This program is designed to offer the student who plans to practice law or to enter health care management a thorough academic grounding in both disciplines with emphasis on the increasing convergence of health care administration and law. The complexity of the current national debate on health care suggests that a practical, as well as a theoretical, relationship exists between health services administration and the law. It is therefore not surprising to find individuals with law degrees holding managerial positions in health administration, nor to find an increasing number of attorneys specializing in the area of health care delivery. Lawyers who counsel health managers must have a broad knowledge of the health services field in order to serve their clients.
Career opportunities are available in a variety of professional settings.
Prior academic achievement should suggest a high likelihood that the student has the capacity to complete the curriculum in law and health services. A student who wishes to enter the joint-degree program after beginning his or her first year in the School of Law or in the regular MHSA program should discuss his or her plans with the Academic Associate Dean of the Law School or the Administrative Director of the Department of Health Policy and Management as soon as possible. No student may enter the joint program after completing more than the equivalent of two semesters of full time enrollment in either the JD or MHSA curriculum. Of these, at least 80 credit hours must consist of courses in the School of Law, and 41 in the Department of Health Policy Management. Students in the joint degree program should understand that while the School of Law requires a 2.0 cumulative grade point average in law school courses, the Department of Health Policy and Management follows the Graduate School regulation in requiring a 3.0 cumulative grade point average for course work that is counted in the MHSA portion of the joint degree.