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Programs

Health Humanities and Bioethics

This one-year program provides advanced education, skills training, and applied knowledge in the biopsychosocial approach to understanding health and illness using the tools and methods of the health humanities and bioethics. Increasingly complex health care environments require that the practitioner is able to attend to the biomedical domains of the patient’s disease; understand and empathize with the patient’s lived experience of illness; and identify, analyze, and discuss the ethical considerations and/or conflicts that arise in the context of health care decision-making. Students have an opportunity to create their own program of study; engage with students from a wide range of disciplines, careers, and experiences; and develop a close working relationship with interdisciplinary faculty and mentors. The faculty are clinicians in medicine, nursing, and other health care fields, as well as ethicists and scholars in the humanities and bioethics.

For students from health care disciplines, this program will strengthen and deepen knowledge, skills, and behaviors that can be applied to their own clinical practice and developed throughout their careers. Learners in the program will be able to serve as educators; they will have the foundational training to educate their colleagues and, as their careers progress, their students.

For students from humanities and other non-health care disciplines, this program extends their scholarly focus to the study of health care issues and practice. Students will learn about health care through formal coursework and from classmates who are training or practicing in diverse health care fields. The coursework and mixed interdisciplinary peer learning and clinical practicum provide students with personal and professional knowledge of some aspects of clinical care that will be valuable for careers in medical education or health care.

For all students at various career stages, the program offers an interdisciplinary, interprofessional learning environment that brings together learners from humanities, bioethics, and health care to share knowledge and expertise, to think critically and collaboratively about issues in health care, and to create networking opportunities and future collaborations.

Information about faculty and research can be found on the Health Humanities and Bioethics website.

AdmissionsLink to section

Applying to Master's ProgramsLink to section

The Master of Science in Health Humanities and Bioethics program is intended for students, trainees, and professionals in health care disciplines and those intending on entering a health care field (medicine, nursing, dentistry, social work, allied health care, and pastoral care); those in allied health sciences (occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistants); and graduate students and scholars in humanities, social science, and science disciplines and fields (literature; history; visual arts; anthropology; gender, cultural, and religious studies; etc.) who seek to integrate aspects of medicine and patient care into their academic work and teaching. Candidates for admission to the program must have earned a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent.

Applicants must submit the following:

  • Online application
  • Personal statement
  • Writing sample
  • Additional materials (optional)
  • Transcripts from all previous college and graduate programs
  • English proficiency documents (for applicants whose native language is not English)
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • $60 application fee

Applying to Advanced CertificatesLink to section

The Advanced Certificate in Health Humanities is designed for students, clinicians, and researchers who want to bring humanistic perspectives to their understanding of health, illness, and healthcare. The program draws on the history of medicine, narrative and storytelling, and the cultural dimensions of the body to offer an integrative, inquiry-driven education grounded in the biopsychosocial model of medicine. Students develop interpretive and analytical skills — close reading, visual analysis, textual research, and synthesis — that are directly applicable to clinical practice, scholarship, and professional reflection.

This program is open to:

  • All students holding a four-year undergraduate credential
  • Faculty and staff at the University of Rochester Medical Center
  • Graduate students enrolled at the University of Rochester School of Arts and Sciences, the Eastman School of Music, or the Warner School of Education and Human Development

The program is particularly well-suited for healthcare professionals — including physicians, nurses, medical trainees, public health practitioners, and allied health professionals — who wish to reflect critically on their work, situate clinical practice within broader historical and cultural contexts, and develop interpretive skills that enhance patient communication and care. It is equally valuable for graduate students in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts who seek to apply their disciplinary training to questions of health, illness, the body, and healthcare systems.

Rare exceptions to eligibility requirements may be made for individuals who demonstrate exceptional promise through transcripts, personal statements, or writing samples.

Application Deadline

Applications for fall admission are due June 15. Applications open in September of the preceding year.

How to Apply

Applications are submitted through the online application portal and must include:

  • Completed online application
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Uploaded copy of official transcript(s)
  • Curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé
  • One letter of recommendation
  • $60 application fee
  • Research papers, publications, and other original works may be submitted, but are not required.
What We Look For

The Statement of Purpose is the heart of the application. Strong applicants articulate a clear sense of why the health humanities are relevant to their goals — whether those goals are clinical, scholarly, creative, or some combination. We welcome applicants from a wide range of disciplines and professional backgrounds; prior coursework in the humanities is not required. We look for genuine intellectual curiosity about the human dimensions of health and healthcare, the capacity to reflect critically on one’s own professional or academic formation, and a readiness to engage with humanistic methods including close reading, textual research, and visual analysis.

Applicants are encouraged to describe any prior engagement with health humanities topics — through coursework, clinical work, writing, research, or personal experience — and to explain how the certificate connects to their professional or intellectual development. Candidates interested in eventually pursuing the M.S. in Health Humanities and Bioethics are welcome to note that interest; up to four courses completed in the certificate program may be transferred toward the M.S. degree.

The letter of recommendation should come from someone who can speak to your academic or professional capacity to undertake graduate-level humanistic study. This may be a faculty mentor, clinical supervisor, or professional colleague.

For questions about the application process or program fit, prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the program at hhbe@urmc.rochester.edu or call (585) 275-5800.

Applying to Master's ProgramsLink to section

The Advanced Certificate in Clinical Bioethics is a multidisciplinary graduate credential for clinicians, students, and other professionals who want to identify, analyze, and respond to the ethical questions and conflicts that arise in healthcare decision-making. Administered by the Department of Health Humanities and Bioethics in the School of Medicine and Dentistry, the program reinforces the biopsychosocial model of medicine and develops skills, knowledge, and attitudes consistent with healthcare professional core competencies, including ethical and humanistic patient care, interpersonal and communication skills, and professionalism. Students move from the philosophical foundations of bioethics through clinical application and into the legal dimensions of care, developing the analytic, interpersonal, and communicative skills needed to reason through moral challenges at the bedside and beyond.

