Studying at the IBMB
An interdisciplinary program for all levels of education
At the IBMB, doctoral degrees in Bioethics (Faculty of Science) and Biomedical Ethics (Medical Faculty) can be obtained as part of our PhD program. We offer several courses each semester tailored to the needs of our doctoral students and other interested individuals, such as research methodology courses in empirical ethics.
Additionally, students from all disciplines have the opportunity to earn a Certificate in Applied Ethics and participate in many courses that are taught as part of these two educational programs.
A variety of courses are also open to the public, including the twice-yearly “Contemporary Issues in Bioethics” lecture series that integrates a lively dialogue with visiting speakers.
Courses & Seminars
74551-01 - Seminar: Contemporary Debates: Children and Bioethics (2 KP)
| Semester | Frühjahrsemester 2025 |
| Angebotsmuster | einmalig |
| Dozierende | Sophie Ayoub (sophie.ayoub@clutterunibas.ch) Eva De Clercq (eva.declercq@clutterunibas.ch) Bernice Simone Elger (b.elger@clutterunibas.ch, BeurteilerIn) |
| Inhalt | Pediatrics turns bioethics on its head. Children lack the legal competence and sometimes the capacity to fully understand and consent to medical treatments and participation in clinical research. As a result, the field of pediatric healthcare and research raises unique ethical questions that complicate the usual frameworks and principles of bioethics: Can parents and healthcare providers make healthcare decisions on behalf of children? Should we empower children to have a greater say as they mature? How should we balance the child’s best interest with the rights of caregivers? This seminar explores the ethical challenges involved in pediatric healthcare and research through a lecture series on topics such as prenatal genetic testing, neonatal care, child euthanasia, pediatric palliative care, and children’s medical tourism. By engaging with these topics, students will develop a nuanced understanding of the ethical challenges in pediatric healthcare and research, and the ways in which these issues often require a shift in established bioethical frameworks and principles. The “Contemporary Debates in Bioethics” is a lecture series offered once every semester. Each time, it focuses on another aspect of current debates and potential ethical concerns and conflicts. During the spring 2025 semester, the focus of the lectures will be on children and bioethics. If you have questions concerning the format, the learning objectives and/or your participation, please contact Sophie Ayoub (Sophie.ayoub@clutterunibas.ch). |
| Lernziele | After having attended this seminar series, you will have gained a better understanding of the ethical complexities involved in pediatric healthcare and research. You will also gain new perspectives on traditional frameworks and principles in bioethics. |
| Literatur | Suggested readings will be provided a few days before each session on ADAM. |
| Bemerkungen | USB Gebäude B, Hörsaal 3 Address: Spitalstrasse 21, 4056 Basel Time: 12:15 – 13:45 (Central Europe Time) 17.02.2025 24.02.2025 03.03.2025 17.03.2025 24.03.2025 31.03.2025 07.04.2025 14.04.2025 28.04.2025 05.05.2025 |
| Teilnahmevoraussetzungen | The seminar series is open to both Unibas students and the general public. Unibas students who wish to receive 2 ECTS to their transcript have to register to the course on the Course Directory and attend in-person in order to get the credit points. If you are not an Unibas student, or do not wish to receive credit points, you may either attend the sessions in-person or over Zoom (a link will be sent a few days before each session). |
| Unterrichtssprache | Englisch |
| Module | Aufbaumodul (Teil C) (Transfakultäre Querschnittsprogramme im freien Kreditpunkte-Bereich) Basismodul (Teil A) (Transfakultäre Querschnittsprogramme im freien Kreditpunkte-Bereich) Doktorat Bio- und Medizinethik: Empfehlungen (Promotionsfach: Bio- und Medizinethik) Doktorat Pflegewissenschaft: Empfehlungen (Promotionsfach: Pflegewissenschaft) Modul: Biblische und systematische Theologie (Masterstudium: Theologie) Modul: Ethik des Christentums - materiale Ethik, Ethik der Lebensführung (ST/E 2) (Master Studienfach: Theologie) Modul: Ethik des Christentums – materiale Ethik, Ethik der Lebensführung (ST/E 2) (Masterstudium: Theologie) Modul: Praktische Philosophie (Master Studienfach: Philosophie) Vertiefungsmodul Global Europe: Global Ageing and Health (Masterstudium: European Global Studies) Wahlbereich Master Pflegewissenschaft: Empfehlungen (Masterstudium: Pflegewissenschaft) |
| Prüfung | Lehrveranst.-begleitend |
| Hinweise zur Prüfung | 1. Attend at least 8 lectures and participate actively. In case of unavoidable further absences, please contact us. These can possibly be compensated by an additional assignment (e.g. an additional short essay) 2. Students will be required to write a 1300-word reflection (excluding the bibliography). As part of the assignment, they will use ChatGPT to ask questions on given topics and then critically analyze these AI-generated perspectives in their text. The analysis should incorporate their personal insights, addressing the ethical issues raised and exploring potential solutions. Additional guidelines and detailed instructions will be provided during the introductory class. This assignment aims to develop students' ability to engage with emerging AI tools while deepening their understanding of complex ethical challenges. |
| Skala | Pass / Fail |
- HS 2024 - Reproductive ethics
- FS 2024 - Animal Research Ethics and the 3R
- HS 2023 - Racism in Medicine and Research
- FS 2023 - Ethical Considerations surrounding pregnancy and childbirth
- HS2022 - Clinical Ethics
- FS 2022 - Diversifying the voices of AI in Healthcare
- FS 2021 - Ethics of (Emerging) Reproductive Technologies
- HS 2020 - Ethical Issues of the Covid-19 Pandemic
- HS 2019 - Informal caregiving at the end of life
- HS 2018 - Smarter Healthcare
- FS 2018 - Ethics of Genetic Testing
- HS 2017 - Ethical and Legal Regulation of Big Data Research
- FS 2017 - Neuroethics
The Transdisciplinary Program Applied Ethics
Students from all faculties can acquire a certificate of applied ethics. The course is primarily offered in the open credit point range of Bachelor's and Master's degree programs.
The PhD Program
Our PhD program aims to contribute towards shaping a future generation of (bio)ethicists who will be highly efficient and reliable in providing expert advice on the unavoidable and manifold ethical issues that arise with advances in medicine, the life sciences and society.
With the advancement of medicine and biotechnology and the continuous challenges they keep posing to society, the field of bioethics continues to evolve and grow. There is increasing demands for bioethics expertise in clinical and research ethics committees, in national ethics committees as well as in various health-related organizations in the public and private sectors.
Funding agencies worldwide (e.g. European Commission, Genome Canada, US government funds) routinely require the integration of an ethics component in scientific projects, in order to identify (and, if possible, to prevent or minimize) adverse consequences of biotechnology and to increase the credibility and transparency of biomedical scientific projects. In addition, ethical expertise is becoming a regular requirement for researchers in different scientific areas. Therefore, our graduates can not only opt for an academic career in bioethics, but also contribute their acquired expertise in ethics committees and other ethics related regulatory fields, or even more importantly, in their own scientific or related activities.
Contact
Institute for Biomedical Ethics
Bernoullistrasse 28 - 2nd Floor
4056 Basel
Switzerland
Tel: +41 61 207 17 86