Master of Arts in Bioethics and Medical Humanities (MA-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 Master of Arts in Bioethics and Medical Humanities (MA-BMH) degree is a rigorous and enriching academic program offering courses in person, online, or in combination. The MA-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 healthcare delivery requires leaders who can think carefully and critically about emerging issues involving the treatment of patients. The MA-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 MA-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 MA-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.

Admission Requirements

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 MA-BMH degree; (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.

Degree Completion Requirements

In order to complete the degree:

• Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA or better in the program.
• Students must complete 30 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.

Bridge and Credit Transfer Options

Students enrolled in the Undergraduate Minor in Bioethics and Medical Humanities (UM-BMH)  and prospective MA-BMH students with prior graduate coursework in BMH or a BMH-adjacent field 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 MA-BMH program with the permission of the program director.

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 the MA-BMH program.

Prospective MA-BMH students with prior graduate coursework in BMH or a BMH-adjacent field may transfer up to nine (and, in special circumstances, twelve) credits into the MA-BMH program with the permission of the program director.

Clinical and Organizational Rotations in Ethics (CORE) Program

MA-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 21 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.

Capstone Experience

The MA-BMH Capstone course is an intensive and immersive research experience that offers students the opportunity to identify, investigate, analyze, write about, and present on advanced topics in bioethics and/or medical humanities. It guides students from a broad interest in general topics to the development of a focused and sophisticated research thesis, dissecting relevant arguments and literature to support the main components of their subsequent advanced research paper. The course trains students in an intimate setting to complete advanced research (Seminar I), compose advanced research writing (Seminar II), and present advanced research in a professional format (Seminars III and IV). Students consequently gain the mastery necessary to submit their research to a peer-reviewed journal for publication and/or to an academic conference for presentation.

The Capstone is designed around four standards for excellence in advanced research writing: (1) sound argument development and justification, (2) critical organization and analysis, (3) comprehensive literature integration, and (4) superior writing quality. These will be applied to the topics of the advanced research paper. The outcome involves students selecting a focused research thesis and writing a 15-25 page advanced research paper divided into five main sections that will have the potential to be co-submitted to an academic conference and/or peer-reviewed journal with the assistance of the program director.

At the conclusion of the Capstone course, students will deliver a formal and structured 15-20 minute presentation of their advanced research that mirrors what would be expected at a national academic conference of a professional organization. Capstone presentations are open to the campus community.

Approximately 85% of students who enroll in the Capstone have their research published in a peer-reviewed journal and/or accepted for presentation at a regional, national, or international academic conference prior to, or shortly after, graduation.

Degree Completion Outcomes

Students who complete the MA-BMH 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.
• 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.
• Serve as an expert ethics consultant to private and governmental organizations.
• Apply to postgraduate programs in bioethics and medical humanities, including, but not limited to, clinical bioethics residencies, fellowships, and advanced training.
• 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, 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 30-credit program, at $900 per credit hour, is $27,000 (for students not receiving scholarship, graduate assistantship, or tuition discount).

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 MA-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 MA-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.