Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Bioethics

Sponsored by Wake Forest College and the WFU Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the Bachelor of ArtsSciences & Master of Arts in Bioethics can be completed in as little as 5 years (10 semesters plus 1 summer). By allowing students who are admitted to the program to begin graduate bioethics coursework while enrolled through the College, students are able to earn two degrees in less time than it would take to earn the two degrees separately.

Undergraduate students must complete all requirements for the undergraduate program, including major, minor, and general requirements (generally, 120 credit hours). Students who are in a position to complete the 120 credit hours required for the undergraduate degree in fewer than the typical four years and are accepted into the five year program may take up to nine credit hours of graduate level bioethics courses while they are enrolled in the College. The Graduate School will accept those credit hours toward the Master of Arts in Bioethics degree if they are above and beyond the minimum 120 hours required to receive a BABS. The graduate credit hours earned toward the MA degree during the undergraduate years may not be part of the 120 credit hours required for the undergraduate degree.

Students accepted to the program spend their first four years full-time in the College, followed by a year or more in the bioethics program. The year typically will consist of two semesters plus a summer for students who complete at least six hours of transferable graduate work during their undergraduate years. Because students must complete all of the requirements for the undergraduate degree independently of their Bioethics coursework, students receive their BABS degrees when they complete their BABS graduation requirements. The MA is awarded separately after completion of the MA requirements. The five year program requires undergraduates to enroll in 700-level bioethics courses. As part of their acceptance into the program, all accepted students will meet criteria for enrollment of undergraduate students in graduate courses.