Bioethics Minor Approved Electives List (Summer 2026)

Elective Courses by Theme -

Approved elective courses for the bioethics minor, effective for declared minors beginning Summer 2026.

Elective courses in the Bioethics & Humanities minor are organized into thematic areas to help guide your exploration of the field. These themes reflect different ways of approaching ethical questions in health, medicine, and society.

You may take electives across multiple themes according to your own interests. The themes are intended to support course selection, not to restrict it.

1. Bioethics in Policy, Law, and Research

Courses in this theme examine the intersection of bioethics with legal, regulatory, and research frameworks. Courses may cover topics such as informed consent, research ethics, health policy, and the role of law in shaping biomedical practices.

Code	Course Title	Credits
AES 211	Environmental Justice:	5
AES 398	Human Trafficking in an Era of Globalization: Forced Labor Involuntary Servitude and Corporate Civic Responsibility	5
AFRAM 437	Blacks in American Law	5
AIS 103	The Indigenous Pacific Northwest	5
AIS 202	Introduction to American Indian Contemporary and Social Issues	5
AIS 308	American Indians and the Environment	5
CHID 434	Civil and Human Rights Law for Disabled People	5
CHID 488	Encountering Animals: Ethics Culture & Politics	5
DIS ST 437	Crime Law and Mental Illness	5
ECON 345	Global Health Economics	5
ECON 346	Using Economics to Solve Today's Healthcare Problems	4
ECON 448	Population and Development	5
ETHICS 291	Ethics in Science	5
G H 101	Intro to GH: Disparities Determinants Policies & Outcomes	5
G H 305	Global Health and Justice	3
GEOG 180	Outcomes	5
GWSS 244	Indigenous Feminisms	5
GWSS 310	Women and the Law	5
HSTCMP 247	Before GH: Histories of Public Hlth & Intl Hlth in the Global South	5
LSJ 332	Disability and Society	5
LSJ 377	Punishment Theory and Practice	5
LSJ 433	Disability Law Policy and the Community	5
LSJ 434	Civil and Human Rights Law for Disabled People	5
NURS 410	Legal and Ethical Issues in Clinical Practice	3
PHIL 291	Ethics in Science	5

2. Moral Reasoning, Care, and Responsibility

Courses in this theme explore foundational ethical theories, concepts of care, and the responsibilities of individuals and institutions in medical and scientific contexts. Topics may include moral philosophy, professional ethics, and the ethical dimensions of caregiving and decision-making.

Code	Course Title	Credits
ANTH 468	Anthropology of Care	5
CEP 461	Ethics and Identity	5
GEOG 331	Global Poverty and Care	5
PHIL 102	Contemporary Moral Problems	5
PHIL 240	Introduction to Ethics	5
PHIL 242	Introduction to Medical Ethics	5
PHIL 243	Environmental Ethics	5
PHIL 345	Moral Issues of Life and Death	5
PHIL 406	Philosophical Topics in Feminism	5
PHIL 408	Philosophy of Diversity	5
PHIL 409	Philosophy of Disability	3
PHIL 410	Social Philosophy	5
PHIL 412	Ethical Theory / History of Ethical Theory	5
PHIL 413	Metaethical Theory/History of Recent Ethics	5
PHIL 415	Advanced Topics in Animal Welfare	5
PHIL 440	Ethics	5
PHIL 441	Public Health Ethics	5
PHIL 442	Neuroethics	5

3. Justice, Equity, and Health Disparities

Courses in this thematic area analyze ethical issues related to structural inequities in health, medicine, and scientific research. Topics include the social determinants of health, historical and contemporary disparities, and efforts to achieve equity in healthcare and broader metrics of well-

