The dual degree in law and health administration combines the 3-year Juris Doctorate at the College of Law and the 2-year Masters of Health Administration at the College of Public Health into 4 years of study.
The JD requires a minimum of 90 credit hours, and the MHA requires a minimum of 52 credit hours. A dual-degree student will complete 81 credit hours at the College of Law and receive 9 credit hours towards the law degree from coursework completed at the College of Public Health. The 81 hours at the College of Law must include Health Law. Likewise, the student will complete 49 credit hours at the College of Public Health and receive 3 credit hours towards the masters degree from coursework completed at the College of Law.
How to apply?
Students interested in the dual program must be accepted by both colleges. Both degrees will be awarded during the same academic season. A student may begin at either college or apply to both colleges simultaneously.
What jobs can I get?
This program is designed to prepare the student who plans either to practice law in the healthcare arena or to enter healthcare service organization administration.
The relationships between healthcare service organization administration, practice, and policy and law is increasingly interconnected, and it is not unusual to find individuals with legal training and experience in top administrative and policy positions in a variety of healthcare service organizations and governmental settings. Given the growing number of healthcare administration problems in need of solutions, the demand for lawyers, especially at the policy level, with solid administrative training is critical. Attorneys who counsel healthcare service organization administrators and practitioners must have a broad knowledge of healthcare administration to best serve their clients. These developments have given rise to numerous career opportunities in a variety of professional settings within and without the healthcare service organization community.
Graduates of this proposed dual degree program would be able to tailor their electives for careers in any of the following settings:
- Managerial positions in local, state, regional, and national healthcare service organizations
- In-house counsel at a healthcare service organization
- Attorney positions within a law firm group that focuses on healthcare
- Legal analysts at local, state, regional, and national levels
- Serving as legal counsel for local, state, regional, or national agencies.
What does the curriculum look like?
The curricular sequence is highly dependent on when and where a student initially matriculates and on that student’s preferences for law school courses. The student will work closely with the dual degree advisor at the College of Public Health to ensure all curricular requirements are met.
A sample of the curricular requirements has been provided at the link below. This is representative of the curricular choices, however all students should consult both colleges for their current requirements.
Sample Curriculum for Dual Degree - JD-MHA