M.A. in Philosophy: Philosophy, Bioethics and Health

Making decisions in healthcare presents dilemmas every day. Recent evolutions in society have seen a cultural shift towards respecting the individual’s autonomy to make their own choices and manage their own health.

This responsibility impacts both the doctor-patient relationship and the role of health insurers. Other issues include knowledge of the genetic basis of diseases, pre-implantation diagnosis and IVF, the use of plastic surgery for aesthetic enhancement, and the ageing population. This is a fascinating area of research that’s only growing more important in today’s society.

This two-year Master’s programme is a unique collaboration between the Faculty of Philosophy at VU Amsterdam and the Department of Medical Humanities at VU Medical Centre. It’s also one of the only such programmes with a focus on mental health and neuroscience. As a graduate with two Master’s degrees – one in Philosophy, Bioethics and Health, and one in your original discipline – you’ll be in great demand by many healthcare organisations.

A highly interdisciplinary, practical and small-scale programme

The programme is highly interdisciplinary, consisting of introductory philosophy courses, courses in bioethics, and health-related courses that are part of your other Master’s programme. You’ll also do practical training – involving a once-in-a-lifetime study trip to the University of Oxford in the UK plus an internship at a hospital, healthcare institute or other organisation.

This is a small-scale programme, meaning you’ll work a lot in small groups and receive plenty of attention from the teaching staff. Many of the teachers work in the field themselves, giving you the opportunity to take advantage of their first-hand experience. But you’ll also benefit from working with students and teachers whose backgrounds are in different disciplines. All students following a Philosophy specialisation take the core introductory philosophy courses, which means you’ll come into contact with people specialising in neuroscience or law as well.

The start date of this programme is September 1st.

In your first year, you’ll take five courses relating to your other Master’s, four introductory philosophy courses, and one course specifically about bioethics.

As well as studying a basic history of philosophy, from ancient times to modern day, you’ll learn about normative ethics – asking yourself how human beings can co-exist when we subscribe to different ethical theories, such as virtue ethics, utilitarianism, Kantian ethics and so on. You’ll also learn about the scientific method, finding out what makes knowledge scientific knowledge, and asking whether objective knowledge is possible.

In the Bioethics, Technology and Law course, you’ll get to grips with the interface between these three areas. You’ll be confronted with cutting-edge developments in biomedicine, like “designer babies”, asking yourself the extent to which parents should be able to determine the characteristics of their child from both an ethical and a legal perspective.

Your second year will cover bioethics in more detail, with four courses especially tailored to bioethics students.
In Philosophy of Mind, Life and Death, you’ll look at end-of-life issues from the perspective of the doctor-patient relationship.
In the Moral Reasoning in Healthcare course, you’ll look at the processes used by medical teams to make highly complex ethical decisions on the hospital floor. You’ll use real-life case studies and work as a team.

As part of the Ethics of Medical Research course, you’ll get the chance to sit in on a Medical Ethical Committee meeting.
In Ethics, Public Policy and Politics, you’ll understand how politics and cultural values play into medical decisions in different contexts.

Your practical training is a highlight of the second year of the programme, giving you the opportunity to visit the University of Oxford during the five-day “Winter School”. You’ll also take a six-week internship, giving you insights into how ethical issues are dealt with in the real world.

Finally, you’ll write your Master’s thesis, with free rein to choose a topic within the vast domain of bioethics. Past theses have been written on topics like the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, effects of deep brain stimulation on a patient’s identity, and end-of-life decision-making.