Code	Course Title	Credits
AAS 310	Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the Pacific Northwest	5
AAS 372	American Internment and Incarceration: Race Discrimination and Power	5
AAS 385	Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans: Race Law and Justice	5
AAS 392	Asian American and Pacific Islander Women	5
AES 150	In-Justice for All: Intersection of Race Ethnicity Class and Gender in the United States	5
AES 151	Identities Cultures and Power Across American Ethnic Groups	5
AES 322	Gender Race and Class in Social Stratification	5
AES 380	Race Ethnicity and United States Public Policy	5
AES 405	Advanced American Ethnic Studies in Social Science	5
AES 442	Undocumented Immigrant Communities	5
AES 450	American Ethnic Health: Race Gender and Status Groups	5
AIS 212	Indigenous Leaders and Activists	5
AIS 240	Native North American Women	5
ANTH 215	Intro to Med Anthropology & Global Health	5
ANTH 302	Intro to Med Anthro & Global Health as Social Justice Praxis	5
ANTH 308	Anthropology of Gender Women's Health and Reproduction	5
ANTH 311	Cultural Politics of Diet & Nutrition	5
ANTH 322	Comparative Study of Death	5
ANTH 376	Anthropology of Disabilities	5
ANTH 377	Anthropology and International Health	5
ANTH 409	Queer Health	5
ANTH 474	Social Difference and Medical Knowledge	5
BIO A 420	Anthropological Research on Health Disparities	5
BIO A 423	Social Networks and Health: Biocultural Perspectives	5
BIO A 465	Nutritional Anthropology	3
BIO A 476	Sociocultural Ecology and Health	3
BIOEN 407	Bioengineering Nepal: Technology Assessment for Community and Global Health	5
BIOL 315	Biological Impacts of Climate Change	3
CHID 332	Disability and Society	5
CHID 433	Disability Law Policy and the Community	5
CHSTU 200	Latinos in the United States: Patterns of Racial Ethnic and Socio-Economic and Political Inequality	5
CHSTU 320	Food Sovereignty Movements in Mexico and the United States	5
CHSTU 322	Indigenous Knowledge and Public Health in Mexican and Latinx Origin Communities	5
CS&SS 523	Social Networks and Health: Biocultural Perspectives	5
DIS ST 332	Disability and Society	5
DIS ST 346	Disability in Global and Comparative Perspective	5
DIS ST 384	Topics in Disability Rights and Inequalities	5
DIS ST 433	Disability Law Policy and the Community	5
DIS ST 434	Civil and Human Rights Law for Disabled People	5
ECON 412	Macroeconomics and Inequality	5
ECON 447	Economics of Gender	5
EDSPE 435	Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders	5
ENGR 401	Leadership Development to Promote Equity in Engineering Relationships	3
ETHICS 207	Issues of Global Justice	5
G H 402	Contemporary Issues in Global Health	1
G H 456	Global Mental Health	3
GEOG 270	Geographies of International Development and Environmental Change	5
GEOG 272	Geographies of Environmental Justice	5
GEOG 280	Introduction to the Geography of Health and Healthcare	5
GEOG 332	Black Feminist Geographies	5
GEOG 380	Geographical Patterns of Health and Disease	5
GEOG 480	Environmental Geography Climate and Health	5
GWSS 300	Gender Race and Class in Social Stratification	5
GWSS 332	Black Feminist Geographies	5
GWSS 333	Gender and Globalization: Theory and Process	5
GWSS 339	Social Movement in India	5
GWSS 409	Queer Health	5
HSERV 475	Perspectives in Medical Anthropology	5
HSERV 479	Racism and the Public's Health	4
LAW 305	Global Health and Justice	3
NURS 412	Health Care Systems	3
PHIL 207	Issues of Global Justice	5
PSYCH 250	Racism and Minority Groups	5
PSYCH 439	Psychology of Health Disparities	4
SOC 230	Introduction to Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in the United States	5
SOC 331	Population and Society	5
SOC 337	Social Construction of Madness and Mental Health in the United States	5
SOC 362	Race Relations	5
SOC 364	Women in the Social Structure	5
SOC 375	Sociology of Juvenile Justice	5
SOC 376	Drugs and Society	5
SOC 430	Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities	5
SOC 450	Political Economy of Women and Family in the Third World	5
SOC 459	The New Inequality	5
T EGL 302	Tribal Critical Race Theory and Critical Race Theory (Tacoma)	5
T EGL 464	Indigenous Health, Political Ethnoecology and Governance (Tacoma)	5

4. Ethics of Innovation and Technology

This theme explores the ethical dimensions of technological advancements in medicine, science, and society, both past and present. Courses may examine topics such as medical devices, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and the historical impact of technological change on ethical thought and practice.

