Are you interested in questions like these?
- Are some people bad, or are they mad? Where does evil stop and ill-health begin?
- Does a cloned individual have their own personal identity?
- How can we justify moral decisions?
- How should we care for people who are dying?
- Is animal experimentation unethical?
- Is it wrong to use dead human bodies for art?
- Should we build a needed dam even though it will make an insignificant fish species extinct?
- Should we make use of data gained through unethical research, including wartime atrocities?
- We have bred animals so that they will develop cancer. Can this be justified?
- What causes scientists to fake their research results? How this be prevented?
- What does it mean to live with dementia?
- What sorts of things can we have moral obligations to? Dead people? Brain-dead people? Non-human animals? Rivers? Ecosystems? Works of art? Everyday objects?
These are questions that arise on the news, and in our lives and those of others. They are also a selection of the questions that are addressed in the Bioethics minor and 200- and 300-level papers.
In the minor and papers students can learn about and discuss these and other interesting and important topics. If you want to be involved in the debate and don't want to leave these issues up to others to decide, these bioethics papers are an excellent starting point.
The minor, and the undergraduate bioethics papers do not require specific prior learning in the arts or sciences. They will add value to any degree.
The minor in Bioethics
The minor in Bioethics, the only one of its kind in New Zealand, can be included in a range of Bachelors' degrees.
Completing five papers earns you a minor.
More about the minor in Bioethics
Papers in Bioethics
The Bioethics papers are included in the minor, and can also be added to enhance a wide range of degrees and other qualifications.
Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) and other postgraduate degrees
If you are interested in further studies with a focus on Bioethics, go to our postgraduate qualifications page.