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Health Law Certificate

To receive the Health Law Certificate, a student must complete a minimum of 15 credits of course work (meeting GPA requirements) and 25 hours of health-related non-course work.

Course Requirements

15 Total Credits: (Doctrinal, Experiential Learning, Writing Requirements, and Electives) =

6 Core Credits (Doctrinal credits) +

9 Additional Credits (Includes the required Experiential & Writing credits, and Electives as needed)

Core Credits (6):

  • Health Law Survey (3)
  • Administrative Law (3)

Note: It is recommended that students complete these three core course requirements in the 2L year because they set a critical foundation on which to build enhanced learning and understanding of general or specific, focus areas of health law.

Additional Credits (At Least 9):

  • Health Law Writing Requirement (2-3)

Note: Students can fulfill this requirement through completion of a law review note (upon approval of faculty advisor and Institute Director), OR, through Health Law Seminar, Mental Health Law Seminar, or other Seminar with health law-related paper (upon approval of seminar faculty and Institute Director). (This may also meet the Law School's writing requirement.)

  • Health Law Experiential Learning (2-4)

Note: Students can fulfill this requirement by taking a health law-related clinic or practicum, doing a health law-related externship, or taking another health law-related skills course, upon approval of the Institute Director. (This may also meet the Law School's skills requirement.)

  • Other Health-Specific or Health-Related Electives (2-5)

Health-Specific:

Note:  Not all of these courses are offered each year. Additionally, other courses may also be considered on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the Institute Director.

Bioethics & the Law (2)
Food and Drug Law (2 or 3)
Mental Health Law (3)
Public Health Law (3)

Health-Related:

Elder Law (3)
Employee Benefits (2)
Environmental Law (3)
Insurance Law (3)
Intellectual Property Survey (3)
Nonprofit Organization Tax (3)
Patent Law (3)
Products Liability (2)
White Collar Crime (2)

Non-Course Requirements

Students must complete at least twenty-five hours of non-course work related to health law while enrolled in the Certificate program. Permissible activities include doing pro bono work with the Health Law Section of the MBA, assisting MALS with health law fairs, providing pro bono legal services or law related education for health organizations, and other activities in consultation with the Pro Bono Coordinator and the Institute Director. Students should arrange a meeting with the Pro Bono Coordinator to discuss options as soon as enrolling in the Certificate program.

Students must also attend an annual meeting held for all students enrolled in the Certificate in Health Law program.

Grade Point Requirement

To satisfy the requirements of the Certificate in Health Law, each student must demonstrate a successful understanding of the fundamentals of health law by holding a minimum 2.5 overall GPA and obtaining at least a C in each course and a minimum 2.5 overall GPA in the building-block courses of Torts I and Torts II, and Constitutional Law. Students must receive at least a 3.0 GPA in all courses taken to satisfy the certificate.

To receive the certificate with honors, a student must complete the graded courses to satisfy the certificate with a GPA of 3.5 or higher and receive a grade of Excellent in at least two-thirds of the non-graded coursework taken to satisfy the certificate requirements.

When to Enroll

Students in good academic standing may enroll after completing one year of full-time law study (or thirty hours as a part-time student). It is highly recommended that a student enroll by the add deadline of his/her third semester. (There is no penalty to later decide to drop from the program.) Students cannot enroll after the add deadline in the student's fourth semester (or, if part-time, of the semester after completion of forty-five hours of study).

How to Enroll

A student enrolls by submitting a completed enrollment form (available on TWEN) to the Institute Director. In completing the form, the student must certify that he/she can satisfy the requirements of the certificate program and is committed to fulfilling its requirements. A student will be dropped from the program if he/she fails to meet the requirements.

Benefits of Enrolling

Students enrolled in the Health Law Certificate program enjoy several benefits. While in law school, Health Law Certificate students are at the front line for meeting local and visiting health law professionals and scholars. The local health law bar is very active and often collaborates with the Institute to provide unique networking and mentoring opportunities available only for Health Law Certificate students. Health Law Certificate students receive priority for health law-related externship placements and clinics. Our students are also eligible for awards related to health law study, such as an award for the best health-related law review note. Participation in this program also signals to employers that students are committed to careers in health law and have dedicated significant time to preparing for said career.

For more information about the Health Law Certificate, please contact Professor Katy Ramsey.