Code	Course Title	Credits
ANTH 477	Medicine in America: Conflicts and Contradictions	3
BIME 535	Clinical Care and Informatics	3
HSTCMP 410	Medicine History and Society	5
INFO 402	Gender Race and Information Technology	4
INFO 468	Designing for Personal Health and Wellbeing	5
PHG 200	Implications of Public Health Genomics for the Modern World	3-5
PHG 301	Introduction to Genetic Epidemiology	3
PHG 302	Forensic Genetics	3
PHG 303	Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing: Uses and Issues	5

5. Empirical Approaches for Ethical Inquiry

Courses in this category examine the methods used to study ethical issues in medicine, science, and health. This may include qualitative and quantitative research methods, historical analysis, or other interdisciplinary approaches that could be used to understand bioethical questions.

Code	Course Title	Credits
ANTH 303	Technologies of Health	5
ANTH 374	Narrative Literature and Medical Anthropology	5
ANTH 375	Comparative Systems of Healing	3
BIOST 310	Biostatistics for the Health Sciences	4
CS&SS 533	Research Methods in Demography	3
EPI 320	Introduction to Epidemiology	4
GEOG 381	Maps and Health	5
GWSS 302	Feminist Theories and Methods	5
HSTCMP 311	Science in Civilization: Antiquity to the Scientific Revolution	5
PHG 401	Computational and Applied Genetic Epidemiology	5
PSYCH 423	Programming For Psychology and Neuroscience	4

