~ Combined Degrees ~

 

The Department of Philosophy and the IU School of Law offer combined degrees in Law (JD) and Philosophy (MA), with concentrations in health law and bioethics. 

 

The Department of Philosophy and the IU School of Medicine offer combined degrees in Medicine (MD) and Philosophy (MA), with a concentration in bioethics.

 

Applicants for the combined degrees must apply separately to both the Philosophy master’s program and either the Law School or the Medical School.

 

Combined Degrees in Law (JD) and Philosophy (MA)

 

In combining the philosophical study of bioethics with the study of law, students will acquire the perspective, knowledge, and expertise that will equip them to provide leadership concerning the bioethical issues faced by institutions such as state and federal agencies, healthcare organizations, research and educational institutions, corporations (national and multinational), human rights organizations, medical insurers, and religious bodies.

 

The Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis has a nationally recognized Center for Law and Health and a program in health law that is ranked among the top ten in the nation.

 

Students completing the program will receive a Juris Doctor (JD) degree in Law, with a concentration in health law, and a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Philosophy, with a concentration in bioethics.

 

Through the combined degrees program, the two degrees can be obtained with a total of 108 earned credits, as compared with the 120 credits required if the degrees are obtained separately.

 

Up to six credits of health-law courses can be counted toward both the 90 credits required for the JD in Law and the 30 credits required for the MA in Philosophy. Additionally, the capstone of the program is the 6-credit course Philosophy P803, in which students complete a thesis or research project addressing legal and philosophical aspects of a bioethical issue. Students who complete P803 as part of the JD/MA program will also receive 6 credits toward the 90 credits required for the JD in Law.
 

For the curricular requirements for each degree, please click JD or MA-Bioethics.  Below is a sample schedule that shows how the curricular requirements for both degrees can be met in the combined degrees program:

 

 

SAMPLE SCHEDULE
COMBINED DEGREES IN LAW (JD) AND PHILOSOPHY (MA)

 

(Italicized courses are counted toward both degrees)
 

First Year
Law Program: 30 cr.
 

Civil Procedure I 
Contracts I
Property I
Torts I  
Legal Writing I

Civil Procedure II

Contracts II

Property II

Torts II
Legal Writing II

                                                  

Summer

Law Program (6 cr.)

 
 Law School selections, including Criminal Law (6 cr.)
 

Second Year & Summer
 
Philosophy MA Program (l-column): 13 cr.  /  Law Program (r-column): 14 cr.

 

PHIL P547 Foundations of Bioethics (3 cr.)                 LAW Constitutional Law (4 cr.)
PHIL P540 Contemporary Ethical Theories (3 cr.)        LAW Evidence (4 cr.)

MHHS M504 Introduction to Research Ethics (3 cr.)    LAW Professional Responsibility (2 cr.)
LAW Bioethics and LAW (2 cr.)                                 LAW Bioethics and Law (2 cr.)

LAW Financing & Regulating Health Care (2 cr.)         LAW Financing & Regulating Health Care (2 cr.)

 

Third year & Summer
Philosophy MA Program: 11 Credits; Law Program: 18 Credits

 

PHIL P553 Philosophy of Science (3 cr.); SOC R515 Sociology of Health and Illness (3 cr.); LAW DN 761 Law and Public Health Care (2 cr.); other Philosophy MA selection (3 cr.); Law Program selections, including LAW DN 761 (18 cr.)

 

Fourth Year
Philosophy MA Program: 6 Credits; Law Program: 22 Credits

 

PHIL P803 Thesis or Research Project (6 cr.); Law Program selections, including PHIL P803 (22 cr.)



 

 ~ ~ ~ ~

 


Combined Degrees in Medicine (MD) and Philosophy (MA)

 

Bioethics, the ethics of the life sciences, is a field of rapidly growing importance, both nationally and internationally. The development, delivery, financing, and regulation of healthcare products and services is a major economic and social endeavor. Bioethical issues – social, legal, and philosophical – confront a diverse array of institutions, including state and federal agencies, healthcare organizations,  research and educational institutions, corporations (national and multinational), human rights organizations, medical insurers, and religious bodies. In combining the philosophical study of bioethics with the study of medicine, students will acquire the perspective, knowledge, and expertise that will equip them to provide leadership concerning the bioethical issues faced by such institutions, as well as to implement ethical principles in their own practice.

 

IUPUI is home to one of the nation’s largest health-profession complexes, one that boasts the nation’s second largest school of medicine. The IU School of Medicine is the only medical school in the nation’s thirteenth largest state, and is home to the state’s only residency programs in a variety of medical specialties.

