What to Expect
In our program, you’ll encounter eight months of some of the most intense, provocative and challenging learning you’ve ever experienced. You will study with leading scholars across multiple disciplines and gain powerful insights about the ethical, cultural, and social issues surrounding the delivery of healthcare.
You’ll also gain practical experience through clinical placements and be able to select electives that align with your areas of greatest interest. A faculty advisor will offer guidance and perspective about your academic choices—as well as future professional goals.
Our program also offers two concentration options:
- Medicine, Society, and Culture
- Research Ethics
In the Medicine, Society and Culture option, you’ll explore the many ways we define health and illness—and, in turn, how they influence our experiences of both. Elective options span humanities, social sciences, and law and other disciplines.
Research Ethics, meanwhile, gives you a thorough grounding in the complex realms of medical studies—including clinical trials—and the legal, regulatory and policy questions involved. Topics include levels and nature of oversight, challenges in ensuring truly informed consent, and identification and enforcement of professional misconduct. As part of the Research Ethics Practicum, you'll be embedded within a research group at Case Western Reserve or at an area medical institution.
