Reproductive Science and Medicine & Medical Humanities and Bioethics (MS/MA)
Degree Requirements
The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in The Graduate School Policy Guide.
MS/MA
Total Units Required: 25
The mission of the RSM-MHB dual degree program is to combine the formal training in the fields of reproductive science and medicine provided by RSM with a rigorous exploration of medicine and its ethical implications through the perspectives of anthropology, literature, philosophy, history, and law provided by MHB. This dual degree option will enable interested MS-RSM students to enhance the ethical aspects of their research and further distinguish themselves in their primary field of study and work.
Coursework and graduation requirements
Dual degree students will complete both the RSM and MHB core-curricula of lecture-based and lab-based courses outlined below:
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | ||
| REPR_SCI 405-0 | Reproductive Physiology and Endocrinology Foundations | |
| REPR_SCI 407-0 | Reproductive Physiology and Endocrinology in Society | |
| REPR_SCI 425-0 | Responsible Conduct of Research in Reproductive Science | |
| REPR_SCI 440-0 | Reproductive Technologies Laboratory | |
| MHB 401-0 | Foundations of Bioethics | |
| Winter | ||
| REPR_SCI 406-0 | Emerging Research in Reproductive Science and Medicine | |
| REPR_SCI 455-0 | Science Communication in Reproductive Science and Medicine | |
| REPR_SCI 415-0 | Medical Management of Fertility | |
| RSM Thesis Research (dual-degree thesis research must incorporate elements of MHB) | ||
| MHB 404-0 | Literature, Medicine, and Bioethics | |
| MHB 410-0 | Special Topics in Medical Humanities and Bioethics | |
| Spring | ||
| REPR_SCI 420-0 | Human Reproductive Health and Disease | |
| REPR_SCI 497-0 | Assessment and Career Planning | |
| REPR_SCI 430-0 | Translational Topics in Fertility Preservation and Oncofertility (Optional Elective) | |
| RSM Thesis Research | ||
| MHB 402-0 | Law, Medicine, and Bioethics | |
| Summer | ||
| MHB 403-0 | The History of Medicine | |
| MHB 499-0 | Independent Study ((Tutorials in MHB)) | |
| RSM Thesis Research | ||
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| MHB 405-0 | Anthropology and Medicine | |
| MHB 410-0 | Special Topics in Medical Humanities and Bioethics | |
| RSM Thesis Research | ||
| Winter | ||
| MHB 406-0 | The Practice of Medical Humanities and Bioethics | |
| RSM Thesis Research | ||
| Capstone Project in Medical Humanities and Bioethics | ||
Dual degree students will join a research laboratory and develop an independent research project in collaboration with their research mentor, which will culminate in a written thesis. The dual degree students’ thesis will incorporate elements of MHB.
In addition to RSM research requirements, dual degree, students will complete one of two capstone project options, both of which challenge students to analyze topics in bioethics and medical humanities, and to employ the field’s multiple disciplines in their analysis. These rigorous capstone options provide students equivalent opportunities to demonstrate this mastery, choosing between two formats that conform to different timelines, congruent with the different pathways on which students apply their MHB training. The first option is a comprehensive exam, which requires long-form essay responses to four questions, followed by an oral defense. The second option is a master’s thesis, which produces a knowledgeable survey and synthesis of current thinking on a specific question in the field, drawing on literature from three core MHB disciplines. Like the comprehensive exam, the thesis option includes both an assessment of written work and an oral defense.