Undergraduate Opportunities

Georgetown’s mission of educating “people for others” with a capacity for engaged ethics makes the KIE a central part of campus life. Undergraduate opportunities at the KIE include an undergraduate minor, an award-winning Bioethics Bowl team, faculty mentorship, and the Bioethics Research Showcase, a juried exhibition of student work in a variety of categories and disciplines, intersecting many topics in the ethics of health, environment, and emerging technologies that comprise the field of bioethics.

Bioethics Minor

The minor requires six courses. A minimum of four of these courses must be taught by the Department of Philosophy and must come from the list of courses approved for the minor; up to two can be approved courses taught in other departments. Philosophy courses that count toward the minor include the philosophy courses taken to satisfy the General Education Requirements; Ethical Theory (PHIL 3202); any philosophy course that intersects significantly with bioethical issues and up to one course in the philosophy of science. All courses taken for the minor must come from the approved list of courses. Philosophy of science courses require specific course and term approval of the Bioethics Minor Coordinator (Dr. Laura Bishop). Finally, at least two of the philosophy courses taken for the minor must be at the 3000-level or above.

Bioethics Concentration (for Philosophy Majors)

Philosophy majors can earn a Bioethics Concentration within the major by completing (along with the requirements in the major): (a) Ethical Theory (PHIL 3202) and (b) three bioethics courses, (i) at least one of which must be an upper-level (3000+) philosophy course, and (ii) no more than two of which may be offered outside the department and count toward the concentration. (Non-philosophy courses counted toward the concentration do not count towards the philosophy major). (See more at the Philosophy Department page.) Questions about the Bioethics Concentration should be directed to the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Philosophy or the Bioethics Minor Coordinator in the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Dr. Laura Bishop.

Spring 2025 Bioethics Courses Approved for the Minor

The following courses all count toward the Bioethics Minor; all are for Spring 2025. Note: Some additional courses may be added to this list, so please check back or be in contact with Dr. Laura Bishop by email (see below) if you have a question about a course that you believe might fit the requirements of the minor. For more information about undergraduate courses in Bioethics, contact Dr. Laura Bishop, Associate Teaching Professor and Academic Program Director at the Institute.

Past courses approved for the Philosophy and Bioethics minor

Bioethics Beyond the Classroom

Outside the classroom, get connected with bioethics at Georgetown by joining the Undergraduate Bioethics Society or the Bioethics Bowl team. Submit your creative or analytic work in bioethics to our Bioethics Research Showcase.

• The Bioethics Research Showcase is a juried digital exhibition of student work in a variety of categories and disciplines, situated at the intersection of the many topics in the ethics of health, the environment, and emerging technologies that comprise the field of bioethics.
• Bioethics Bowl takes place every spring at the National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference, which means students have the benefit of being able to reflect on the topics in the richer context of an academic conference program. Bioethics Bowl is focused on ethical issues within medicine and public health policy. In the spring of 2023, the Georgetown team won the championship at the 2023 Bowl at Northeastern University in Boston, MA.