 

Students completing the program will receive a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree and a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Philosophy, with a concentration in bioethics.

 

Through the combined degrees program, the two degrees can be obtained with a total of 181 credits of coursework rather than the 194 credits required if the two degrees are obtained independently. Furthermore, the IU School of Medicine requires students to achieve a level 3 (the mastery level of competence) in three of the nine competencies that comprise the IUSM curriculum in order to be eligible for graduation. The combined degrees program provides participating students with the opportunity to achieve a level 3 in the Moral Reasoning and Ethical Judgment competency.

 

During their fifth year of study, students will choose two electives from a list of courses in Medicine (see below). While completion of these electives will earn the students eight (8) credits towards the 164 credits required for the MD degree, they may also count up to six (6) of these credits towards the 30 credits required for the MA in philosophy. Furthermore, P803, the capstone of the MA program, will count as six (6) credits for both degrees.

 

The capstone of the combined degrees program is the 6-credit course Philosophy P803, in which students complete a thesis or research project addressing medical and philosophical aspects of a bioethical issue. In addition to counting toward the credits required for both degrees, P803 will provide students with a means of achieving a level 3 in the Moral Reasoning and Ethical Judgment competency.

 

For the curricular requirements for each degree, please click MD or MA-Bioethics. Below is a sample schedule that shows how the curricular requirements for both degrees can be met in the combined degrees program:

 

 

SAMPLE SCHEDULE
COMBINED DEGREES IN MEDICINE (MD) AND PHILOSOPHY (MA)

 

(Italicized courses are counted toward both degrees.)

 

First Year

Medicine Program: 40 cr.

Fall

Spring


Fall semester of MS1 year

 


Spring semester of MS1 year

 

Summer

Philosophy Program: 3 cr.


Students will be offered one 3-credit hour courses from the list of courses the MA-Bioethics curriculum


Second Year

Medicine Program: 40 cr.


Fall Semester of MS2 year                    

 


Spring semester of MS2 year

           

Third year

Philosophy Program: 15 cr.


Students will choose three 3-credit hour courses from the list of Philosophy courses in the MA-Bioethics curriculum (9 cr. total)


Students will choose two 3-credit hour courses from the list of Philosophy courses in the MA-Bioethics curriculum (6 cr. total)

 

Fourth Year

Medicine Program: 44 cr.


MS3 year: (Students may choose one course from the list below as an elective; up to 6 cr. hours from this list may be counted towards MA)

 

Fifth Year

Medicine Program: 40 cr.; Philosophy Program: 12 cr.


MS4 year (Students will have three required clinical rotations, a minimum of seven elective rotations (four of which must be established electives from Elective Program Catalog, and the required capstone course)).

 

PHIL P803 Thesis or Research Project (6 cr.(Work may be spread over multiple years))

 

Students will choose two elective courses from the list shown below, one if they had already taken an elective from this list the previous year (8 cr. towards MD and 6 cr. towards MA)

 

 

 

 

COURSES IN MEDICINE (MD) THAT MAY COUNT AS SPECIALIZED ELECTIVES FOR PHILOSOPHY (MA)

 

(up to 6 cr. may be counted toward the MA)

 

93ZP700  Medicinal Ethics & Professionalism (4 cr.) Students will be assigned readings in important current topics and discuss these in seminars with faculty.  They will also participate in Ethics consultations and have opportunities to participate in research.

 

49MI756 Pain and Palliative Medicine (4 cr.) The course is designed to familiarize the student with treatment modalities for all types of pain, including acute, chronic cancer, and non-cancer pain.   The course is taught from a primary care perspective.  NO direct interventional procedures will be learned.  Interaction with patients, familiarity with medical interventions, including opiod and non-opiod methods of pain control will be learned. Dealing with difficult patients is assured.

 

49MP708  Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care (4 cr.) A pulmonary medicine rotation with some critical care, including long-term acute care involvement with good exposure to ventilator management. Experience with good history taking, physical diagnosis, cardiopulmonary disease, diagnostic pulmonary laboratory testing, critical care, problem-oriented medical records and care and treatment. Emphasis also on moral reasoning and ethical judgment.

 

93PS890 Forensic Psychiatry (4 cr.) This elective is designed to give students exposure to forensic psychiatric evaluations of defendants in jail and office settings, the management and assessment of long-term forensic inpatients, and custody evaluations of families as part of divorce proceedings, with a background of readings on forensic psychiatry topics. Consideration of forensic psychiatry issues from moral/ethical perspectives will be emphasized, as will the social and policy implications of the practice of forensic psychiatry.

 

 

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