Electives list, alphabetical

Bioethics Minor Approved Electives List Summer 2026
Course Code	Course Title	Dept/Program	Credits
AES 211	Environmental Justice	American Ethnic Studies	5
AES 398	Human Trafficking in an Era of Globalization: Forced Labor Involuntary Servitude and Corporate Civic Responsibility	American Ethnic Studies	5
AFRAM 437	Blacks in American Law	African American Studies	5
AIS 103	The Indigenous Pacific Northwest	American Indian Studies	5
AIS 202	Introduction to American Indian Contemporary and Social Issues	American Indian Studies	5
AIS 308	American Indians and the Environment	American Indian Studies	5
CHID 434	Civil and Human Rights Law for Disabled People	Comparative History of Ideas	5
CHID 488	Encountering Animals: Ethics Culture & Politics	Comparative History of Ideas	5
DIS ST 437	Crime Law and Mental Illness	Disability Studies	5
ECON 345	Global Health Economics	Economics	5
ECON 346	Using Economics to Solve Today's Healthcare Problems	Economics	4
ECON 448	Population and Development	Economics	5
ETHICS 291	Ethics in Science	Philosophy	5
G H 101	Intro to GH: Disparities Determinants Policies & Outcomes	Global Health	5
G H 305	Global Health and Justice	Global Health	3
GEOG 180	Introduction to Global Health: Disparities Determinants Policies and Outcomes	Geography	5
GWSS 244	Indigenous Feminisms	Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies	5
GWSS 310	Women and the Law	Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies	5
HSTCMP 247	Before GH: Histories of Public Hlth & Intl Hlth in the Global South	Comparative and Transregional History	5
LSJ 332	Disability and Society	Law, Societies, & Justice	5
LSJ 377	Punishment Theory and Practice	Law, Societies, & Justice	5
LSJ 433	Disability Law Policy and the Community	Law, Societies, & Justice	5
LSJ 434	Civil and Human Rights Law for Disabled People	Law, Societies, & Justice	5
NURS 410	Legal and Ethical Issues in Clinical Practice	Nursing	3
PHIL 291	Ethics in Science	Philosophy	5
ANTH 303	Technologies of Health	Anthropology	5
ANTH 374	Narrative Literature and Medical Anthropology	Anthropology	5
ANTH 375	Comparative Systems of Healing	Anthropology	3
BIOST 310	Biostatistics for the Health Sciences	Biostatistics	4
CS&SS 533	Research Methods in Demography		3
EPI 320	Introduction to Epidemiology	Epidemiology	4
GEOG 381	Maps and Health	Geography	5
GWSS 302	Feminist Theories and Methods	Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies	5
HSTCMP 311	Science in Civilization: Antiquity to the Scientific Revolution	Comparative and Transregional History	5
PHG 401	Computational and Applied Genetic Epidemiology	Public Health Genetics	5
PSYCH 423	Programming For Psychology and Neuroscience	Psychology	4
ANTH 477	Medicine in America: Conflicts and Contradictions	Anthropology	3
BIME 535	Clinical Care and Informatics	Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education	3
HSTCMP 410	Medicine History and Society	Comparative and Transregional History	5
INFO 402	Gender Race and Information Technology	Informatics	4
INFO 468	Designing for Personal Health and Wellbeing	Informatics	5
PHG 200	Implications of Public Health Genomics for the Modern World	Public Health Genetics	3-5
PHG 301	Introduction to Genetic Epidemiology	Public Health Genetics	3
PHG 302	Forensic Genetics	Public Health Genetics	3
PHG 303	Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing: Uses and Issues	Public Health Genetics	5
AAS 310	Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the Pacific Northwest	Asian American Studies	5
AAS 372	American Internment and Incarceration: Race Discrimination and Power	Asian American Studies	5
AAS 385	Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans: Race Law and Justice	Asian American Studies	5
AAS 392	Asian American and Pacific Islander Women	Asian American Studies	5
AES 150	In-Justice for All: Intersection of Race Ethnicity Class and Gender in the United States	American Ethnic Studies	5
AES 151	Identities Cultures and Power Across American Ethnic Groups	American Ethnic Studies	5
AES 322	Gender Race and Class in Social Stratification	American Ethnic Studies	5
AES 380	Race Ethnicity and United States Public Policy	American Ethnic Studies	5
AES 405	Advanced American Ethnic Studies in Social Science	American Ethnic Studies	5
AES 442	Undocumented Immigrant Communities	American Ethnic Studies	5
AES 450	American Ethnic Health: Race Gender and Status Groups	American Ethnic Studies	5
AIS 212	Indigenous Leaders and Activists	American Indian Studies	5
AIS 240	Native North American Women	American Indian Studies	5
ANTH 215	Intro to Med Anthropology & Global Health	Anthropology	5
ANTH 302	Intro to Med Anthro & Global Health as Social Justice Praxis	Anthropology	5
ANTH 308	Anthropology of Gender Women's Health and Reproduction	Anthropology	5
ANTH 311	Cultural Politics of Diet & Nutrition	Anthropology	5
ANTH 322	Comparative Study of Death	Anthropology	5
ANTH 376	Anthropology of Disabilities	Anthropology	5
ANTH 377	Anthropology and International Health	Anthropology	5
