Welcome

The W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics (the Centre) is an interdisciplinary research unit within the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. The Centre was created in 1993 with endowments by W. Maurice Young (LLD) and the Bentall Foundation.

The Centre’s approach to other UBC academic and research units follows from our position as an interdisciplinary academic centre, and from our mission to advance the research agenda of applied ethics. A number of departments and units, including Animal Welfare, the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability, Nursing and Philosophy, have contributed outstanding students to the Centre, while our research and teaching/supervision now ties us to Medical Genetics, Law, Political Science, Journalism, Forestry, Botany and Computing Sciences. These relationships and the products of our collaborations place the Centre at the forefront of the movement to create transdisciplinary research.

The Centre’s affairs are managed by a Coordinating Committee representing faculty, students and research associates, chaired by the Director of the Centre.

Mission

The Centre’s mission is to advance research and teaching of applied ethics, conceived as the application of normative methods to core issues in science and technology ethics and policy, organizational ethics, animal welfare, health, the environment, and research ethics.

The Centre is an interdisciplinary group of philosophers and social scientists who employ diverse methodologies to a wide range of problems, including healthcare practices, business and professional procedures, new technologies and environmental issues.

Objective

The Centre aims to conduct world-class research in applied ethics and to educate the next generation of applied ethics researchers and practitioners. It has, in part, met the challenges of working in this field by successfully seeking funding for several major research programs and a growing number of graduate and post-doctoral students.

Seminar | Wrongdoing and Criminalization: Gaining Perspectives

Colloquium presented by the UBC Department of Philosophy

Speaker: Michelle Dempsey, Professor of Law and Harold Reuschlein Scholar Chair, Villanova University

Fri Oct 9, 2026, 3-5 pm PT | BUCH A103 (in person only)

Seminar | Canary in the Coal Mine – Lessons from Canada on Long Stay Patients

Co-sponsored by the UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research

Speaker: Jason Sutherland, UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research

Tues Oct 20, 2026, 12-1 pm PT | Hybrid | Register here

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the seminar in person or virtually.