Master of Arts in Urban Bioethics

Urban bioethics is grounded on the assertion that health disparities are an ethical problem. The Master of Arts in Urban Bioethics in the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University explicitly focuses on applying the bioethics toolbox—critical thinking, reflexivity, ethical analysis, ability to effectively communicate, foregrounding social and structural determinants of health—to questions of health equity, health justice and the elimination of unethical health disparities. While health disparities—differences in health outcomes based on social, economic, political and structural forces—are endemic to much of the United States, urban and rural alike, the Center for Urban Bioethics at Temple University focuses a critical lens on urban spaces, areas defined by their density, diversity and disparities. 

Graduates of the Urban Bioethics master’s program gain the theoretical foundations and practical tools and skills to apply their degree in a wide range of clinical, research, public health and other settings. The Katz School of Medicine and Center for Urban Bioethics welcomes all applicants who anticipate that their work may benefit from the perspectives gained from our program and from the exposure to our interdisciplinary and intergenerational student body. Our students bring to the classroom a broad range of life experiences and fields, including medicine, public health, law, social sciences, public policy, social work, industry, administration, education and research.  

The diverse perspectives and wide-ranging knowledge of our students is our program’s greatest strength, and the interdisciplinary experience of the urban bioethics student body as a key element in fostering health equity in all communities. 

Urban Bioethics Certificate

The Urban Bioethics Certificate is an option for those seeking additional bioethics training but who cannot fully commit to the master’s program. Learn more about the certificate.

Urban Bioethics in Practice

Examples of urban bioethics in action include 

• bringing attention to the impact of racism/negative structural forces on the patient experience of healthcare through ‘Equity Rounds’ and ‘Bioethics M&Ms’; 

• public intellectualism dedicated to countering disinformation, misinformation and conspiracy theories;  

• advocacy in bringing voices of the underrepresented to policy tables;  

• applying an anti-racism lens to contemporary organ donation and transplantation guidelines and practices;  

• improving clinical trial development and patient interactions with research staff as a clinical research program manager;  

• teaching issues of equity and cultural sensitivity in academic settings; and 

• engaging in health equity research that centers the margins in evaluating interventions. 

If you share our belief that there is an urgency to address the ethical issue of health disparities in communities around the world, we invite you to study with us and apply the principles of bioethics to your chosen field.  

Program Format & Curriculum  

Offered on Temple’s Health Sciences Center campus, the MA in Urban Bioethics is a 32-credit program comprising 14 credits in core courses, 15 elective course credits and a three-credit master’s thesis. Learn more about the curriculum.

Core courses are 

• Urban Bioethics 1 and Urban Bioethics 2; 

• Community Engagement I and Community Engagement II; 

• The Values, Ethics & Economics of Health Care Delivery in Urban Communities; and 

• Critical Social Science and Urban Bioethics. 

The urban bioethics master’s thesis should make a novel contribution to the field. Therefore, the student will conduct an original research project—empirical or nonempirical—and produce a publishable paper.  

Research is undertaken with guidance from an approved thesis advisor from the Center for Urban Bioethics or the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. Secondary advisors can come from other areas that would benefit the student.