MPH Program
MPH/JD Multi-Award Degree Program
Receive a JD degree and a Master's Degree in Public Health in a four-year accelerated course of study.
The program fosters the critical interrelationship between the delivery of health care services, the protection of public health, and the legal system. Graduates will be prepared to deal with the complexities of our current legal and healthcare systems, and to appreciate the expanding sources of conflict between individual and broader community-based healthcare needs and interests. The health, environmental, family, and international law concentrations at the Law School offer substantive content that complements the collaborative program. Students will develop skills that will make them attractive candidates for positions in the public and private healthcare sectors.
Admission
Prospective students must submit separate applications and be admitted to the School of Law and the School of Public Health and Health Professions. Application to both schools may be simultaneous, or students admitted to Law or the MPH program may opt for the collaborative program during their first year, and then seek admission to SPM or Law, respectively. The GRE is required. For detailed information see below .
For information on the Law and Public Health program, contact:
Ruqaiijah Yearby, JD, MPH
Associate Professor
Director of the J.D./M.P.H.
School of Law
624 John Lord O'Brian Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260-1100
Tel: 716.645.3683 Fax: 716.645.2064
law-jdmph@buffalo.edu
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1. Admission
Prospective students must submit separate applications and be admitted to the School of Law and to the MPH program in the School of Public Health and Health Professions according to procedures and standards of the respective schools. Application to both schools may be simultaneous, or students admitted to Law or the MPH program may opt for the collaborative program during their first year, and then seek admission to the MPH or Law, respectively.
The MPH program offers five fields of concentration: biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, health behavior, and health services administration. Students must select a concentration area upon application to the MPH program and meet the requirements of that concentration. Students in the JD/MPH collaborative program have generally selected the health services administration concentration; however, another concentration that similarly complements the combined studies in law and public heatlh may be selected. For MPH admission requirements go to Admission Info link on MPH website.
2. Program Sequence
Most students begin the collaborative program at the Law School, completing the core first-year curriculum; however, it is also possible for students to complete the first year in the MPH program, followed by the first year of Law School. During years two and three at Law School, students select a combination of courses, of which no more than 15 credits will be allocated to both the JD and MPH degrees. The following courses are cross-listed or accepted for credit at both schools:
- LAW718/SPM507 Introduction to Health Care Organizations (3 credits)
- LAW618/SPM537 Public Health Law (3 credits)
- LAW682 Human Subject Research: Issues in Law, Science & Public Health (2 credits)
- LAW648/SPM 552 Occupational Health Law/Epidemiologic Applications to Occupational Health (3 credits)
- LAW790 Health Law and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (3 credits)
With the exception of students who complete their first year in the MPH program prior to opting for the collaborative degree, year four will be in residence at the School of Public Health and Health Professions.
The JD is awarded at the end of the three years in residence at the Law School, and the MPH on completion of the MPH requirements.
3. Course Credit Requirements
Students must fulfill the course credit requirements of the respective programs.
Law School: To meet the requirements for a JD, students must successfully complete 90 credits of course work, 30 in the core first-year program. The remaining 60 credits are earned through elective courses, including one seminar. Although Law School policies permit some variation in timing and course load, in most cases the remaining 60 credits are completed over the second and third years of Law School, with students typically carrying 12-15 credits per semester. As noted above, in the second and third years at Law School, students in the collaborative program may complete as many as 15 credits in selected courses eligible for credit toward both the JD and the MPH degrees.
MPH: The MPH degree is awarded on the completion of 49 credits, which consist of core required courses, courses needed to meet the MPH concentration requirement, 6 credits for completion of a field placement, and 2-3 credits for a culminating integrative project. In regard to the integrative project, only 2 credits is required but it can be taken for 3 credits if a student needs such credits (for example, to maintain full-time status). Students with acceptable public health work experience and/or relevant prior graduate or professional education may be given advanced standing.
The Law School has several clinics which the MPH program accepts as meeting the 6-credit field placement requirement. The approved clinics, which are uniquely suited to JD/MPH candidates, are Family Violence, Affordable Housing, Elder Law, and Community Economic Development. Each semester of the clinics is 3 credits; two semesters of eligible clinic work would be accepted as meeting the MPH requirement. Other placements may be authorized, for example, in the legal departments of relevant health care organizations or in government agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
4. Collaborative Program Requirements
As part of the Law School program, students are required to complete the following courses during years two and three: LAW 618/SPM537 Public Health Law, LAW 631 Administrative Law, plus 12 additional credits from a selection of health law elective courses.
Although not required, students also may select an area of concentration at the Law School. The concentration areas currently offered are the following: Affordable Housing and Community Development Law, Civil Litigation, Criminal Law, Environmental Law, Family Law, Financial Transactions, Health Law, International Law, Labor & Employment, and Technology and Intellectual Property. Among the nine concentrations, those in health, environmental, family, and international law offer substantive content that would complement and integrate readily with the collaborative degree program.
5. Sample Program
The following model provides a sample program for students opting for the JD/MPH collaborative program. It outlines a program for students who elect the health law concentration at the Law School and the health services administration concentration in the MPH program.
Year 1 - Law School - 30-credit core program
Year 2 - Law School – 30 credits including:
LAW606 Introduction to Health Care Law (3)
LAW618/SPM537 Public Health Law (3) (counts towards MPH)
Two health law concentration electives (6)
One additional course counted toward both degrees, e.g.,
LAW718/SPM507 Introduction to Health Care Organization (3)
Year 3 - Law School - 30 credits including:
LAW631 Administrative Law (3)
Remaining 12 credits required for the health law concentration
Three courses counted towards both degrees
Year 4 - MPH (assuming no advance standing for MPH courses, completion of the 6-credit Law School clinics or other approved internship, and 15 credits in coursework counted towards both degrees, students will have 28 credits or 9 courses, which includes the integrative project, to complete during this final year of the program). The potential fourth year curriculum would include the following:
Fall semester (17 credits):
SPM501 Principles of Epidemiology (4)
STA527 Introduction to Medical Statistics (4)
HB 527 Study of Health Behaviors (3)
SPM535 Biological Basis of Public Health (3)
MPH health services administration concentration elective (3)
Spring semester (11 credits):
SPM533 Principles of Public Health (3)
SPM549 Environmental Health (3)
MPH health services administration concentration elective (3)
SPM630 Integrative Project (2) (note, SPM630 can be taken for 3 credits)
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