ANTH 409	Queer Health	Anthropology	5
ANTH 474	Social Difference and Medical Knowledge	Anthropology	5
BIO A 420	Anthropological Research on Health Disparities	Biological Anthropology	5
BIO A 423	Social Networks and Health: Biocultural Perspectives	Biological Anthropology	5
BIO A 465	Nutritional Anthropology	Biological Anthropology	3
BIO A 476	Sociocultural Ecology and Health	Biological Anthropology	3
BIOEN 407	Bioengineering Nepal: Technology Assessment for Community and Global Health	Bioengineering	5
BIOL 315	Biological Impacts of Climate Change	Biology	3
CHID 332	Disability and Society	Comparative History of Ideas	5
CHID 433	Disability Law Policy and the Community	Comparative History of Ideas	5
CHSTU 200	Latinos in the United States: Patterns of Racial Ethnic and Socio-Economic and Political Inequality	Chicano Studies	5
CHSTU 320	Food Sovereignty Movements in Mexico and the United States	Chicano Studies	5
CHSTU 322	Indigenous Knowledge and Public Health in Mexican and Latinx Origin Communities	Chicano Studies	5
CS&SS 523	Social Networks and Health: Biocultural Perspectives	Center for Statistics and Social Sciences	5
DIS ST 332	Disability and Society	Disability Studies	5
DIS ST 346	Disability in Global and Comparative Perspective	Disability Studies	5
DIS ST 384	Topics in Disability Rights and Inequalities	Disability Studies	5
DIS ST 433	Disability Law Policy and the Community	Disability Studies	5
DIS ST 434	Civil and Human Rights Law for Disabled People	Disability Studies	5
ECON 412	Macroeconomics and Inequality	Economics	5
ECON 447	Economics of Gender	Economics	5
EDSPE 435	Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders	College of Education, Special Education	5
ENGR 401	Leadership Development to Promote Equity in Engineering Relationships	Engineering	3
ETHICS 207	Issues of Global Justice	Philosophy	5
G H 402	Contemporary Issues in Global Health	Global Health	1
G H 456	Global Mental Health	Global Health	3
GEOG 270	Geographies of International Development and Environmental Change	Geography	5
GEOG 272	Geographies of Environmental Justice	Geography	5
GEOG 280	Introduction to the Geography of Health and Healthcare	Geography	5
GEOG 332	Black Feminist Geographies	Geography	5
GEOG 380	Geographical Patterns of Health and Disease	Geography	5
GEOG 480	Environmental Geography Climate and Health	Geography	5
GWSS 300	Gender Race and Class in Social Stratification	Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies	5
GWSS 332	Black Feminist Geographies	Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies	5
GWSS 333	Gender and Globalization: Theory and Process	Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies	5
GWSS 339	Social Movement in India	Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies	5
GWSS 409	Queer Health	Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies	5
HSERV 475	Perspectives in Medical Anthropology	Health Services	5
HSERV 479	Racism and the Public's Health	Health Services	4
LAW 305	Global Health and Justice	School of Law	3
NURS 412	Health Care Systems	Nursing	3
PHIL 207	Issues of Global Justice	Philosophy	5
PSYCH 250	Racism and Minority Groups	Psychology	5
PSYCH 439	Psychology of Health Disparities	Psychology	4
SOC 230	Introduction to Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in the United States	Sociology	5
SOC 331	Population and Society	Sociology	5
SOC 337	Social Construction of Madness and Mental Health in the United States	Sociology	5
SOC 362	Race Relations	Sociology	5
SOC 364	Women in the Social Structure	Sociology	5
SOC 375	Sociology of Juvenile Justice	Sociology	5
SOC 376	Drugs and Society	Sociology	5
SOC 430	Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities	Sociology	5
SOC 450	Political Economy of Women and Family in the Third World	Sociology	5
SOC 459	The New Inequality	Sociology	5
T EGL 302	Tribal Critical Race Theory and Critical Race Theory	Tacoma-Ethnic, Gender, and Labor Studies	5
T EGL 464	Indigenous Health, Political Ethnoecology and Governance	Tacoma-Ethnic, Gender, and Labor Studies	5
ANTH 468	Anthropology of Care	Anthropology	5
CEP 461	Ethics and Identity	Community, Environment, and Planning	5
GEOG 331	Global Poverty and Care	Geography	5
PHIL 102	Contemporary Moral Problems	Philosophy	5
PHIL 240	Introduction to Ethics	Philosophy	5
PHIL 242	Introduction to Medical Ethics	Philosophy	5
PHIL 243	Environmental Ethics	Philosophy	5
PHIL 345	Moral Issues of Life and Death	Philosophy	5
PHIL 406	Philosophical Topics in Feminism	Philosophy	5
PHIL 408	Philosophy of Diversity	Philosophy	5
PHIL 409	Philosophy of Disability	Philosophy	3
PHIL 410	Social Philosophy	Philosophy	5
PHIL 412	Ethical Theory / History of Ethical Theory	Philosophy	5
PHIL 413	Metaethical Theory/History of Recent Ethics	Philosophy	5
PHIL 415	Advanced Topics in Animal Welfare	Philosophy	5
PHIL 440	Ethics	Philosophy	5
PHIL 441	Public Health Ethics	Philosophy	5
PHIL 442	Neuroethics	Philosophy	5

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