The Wylie Burke Endowed Scholarship supports UW graduate and undergraduate students studying the social, ethical, and policy dimensions of health research and healthcare. Preference is given to students affiliated with the Department of Bioethics & Humanities, although students from other UW departments are eligible. Awarded annually, the $1,000 one-year scholarship may be used toward tuition, books, fees, travel to professional meetings, or other educational expenses. This scholarship opportunity is open to all eligible students regardless of race, sex, or other identity.
This scholarship honors Wylie Burke, MD, PhD who is Professor Emeritus and served as Chair of the Department of Bioethics & Humanities from 2000–2014. She led the Center for Genomics and Healthcare Equality for a decade, advancing efforts to ensure that developments in genomic science benefit all sectors of society, particularly communities experiencing health disparities. Central to her work has been a commitment to community engagement, inclusive partnerships, and creating meaningful learning opportunities for students, faculty, and community collaborators, including long-standing relationships with Native American and Alaska Native communities. By supporting students studying the social, ethical, and policy dimensions of health research and healthcare, this scholarship reflects Dr. Burke’s belief in education and collaborative research as pathways to meaningful change.
The 2026 application cycle is now open, apply by June 5, 2026!
Advance your career with healthcare ethics!
Applications are open for the Advanced Training in Healthcare Ethics certificate program offered by UW Medicine's Department of Bioethics & Humanities.
The presentation will be on Attending to Stories: Narrative Ethics and Pediatrics. They will also be hosting a single-day Pediatric Palliative Care on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
This presentation will discuss the legal framework that guides processes for ensuring that a patient’s interests are represented when determining whether to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment.
This interdisciplinary symposium, co-sponsored by the University of Ghana’s Department of Philosophy & Classics and the University of Washington’s Department of Bioethics & Humanities, will bring together scholars from Africa and the West to examine how personhood emerges and its implications for the moral status of humans and nonhumans, including AI, animals and nature.
1. Recognize the impacts of anti-fat bias on health
Tuesday, Jan. 14, Drs. Amy Hinterberger, Tim Brown, & Susan Trinidad will speak at the UW’s Society + Technology Salon Series on Genetics and Bioethics.
The Department of Bioethics and Humanities' Dr. Malia Fullerton, along with four other presenters from across University of Washington, will kick off UW’s Society + Technology Salon Series on Monday, January 13, with a free online discussion exploring genetic technologies and technologies of genetics through anthropological, cultural, and philosophical lenses. This event will delve into topics like biostatistics, risk analysis, and more. Don’t miss it—register on UW's Society + Techology webpage.
UW School of Medicine Bioethics & Humanities Department
Dr. Klitzman will draw on in-depth interview research to examine how, given the political and religious polarization in our nation today, patients and family members from a wide range of backgrounds -- from evangelical to agnostic, atheist and 'nothing in particular' -- seek and find sources of meaning, connection and hope when facing serious medical illness.