The term 'bioethics' is often used to refer to biomedical ethics, but the scope of the Bioethics Program at ISU is much broader than this: bioethics includes ethical issues that arise in agricultural and environmental sciences and policy, veterinary and human medicine, and in the life sciences more broadly.

As a program, we aim to nurture reasoned examination of bioethical issues pertaining to agriculture, food, animals, and the environment, to provide ongoing assistance to, and education of science faculty members who wish to introduce ethical issues to their students. More broadly we aim to support ISU faculty members as they reflect on various moral dimensions of their research.