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MD + MAUB

Students who are admitted to the Lewis Katz School of Medicine’s MD program at Temple University can apply to the MA in Urban Bioethics (MAUB) as a dual degree. MD/MA students are able to complete both degrees concurrently in four years.

Medical school applicants should wait until they have formally accepted their offer of admission to the MD program before applying to the MAUB. We strongly encourage incoming M1’s to apply to the MAUB by June 30, but applications are accepted through August 1. Students can also apply for Spring admission in the M1 year, which would extend core MAUB coursework into the third year of medical school.

MAUB Courses & Timeline

The MA in Urban Bioethics requires 32 credits. Temple MD students who are admitted into the MAUB will have 15 credits of medical school coursework dually counted toward their MA elective requirements including Doctoring 1, Doctoring 2, and 6 credits of MD electives from an approved list.

MD/MA students take 17 credits beyond the MD coursework to earn both degrees.

A table outlining the recommendation of core curriculum & thesis registrations for MD/MA Urban Bioethics students: Urban Bioethics 1(3 credits) in M1 Fall, Urban Bioethics 2 (3 credits) in M1 Spring, Community Engagement 1 (2 credits), Critical Social Science (2 credits) and The Values, Ethics & Economics of Health Care Delivery in Urban Communities (2 credits--Early Term Start, done by August) in M2 Fall, Community Engagement 2 (2 credits) in M2 Spring, and Thesis (3 credits) in M4 Spring. Students are encouraged to work on their thesis throughout the third and fourth years of medical school. The two Community Engagement courses must be taken sequentially in consecutive Fall & Spring semesters.

Most MD/MA students begin in Fall of their M1 year and complete the 14 credits of MA Urban Bioethics didactic coursework in the first two years of medical school.

During the third and fourth years of medical school, students work on their MA thesis and complete their outstanding dual degree credit requirements via MD elective selection. Thesis registration happens in the student’s graduating semester. Dually counted MD electives can be taken throughout all four years of the MD program.

Apply to the MAUB

Why pursue the MAUB?

Medical students pursue our dual degree for a variety of reasons, including:

  • Gain an additional toolbox​
  • Complements and enhances the medical school curriculum
  • Interdisciplinary and Intergenerational student body
  • Can jumpstart an academic medicine career
  • Provides an edge in residency and future career applications

Throughout your time in the program, you can also take advantage of extracurricular opportunities such as a walking tour of North Philadelphia led by faculty with deep ties to the neighborhood or a presentation with tips on presenting your work at bioethics conferences and other public venues.