Monash University: University Handbooks: Off-Campus Learning Guide 2003: Units indexed by faculty
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Graduate Diploma of Bioethics


General Information

Course code: 1158 + Clayton campus + Full-fee-paying: unit fee $1975; course fee $7900 + International students: unit fee $3550; course fee $14200 + Attendance not required

Aims

This course aims to provide an interdisciplinary education for health care professionals, teachers in the health care field, and others with a general interest in bioethics. It also aims to develop and extend an individual's understanding of the nature of ethical issues in health care.

Entry requirements

The course is available to those with:
(a) a degree in medicine or any other health science, in law, the biological or social sciences, or in a branch of the humanities, such as philosophy (or other degree approved by the faculty board), requiring the equivalent of not less than three years full-time study in an approved tertiary institution; or
(b) qualifications and experience which in the opinion of the faculty board are a suitable preparation for study in bioethics. One example of what faculty board considers suitable preparation for this course is where candidates have a General Nursing Certificate plus not less than five years of documented professional experience at a senior level, provided that such experience includes some professional writing and research, and that this experience is verified by two references from suitably qualified people.

Course structure

The course is normally taken part-time over two years by off-campus learning. Full-time admission may be possible in certain cases, such as where an applicant has already completed some formal study in ethics or philosophy.
There are four separate units in the Graduate Diploma of Bioethics, which are taken in the following sequence:

Year one
Year two

Note that the Graduate Diploma of Bioethics does not meet the entry requirements for the Master of Bioethics by coursework and that a student who has completed the Graduate Diploma of Bioethics cannot normally proceed to the Master of Bioethics course.

Assessment

Assessment for each unit is based on a combination of essays and a take-home exam. Students must also keep a journal, in which they complete set activities.

Advanced standing for previous study

Applicants who have completed relevant units at fourth-year (postgraduate) level may apply for a maximum of 50 per cent credit. Credit cannot be obtained for units that were part of a course for which a degree or an award of any kind has been taken out. Those who have completed an ethics unit at an approved tertiary institution may apply for exemption from CHB4101 (Ethics).

Further information

For more information, contact Dr John McKie, Centre for Human Bioethics, telephone (03) 9905 4278, fax (03) 9905 3279, or email john.mckie@arts.monash.edu.au.

Completed applications

Completed applications are to be forwarded to the Coursework Office, Faculty of Arts, PO Box 11A, Monash University, Victoria 3800, by 27 September 2002 to be considered for a first-round offer.

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