Kennedy Institute of Ethics

Call for Applications

Through a generous grant from the McDonald-Agape Foundation, The Kennedy Institute of Ethics is pleased to announce that we are seeking applications for the McDonald-Agape Postdoctoral Fellowship in Bioethics. The Fellowship is designed to promote the academic career of a junior scholar with outstanding potential for scholarship and leadership in bioethics. We are inviting applications from exceptional candidates for this two-year fellowship, which will begin in July 2023. Priority will be given to physicians, but those with other terminal degrees are also eligible. Priority also will be given to candidates with a demonstrated Christian orientation to their work in ethics, broadly construed. Some previous education in bioethics is required, but a formal degree in ethics is not necessary. The program is highly selective. Only one candidate will be accepted each year.

The Program
The McDonald-Agape Fellowship is a two-year program of study and scholarship at Georgetown’s prestigious Kennedy Institute of Ethics. The fellow will conduct scholarly work directly with Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, the André Hellegers Professor of Biomedical Ethics and Acting Director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics. Qualified physician fellows will have the opportunity to maintain practice skills through limited outpatient work at the MedStar-Georgetown University Hospital.

The program will be uniquely tailored to the needs, interests, and background of the successful candidate. It will include opportunities for formal study, research, participation in the life of the Kennedy Institute, and experience in clinical bioethics consultation. The proximity of the main campus and the medical center provides unique opportunities for interdisciplinary study and collaborative research. The Law Center is also accessible via Georgetown University Transportation Services.

Fellows will participate in:
• The Kennedy Institute-Pellegrino Center joint monthly bioethics seminar
• The annual Intensive Bioethics Course
• Formal mentoring sessions
• The Ethics Consult Service of the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics

Additional opportunities include:
• The monthly Joint Bioethics Colloquium at the NIH
• Programs of the Law Center’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law
• Coursework for credit or audit may be arranged in relevant departments on the main campus or the Catholic Clinical Ethics Master’s degree program at the Medical Center. The fellowship itself does not support a degree.
• Teaching opportunities in a relevant department, if qualified

Stipend: $70,000 per year (plus benefits)

Applications will be accepted beginning Dec. 15, 2022 and must be received by Feb. 6, 2023. Send applications to: [email protected]. Please include:


• A Cover Letter
• A Personal statement
• CV
• Three Letters of Reference
• Writing Sample


The Kennedy Institute of Ethics: Established in 1971 at Georgetown University, the Kennedy Institute of Ethics is an academic ethics institute whose faculty includes founders of the field of bioethics as well as next-generation leaders. With a top-ranked graduate program, the world's most comprehensive bioethics library, a highly praised intensive summer course for practitioners and professionals, and faculty expertise on issues such as health care reform, death and dying, clinical research ethics, data privacy, abortion, and disability, the Institute is a renowned resource for the University, the policy world, and the global bioethics community — and a proud leader of innovation and creativity in the field.
Georgetown University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer fully dedicated to achieving a diverse faculty and staff. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, s*x, s*xual orientation, age, religion, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability or other categories protected by law.

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