typically, CORE internships may be initiated after completion of 15 credit hours of coursework. The CORE program adopts an integrated ethics approach, as developed by the Veterans Health Administration, to implement the Core Competencies for Clinical Ethics Consultation of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities.

Program Completion Outcomes

Students who complete the GC-BMH program will be eligible to:

• Sit for the Healthcare Ethics Consultant – Certified (HEC-C) exam, offered by the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, to become a fully-credentialed bioethicist prepared for clinical practice.
• Chair/Co-Chair a Healthcare Ethics Advisory Committee.
• Manage/Direct a Healthcare Ethics Consultation Service.
• Manage/Direct an Office of Patient Experience and Guest Relations.
• Serve as an ethics consultant to private and governmental organizations.
• Join the academic faculty at the college/university level.
• Join the clinical faculty at an academic or non-academic healthcare organization with an Office of Ethics.
• Apply to postgraduate programs in bioethics and medical humanities, including, but not limited to, clinical bioethics residencies, fellowships, and advanced training.
• Apply to graduate programs in bioethics and medical humanities, biomedical sciences, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, health law, and health policy, among others.
• Apply to doctoral programs in bioethics and medical humanities, biomedical sciences, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, health law, and health policy, among others.
• Apply to advanced professional programs in healthcare, including, but not limited to, nursing, medicine, veterinary, dental, physician assistant, chiropractic, physical therapy, optometry, podiatry, anesthesiology assistant, cardiovascular perfusion, and pharmacy, among others.
• Enter high-impact and well-paying jobs in bioethics and medical humanities, health sciences, health law, health policy, clinical research, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence, among others.

Program Cost

Excluding minor institutional fees, the total cost of the 18-credit program, at $900 per credit hour, is $16,200 (for students not receiving scholarship, graduate assistantship, or tuition reduction).

Tuition Discount

Elms College alumni and employees of several regional healthcare institutions are eligible for a significant tuition discount.

Textbook Provision

All required reading for every course offered by the GC-BMH program director is provided free of charge, in PDF format.

Graduate Assistantships

Eligible students who apply for and are awarded a graduate assistantship are eligible for full tuition remission for up to two courses per semester in exchange for 20 hours of work per week per semester under the supervision of the program director.

Career Opportunities

Career opportunities for GC-BMH graduates can be located in numerous places online, including the job boards of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, Hastings Center, and Bioethics Today.

To learn more about the Master of Arts in Bioethics and Medical Humanities program, please contact Dr. Peter DePergola at depergolap@elms.edu.

A private, Catholic, coeducational liberal arts college founded in 1928 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield, Massachusetts, Elms College is dedicated to providing an extensive education within a community where all are welcome, religious and non-religious, and is committed to providing an inclusive environment that promotes academic success, social equity, and ethical leadership development.