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Note: This is the 2023–2024 eCalendar. Update the year in your browser's URL bar for the most recent version of this page, or .
Note: This is the 2023–2024 eCalendar. Update the year in your browser's URL bar for the most recent version of this page, or .
The 45-credit LL.M. program, thesis option, in Bioethics is a research-intensive, interdisciplinary, graduate program focused on developing research interests into a thesis project under the supervision of a faculty member. Graduate-level courses on theoretical and methodological approaches to legal writing complement the research work and thesis completion process, and courses in specific areas of knowledge related to the candidate's research interests complete the program's credit requirements.
Students following the Bioethics option come from the Faculties of Law, Medicine, Religious Studies, or the Department of Philosophy. Entering students pursuing an LL.M., Bioethics are bound by the requirements of the Faculty of Law's LL.M. program (thesis option). For further information regarding this program, please refer to the Bioethics section. See /biomedicalethicsunit/.
Candidates must remain in residence for three terms for which full-time fees will be charged. The third term, usually devoted to thesis research, may be taken the Summer of the first year. If the thesis is not completed in this time, students must register for additional sessions as needed. All degree requirements must be completed within a maximum of three years of the date of first registration.
The Master's Thesis programs consist of a coursework component and a thesis of approximately 100 pages. As part of the thesis requirement, a candidate must provide a protocol to his or her supervisor setting out details as to the thesis topic, the deadlines for the completion of the various thesis courses and the schedule of meetings with the thesis supervisor. Modifications to the protocol must be made in writing and submitted to the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies).
Bio-Ethics : A comprehensive literature survey in the general area of the thesis topic, to be completed in the first semester.
Terms: Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Summer 2024
Instructors: Friesen, Phoebe (Summer)
Bio-Ethics : Independent work under the supervision of the thesis advisor(s) leading to a thesis proposal.
Terms: Fall 2023, Winter 2024
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Bio-Ethics : A status report on the progress in the thesis research.
Terms: Fall 2023, Winter 2024
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Bio-Ethics : Independent work under the supervision of the thesis advisor(s) leading to a thesis manuscript.
Terms: Fall 2023, Winter 2024
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Bio-Ethics : Overview of moral theoretical approaches to bioethics, as well as explorations of critical responses, meta-ethical foundations, methodological questions, and ethical issues arising in bioethics scholarship.
Terms: Fall 2023
Instructors: Friesen, Phoebe (Fall)
Bio-Ethics : Four hours per week supervised placement within health care settings (e.g., intensive care, family practice, clinical ethics committees). In addition, students shall be assigned for the last month of the term to a single intensive placement. Participation in rounds, case discussions, and a weekly seminar.
Terms: Winter 2024
Instructors: Wade, Lucie (Winter)
Comparative Law : Introduction to a variety of theoretical approaches to legal scholarship.
Terms: Fall 2023
Instructors: Antaki, Mark; Provost, René (Fall)
Law General : Key writing and research strategies for graduate students in law.
Terms: Fall 2023
Instructors: Abram, Zachary (Fall)
Law General : Key writing and research strategies for graduate students in law.
Terms: Winter 2024
Instructors: Abram, Zachary (Winter)
Prerequisite(s): LAWG 601.
3 credits from the following
Comparative Law : The study of legal and ethical issues raised in medicine and healthcare with a particular focus upon the relationship between patient and healthcare professionals.
Terms: Winter 2024
Instructors: Khoury, Lara (Winter)
Philosophy : An advanced course devoted to a particular philosophical problem as it arises in the context of medical practice or the application of medical technology.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken PHIL 543.
Religious Studies : The seminar will discuss a variety of topics related to medicine and religion from the point of view of ethics, such as the pact of care between a patient and a physician, the Hippocratic oath, the notions of autonomy and vulnerability, the definitions of personhood and human dignity, the question of rights for people with cognitive disabilities, the debate about the role of religion in bioethics.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2023-2024 academic year.
6 credits at the 500 level or above of Faculty of Law courses or Bioethics courses.