Graduate Certificate in Bioethics

Graduate Certificate in Bioethics

Earn a Graduate Certificate in Bioethics

Learn new tools to help you navigate ethical issues in the healthcare industry. Jointly offered by Clarkson University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the graduate certificate expands your understanding of the subject to help you advance your career.

Why Earn a Graduate Certificate in Bioethics From Clarkson?

A graduate certificate in bioethics is designed for working professionals or new graduates seeking to enter the healthcare workforce. The skills you acquire during your studies will set you apart with prospective employers, can be used to gain an edge in your current role or help you pivot to a new and exciting path.

The curriculum meets the needs for bioethics training for professionals in healthcare settings without undertaking a master's degree. However, you can later apply those credits toward a master's if you choose to continue your studies.

What You'll Learn

The certificate consists of 12 credit hours, with coursework determined by the specialization you choose: Clinical Ethics, Health Policy & Law or Research Ethics. Each specialization explores the pertinent theories and tools that are applied to address relevant ethical issues. The research and clinical specializations include online and onsite practica to develop your interpersonal communication skills.

Once you finish the certificate program, you will have gained practical competencies in bioethics that will enable you to address the complex ethical issues that arise in healthcare settings.

The Bioethics Program’s certificates were designed to respond to a need for bioethics training, as reported by hospital administrators, hospital ethics committees, research administrators and others who wanted advanced training in bioethics without undertaking a full master’s program.

This certificate requires four courses and can be completed in one academic year:

  • Bioethics and the Law
  • Clinical Ethics
  • Online Practicum in Clinical Ethics
  • Onsite Practicum in Clinical Ethics

This certificate can be completed in one year, entirely online. It consists of three core courses and one specialty course.

The core courses are:

  • Bioethics and the Law
  • Biomedical Ethics
  • Healthcare Policy

You'll choose one specialty course from the following:

  • Clinical Ethics
  • Ethical Issues at End of Life
  • Medicine and Social Justice
  • Public Health Ethics
  • Reproductive Ethics
  • Research Ethics

This certificate requires four courses:

  • Research Ethics I
  • Research Ethics II
  • Online Practicum in Research Ethics
  • Onsite Practicum in Research Ethics

A completed application file consists of the following items:

  • Online Application Form.
  • Résumé.
  • Statement of purpose.
  • Three letters of recommendation.
  • Official transcripts.
  • For international applicants, an English proficiency test is required.
    • Minimum test score requirements: TOEFL (80) and TOEFL Essentials (8.5), IELTS (6.5), PTE (56) or Duolingo English Test (115).
    • The English language-testing requirement is not waived based on language of instruction, nor do we accept university certificates. English testing is waived if an applicant has a degree from a country where English is the Native Language. Click here to see the list of these countries.

Prerequisites: Applicants to the bioethics program must have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

Career Possibilities

Clarkson’s graduate certificate in bioethics helps you acquire skills to identify and navigate ethical issues in healthcare settings. It will allow you to:

  • Serve on hospital ethics, institutional review boards or institutional animal care and use committees.
  • Begin or advance a career in research administration.
  • Advocate for underserved populations in healthcare policy.
  • Pursue a Master of Science in Bioethics by applying your credits toward Clarkson's MS in Bioethics program.

Contact Us

Graduate Admissions Team
Email: graduate@clarkson.edu
Phone: 518-631-9831

Interested in learning more about the graduate certificate in bioethics? Contact the Office of Graduate Admissions today with your questions. 

Find out more about the Department of Bioethics in the Lewis School of Health Sciences.

Prepare for a Vital Career

Clarkson's graduate certificate in bioethics helps you advance your career by expanding your understanding of ethical issues. Find out what the program can do for you.