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Duke Master of Arts in

Applied Ethics & Policy

The Duke Applied Ethics & Policy Master’s program prepares you to lead in the rapidly evolving fields of bioethics, technology ethics, and public policy. This interdisciplinary, highly-practical program equips students to address the complex ethical and regulatory challenges of emerging technologies, scientific innovation, and health policy.

Bioethics
Tech Ethics

Duke University’s Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy (AEP) prepares you to address the most pressing bioethics, technology ethics, and policy challenges of our time — from AI governance and data privacy to biotechnology innovation and healthcare policy.

Is this the best bioethics graduate program for you?

The Duke Applied Ethics & Policy graduate program is ideal for students looking for a bioethics master’s degree that explores new and existing bioethics and policy issues in medicine, healthcare, and public health. However, this program stands apart from traditional bioethics programs with its practical, solution-oriented approach. Unlike traditional bioethics programs, our curriculum integrates policy applications and real-world problem-solving into every class.

Is this graduate program a good fit if I want to work in healthcare, research, government, or private industry?

The program welcomes students from multidisciplinary backgrounds in technology, biosciences, medicine, public policy, and the humanities, who share a commitment to advancing the responsible use of science and technology for humanity. Graduates from the program move on to become leaders in healthcare, government, research, and in the private sector. Learn more about our graduate career outcomes.

What concentrations or specializations are available in bioethics and tech ethics?

Our program resides in the Duke Graduate School and is managed by the highly interdisciplinary Initiative for Science & Society. This allows students access to classes and resources across Duke University’s schools and academic programs, providing tremendous opportunity to customize their experience and focus on the issues most important to them. They develop expertise in both ethical analysis and policy development to understand and shape how science and technology affect society.

Join our community and drive responsible innovation at the intersection of science, technology, ethics, and policy in an era of unprecedented technological advancement.

Connect With Us

Fill out the short form below and a program specialist will reach out to you with additional information, including opportunities to attend online information sessions and special events for interested applicants.

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"A key benefit of the program and the way it's structured is the coursework that you can engage with. I would encourage anyone who's interested in the program to really take advantage of the different opportunities that are available across the various schools within Duke."
Martin_Matt
Matt Martin
MA '22

Why Study Bioethics, Technology Ethics, and Policy at Duke?

Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy Students
Interdisciplinary Curriculum with Direct Relevance to Bioethics, Tech Ethics, and Policy
  • The AEP program is housed within the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, which has strong ties to technology policy, biotechnology, AI ethics, and the societal implications of emerging tech.
  • Students take courses that directly address AI governance, bioethics, digital surveillance, health tech ethics, and science communication—making it highly relevant to contemporary tech ethics discussions.
  • The program features highly credentialed faculty across law, public policy, computer science, bioethics, and philosophy.
  • Students are empowered to seek out mentorship across Duke’s various schools and units, including Duke Law, Sanford School of Public Policy, and Duke Engineering.
  • The highly interdisciplinary curriculum provides a broad set of learning opportunities ensuring holistic perspectives on ethical technology and policy development.
  • The AEP is distinctively practical, designed not just to study ethics in theory but to apply ethical analysis to real-world tech policy problems.
  • Alumni have established tech ethics or bioethics careers in academia, government, law, tech industries, healthcare, nonprofits, and policy think tanks.
  • Duke is a top-tier research university with strong cross-departmental collaborations in technology and society.
  • It’s located in Durham, NC, part of the Research Triangle, with access to tech startups, policy labs, and innovation hubs like SAS, Google, and IQVIA.
  • The AEP is explicitly framed as an ethics-and-policy bridge, making it attractive to students who want to work at the intersection of technology, society, and regulation—something many programs touch on only peripherally.

Concentrations

Bioethics & Science Policy

Is it ever ethical to clone all or part of a human being? As AI becomes more accurate, what should be the continued role of humans in the delivery of health care? How should we use genetic information in law enforcement?

Identify, analyze, and propose solutions to myriad complex issues at the intersection of science, medicine, ethics, and policy. The bioethics and science policy concentration focuses on ethical and policy challenges in the biosciences and medicine. The concentration emphasizes clinical ethics, research integrity, healthcare policy, and emerging biotechnologies.

Our interdisciplinary approach integrates perspectives from medicine, law, philosophy, and public policy, equipping graduates to become leaders in law, healthcare, research, government, and the private sector. Our alumni make meaningful contributions to ensuring scientific progress advances responsibly, ethically, and for the benefit of humanity.

The program welcomes students from diverse backgrounds, including healthcare, life sciences, public policy, and the humanities, who share a commitment to advancing the responsible use of science and technology for humanity.

Learn More

Tech Ethics & Policy

Who is responsible when AI makes a harmful decision? How do we balance public safety with individual privacy? When algorithms influence human behavior, how do we protect democratic processes and personal autonomy?

Technology is on the front page of the news media every day. It permeates every facet of our daily lives, shifting the fabric of society and changing the way we live and interact. Master’s students exploring tech ethics and policy will explore the ethical dilemmas resulting from these changes and the policymaking methods to translate those discussions into actionable policy recommendations.

Students focused on tech ethics and policy explore topics including big data and data privacy, artificial intelligence, and the increasing overlap between research, medicine, and technology. Through a rich multidisciplinary experience, our students are well-prepared to partake in the critical ethical and policy discussions that are too often outpaced by the technological advances from which they originate.

Learn More

In the Spring of 2025, Duke University renamed its distinctive Master of Arts in Bioethics & Science Policy program to the Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy. The new name marked a strategic evolution in the program’s comprehensive approach to addressing ethical and policy challenges in science, technology, and medicine.

Launched in 2014, the original curriculum has always stood apart from traditional bioethics master’s programs by incorporating education on regulatory frameworks, ethical governance, and decision-making in science and technology. As the ethical challenges arising from advancements in technology—such as AI, data privacy, and neurotechnology—have grown in significance, the program evolved accordingly.

The program remains one of the nation’s leading graduate programs for traditional bioethics. Renaming the program to “Applied Ethics & Policy” retains the unique value this program brings to the field while more accurately reflecting the wide range of specializations available for incoming students.

Press Release

History of the Applied Ethics & Policy Graduate Program at Duke University