This program is open to:

  • Graduate students enrolled in a health-related program
  • Faculty and staff at the University of Rochester Medical Center and UR Medicine affiliated institutions
  • Faculty and staff at other healthcare institutions, and individuals holding a four-year undergraduate credential with a demonstrated interest in healthcare

The program is particularly well-suited for healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurses, medical trainees, social workers, chaplains, and allied health practitioners, who encounter ethical conflict in their daily work and wish to develop a more rigorous and confident approach to it. It is equally valuable for those who serve, or expect to serve, on ethics committees and clinical ethics consultation services, and for students in the health professions who want a strong grounding in the philosophical, clinical, and legal foundations of bioethics.

Promising applicants who do not precisely meet the eligibility requirements may be considered on an individual basis through review of transcripts, personal statements, letters of recommendation, and other supporting evidence.

Application Deadline

Applications for fall admission are due June 15. Applications open in September of the preceding year, and early applications are strongly encouraged.

How to Apply

Applications are submitted through the online application portal and must include:

  • Completed online application
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Uploaded copy of official transcript(s)
  • Curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • $60 application fee
What We Look For

The Statement of Purpose is the heart of the application. Strong applicants articulate a clear sense of why clinical bioethics is relevant to their goals, whether those goals are clinical, scholarly, professional, or some combination. We welcome applicants from a wide range of health professions and disciplinary backgrounds; prior coursework in philosophy or ethics is not required. We look for genuine intellectual curiosity about the moral dimensions of healthcare, the capacity to reflect critically on one's own professional formation, and a readiness to engage with the methods of ethical reasoning, case analysis, and legal interpretation that the program teaches.

Applicants are encouraged to describe any prior engagement with ethical questions in healthcare, through clinical work, coursework, research, committee service, or personal experience, and to explain how the certificate connects to their professional or intellectual development. Candidates interested in eventually pursuing the M.S. in Health Humanities and Bioethics are welcome to note that interest; courses completed in the certificate program may be applied toward the M.S. Degree.

The letters of recommendation should come from people who can speak to your academic or professional capacity to undertake graduate-level study in bioethics. These may be faculty mentors, clinical supervisors, or professional colleagues.

For questions about the application process or program fit, prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the program at hhbe@urmc.rochester.edu or call (585) 275-5800.

AcademicsLink to section

Advanced Certificates and RequirementsLink to section

The following three courses are required to complete the Advanced Certificate in Clinical Bioethics:

  • MHB 410: Clinical Bioethics
  • MHB 472: Philosophical Foundations of Bioethics
  • MHB 482: Clinical Ethics and the Law

Students have two pathways to complete the Advanced Certificate in Health Humanities:

  • Option 1: Complete MHB 412: Introduction to the Health Humanities and three additional courses from any combination of subject areas.
  • Option 2: Complete four courses with at least one course from each of the three subject areas.

Students choose their courses in consultation with the Program Director and, where applicable, academic advisors from their home departments. Students may complete the certificate at their own pace but are strongly advised to do so within three years of admission.

Credits earned in the certificate may be counted toward no more than two degree programs. Students who go on to complete the M.S. in Health Humanities and Bioethics may transfer up to four courses from the certificate toward that degree.

Gateway Course (Option 1)
  • MHB 412: Introduction to the Health Humanities
History of Medicine
  • MHB 421: History of Modern Medicine, 18th Century to Present
  • MHB 430: Visual Cultures of Health and Medicine
  • MHB 432: Data, Health, and Society
  • MHB 440: History of the Body in Science and Medicine
  • MHB 473: Unsafe America
Narrative and Health
  • MHB 420: Stories in Healthcare
  • MHB 423: Life Stories in Medicine
  • MHB 424: Literature and Medicine
  • MHB 426: Creative Writing in Healthcare
  • MHB 480: The Disabled Body in Medicine and Culture
Culture and the Body
  • MHB 430: Visual Cultures of Health and Medicine
  • MHB 440: History of the Body in Science and Medicine
  • MHB 480: The Disabled Body in Medicine and Culture

*Note: Some courses appear in more than one subject area. MHB 430 and MHB 440 count toward both History of Medicine and Culture and the Body; MHB 423 and MHB 480 count toward both Narrative and Health and their respective additional area.

Master's Degrees and RequirementsLink to section

The program requires 30 credit hours of graduate-level work. Students must take all required courses, including a capstone practicum, and complete four elective courses. Completing a concentration is optional. The program can be full-time or part-time over two, three, or four semesters. Some students take one course per semester, completing the program in four to five years.

Graduate Course TitlesLink to section

  • MHB 401: Data Ethics in Health Care 
  • MHB 410: Clinical Bioethics 
  • MHB 420: Stories in Health Care 
  • MHB 421: History of Modern Medicine, 18th Century to Present 
  • MHB 430: Visual Cultures of Health and Medicine 
  • MHB 431: Clinical and Translational Research Ethics 
  • MHB 440: History of the Body in Science and Medicine  
  • MHB 450: Master’s Research Methods: Capstone Planning  
  • MHB 472: Philosophical Foundations of Bioethics 
  • MHB 473: Unsafe America: Accidents, Disasters, and Society, 1800-2020 
  • MHB 480: The Disabled Body in Modern Medicine and Culture  
  • MHB 482: Clinical Ethics and the Law
  • MHB 497: Capstone Practicum