Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Health Care Ethics

Saint Louis University’s Doctor of Philosophy in Health Care Ethics prepares students for a successful career in academic, corporate, research or clinical bioethics settings. SLU’s Ph.D. in health care ethics is offered by the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics. The health care ethics Ph.D. integrates an interdisciplinary curriculum with several practica and offers four concentrations to specialize your doctoral studies further. You may opt to complete a concentration in one of four areas: Catholic tradition, clinical ethics, empirical research methods or research ethics. All Ph.D. students take a three-semester, 150-hour clinical practicum to gain experience working in a clinical setting. Students interested in the clinical ethics concentration can complete an additional advanced practicum in which students are placed in active clinical ethics consultation services for 300+ hours. In addition to these fieldwork opportunities, most Ph.D. students graduate with two or more publications. Graduates will be able to demonstrate a broad knowledge of the foundational disciplines, methods, topics and issues in health care ethics required for the scholarly analysis of issues in the field. Graduates will be able to demonstrate proficiency in formulating original, normative arguments on topics related to health care ethics. Graduates will be able to demonstrate the ability to conceptualize, develop and bring to successful completion an original, sustained and coherent independent research project that contributes to the field (i.e. the dissertation). Graduates will be able to demonstrate an ability to generate appropriate job search materials (i.e. curriculum vitae, teaching portfolio, writing sample, etc.). Our graduates have been highly successful in finding excellent full-time positions both in education (teaching and conducting research in health care ethics) and in health care systems. 

Career Path 

Graduate career path includes Hospital Ethics Committee Director, Clinical Ethicist, Palliative Care Ethics Specialist, Patient Rights Advocate, Genetic Counseling Ethics Consultant, Public Health Ethics Specialist, End-of-Life Care Ethics Specialist, Mental Health Ethics Consultant,Government Affairs Specialist (Health Policy), Policy Analyst (Health Care Ethics Focus), Public Health Policy Advisor, Health Care Compliance Officer, Regulatory Affairs Director (Health Care), Legislative Ethics Consultant, Corporate Ethics Director (Health Care/Pharma), International Development Ethics Advisor, Global Health Ethics Specialist, Biotech Ethics Consultant, Pharmaceutical Ethics Specialist, Health Care Compliance Specialist, Corporate Social Responsibility Director (Health Care Focus), Medical Technology Ethics Consultant, Intellectual Property Ethics Specialist (Biotech/Pharma), Market Research Analyst (Ethics in Health Care Trends), Health Care Ethics Journalist, Editorial Director (Bioethics Publications).