The following core courses offer students a solid foundation in applied ethics and policy and a springboard for further exploration and study.
FALL SEMESTER
BIOETHIC 602. Research Ethics and Policy
Instructor: Misha Angrist, PhD
An examination of the relationship between the law and bioethical issues, particularly in research and medical contexts. The course will explore the ways scientific advances affect law and other social institutions, and, conversely, how law affects the development and use of scientific knowledge. Topics include the history of human subject protections, current regulatory and statutory issues in research, and legal decisions governing informed consent, confidentiality, privacy, and other issues.
SCISOC 690-01. Special Topics in Science & Ethics: Applying Ethics to Innovation
Instructor: David Hoffman, JD
This foundational course in Duke’s new Applied Ethics Master’s program immerses students in practical methodologies for identifying and addressing ethical challenges in diverse real-world contexts. Over several weeks, participants learn and apply methods of project scoping, landscape analysis, stakeholder mapping, horizon scanning, scenario planning, and policy alternative comparison to develop rigorous, forward-thinking ethical reviews. Course readings—including guides on scoping and structured reviews, foresight analyses, and case studies on evidence-based decision-making—equip students with tools to conduct thorough assessments and anticipate downstream societal impacts. By the end of the course, students will be prepared to proactively integrate ethical considerations into complex decision-making processes across disciplines.
SPRING SEMESTER
BIOETHIC 603. Clinical Bioethics & Health Policy
Instructor: Janet Malek, PhD
Students may choose to take this class or SCISOC 585 to count for core course credit – you may take both classes if you like.
Students intending to claim the Bioethics & Science Policy concentration must take this course.
An examination of the leading issues in bioethics, especially those that arise in the context of clinical decision-making and the doctor-patient encounter. The focus will be on the ethical dilemmas faced by medical providers, patients, and their families: how issues are analyzed, what values are considered, and how disputes are resolved. Topics will include end-of-life care; withdrawal or refusal of life-sustaining treatment; pediatric ethics; transplantation; and rationing of scarce drugs or resources. The course will use real case examples to illustrate these dilemmas and challenges.
BIOETHIC 606. Communicating Science Policy
Instructor: Emily Edwards, PhD
The goal of this course is to train those at the intersection of science and society on how to communicate science and technology policy beyond academia and towards diverse audiences. Students will learn about the broader context of the role of communication in science and technology policy, as well theories that can be used to frame the social, cultural, and political project of science and technology communication. Students will be taught practical communication skills, with an emphasis on communicating for different audiences and in different formats, including the op-ed, the white paper, the presentation and over social media. This is a project-driven class, where students will be asked to bring their own interests/individual projects, and taught the skills for the effective communication of these complex topics.
SCISOC (TBD). Advancing Responsible Innovation: Ethical and Beneficial Implementation of Emerging Technology
Instructor: Marc Groman, JD
Emerging technologies are transforming industries, governments, and society at an unprecedented pace, creating new opportunities while presenting complex ethical, social, and governance challenges. This course examines how organizations and policymakers can promote innovation while ensuring that new technologies are developed and deployed in ways that are responsible, safe, trustworthy, and beneficial to society.
Through case studies, readings, policy analysis, and other applied materials, students will examine real-world challenges confronting technology developers, corporations, government agencies, policymakers, and other stakeholders. During the semester, students will explore technologies such as generative AI, agentic AI, big data and advanced analytics, cybersecurity, digital advertising, social media, and government surveillance technologies. In each context, students will learn to identify and assess technological and societal risks and evaluate potential mitigation strategies. The class will consider questions involving privacy, security, safety, fairness, transparency, accountability, human autonomy, discrimination, access, and the distribution of benefits and harms. By the end of the course, students will be prepared to evaluate emerging technologies and their societal impacts critically and to develop practical, ethically grounded approaches for governing their development and use. The course is designed to prepare students to contribute to responsible innovation whether they pursue careers in government, public policy, law, business, technology, consulting, civil society, academia, or other fields where emerging technologies shape consequential decisions.