Pharmacy — Pharm.D. with Bioethics — M.A.
Program director, Bioethics, School of Religion
Whitny Braun
Program director, School of Pharmacy
Michael D. Hogue
Faculty
The faculty of the M.A./Pharm.D. combined degrees program is primarily drawn from Loma Linda University's School of Pharmacy and School of Religion.
Admissions
Students are selected through a competitive process led by the School of Pharmacy in conjunction with the Bioethics Program. The School of Pharmacy academic dean recommends students, triggering a streamlined admissions process of the M.A. degree in bioethics. HSRT scores are accepted in lieu of the GRE for pharmacy students.
The program
The M.A./Pharm.D. combined degrees program is designed to fit the schedule of Pharm.D. students. Loma Linda University has been a leader in bioethics education for health-care professionals for nearly half a century. The School of Pharmacy places a high premium on moral values and is a pioneer as one of the very few pharmacy schools in the nation to offer a Pharm.D./M.A. combined degrees program.
An M.A. degree in bioethics taken as a stand-alone degree requires 48 units in bioethics courses. However, the M.A./Pharm.D. combined degrees allows students to double count 25 units of the required 48 units as follows:
- Eight (8) units come from three courses in the pharmacy curriculum that are counted for M.A. degree in bioethics credit: a) RXSA 555 Epidemiology and Public Health, b) RXSA 547 Pharmacy Law, and c) RXSA 751 Social-Behavioral Aspects of Pharmacy Practice. Acceptance of these courses for M.A. degree credit requires an integrative, supplemental eight-page paper that relates the courses' content to bioethics.
- Eight (8) units come from the substitution of three School of Religion courses in the Pharm.D. curriculum with courses in the Bioethics Program because content is duplicated.
- Nine (9) units of additional credit come from three electives in bioethics taken by Pharm.D. students.
M.A. degree requirements
School of Pharmacy courses that apply to the M.A. degree in bioethics
| RXSA 555 | Epidemiology and Public Health | 3 |
| RXSA 547 | Pharmacy Law | 2 |
| RXSA 751 | Social-Behavioral Aspects of Pharmacy Practice | 3 |
| Total Units | 8 | |
A model curriculum of bioethics coursework taken throughout the four years of the pharmacy curriculum
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spring Quarter | ||
| RELE 567 | World Religions and Bioethics | 3 |
| RELE 565 | Aesthetics and Ethics | 3 |
| Second Year | ||
| Summer Quarter | ||
| RELE 524 | Bioethics and Society | 3 |
| Autumn Quarter | ||
| RELE 588 | Philosophical Ethics | 3 |
| RELE 545 | Bioethics Case Conference I | 1 |
| Winter Quarter | ||
| RELE 568 | Bioethics and the Law | 3 |
| Spring Quarter | ||
| RELE 515 | Faith and Flourishing | 3 |
| RELE 566 | History of Health-Care Ethics | 3 |
| Third Year | ||
| Summer Quarter | ||
| RELE 589 | Biblical Ethics | 3 |
| RELG 510 | Christian Service | 1 |
| Autumn Quarter | ||
| RELE 554 | Clinical Ethics Practicum I | 3 |
| Winter Quarter | ||
| RELE 598 | Master's Seminar I | 3 |
| RELE 555 | Clinical Ethics Practicum II | 3 |
| Spring Quarter | ||
| RELE 599 | Master's Seminar II | 2 |
| RELE 556 | Clinical Practicum III | 3 |
| Total Units: | 40 | |
