The EthicsLab is leading the development of a new Master of Science in Global Health Ethics degree at the University of Cape Town (UCT). This innovative postgraduate programme centres knowledge from Africa in considering the ethical challenges that arise in health research, specifically those related to new and emerging health technologies.
Funded by the NIH Fogarty International Center, the EthicsLab has partnered with a diverse team of experts in bioethics – academics across UCT working in health science, technological innovation, and the humanities. Together, we developed an innovative curriculum that brings together the frontiers of scientific and technological innovation and knowledge from the African humanities.
Developments in neuroscience, AI and genomics have altered the bioethics agenda, requiring us to critically reconsider the theories, methods, and approaches we bring to our scholarship and educational practices. By putting Africa at the centre of our approach, we aim to sensitise students to the historical, social, and political factors that influence the shape and organisation of global health research.
Engagement and impact
The aim is to train students to critically engage with new technologies, their impact on health research in Africa and the ethical challenges that they raise. We also seek to build a cohort of graduates who can go on to be bioethics leaders in a variety of institutions; with the support of Fogarty, several full and partial scholarships are available to suitable candidates, i.e. students whose interests and abilities intersect with those of the programme.
The MSc in Global Health Ethics is awaiting accreditation from national qualifications authorities. Depending on when approval is secured, the programme will launch in the 2025 or 2026 academic year at the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences. It is a two-year, postgraduate programme on NQF level 9 and can accommodate an intake of 15 students per academic year. Updates regarding the start date of this programme will be announced on our website.
Progress
- Concept outline: completed
- Curriculum development: completed
- Approval by units at the University of Cape Town (UCT): completed
- Approval by the UCT Academic Board: completed
- Approval by UCT Senate: completed
- Review by the Department of Higher Education of South Africa: pending
- Approval by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA): pending
- Implementation at UCT: pending
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Project Partner
The development and implementation of this MSc degree is supported by a grant from the Fogarty International Centre of the National Institutes of Health under award number R25TW012219.