Mission: The Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program

The Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program of The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) offers unique educational opportunities to law students and practicing lawyers alike.

Established in 1997 and endowed by Harold and Jane Hirsh, the Hirsh Program fosters an interdisciplinary approach to the study of health law, health policy, health care, and public health. The program's overall goal is to advance a greater understanding regarding how the law influences and shapes all phases of health care and public health, as well as how the changing system affects traditional areas of the law. At the same time, the program seeks to achieve the pragmatic objectives of readying law degree candidates and practicing lawyers for the broad range of health law-related careers available today.

Academic Opportunities

Serving Juris Doctor (JD) and Master of Laws (LLM) candidates, as well as practicing lawyers pursuing health law careers, the program is designed to provide a solid grounding in health, ranging from the study of the health system itself to extensive advanced coursework in health law and policy.

Legal studies offered both within the School of Public Health and Health Services and The George Washington University Law School span the major issues in health law. The Hirsh Program, through its affiliation with the SPHHS�'s Department of Health Policy, also engages in extensive law-related health policy research, making Hirsh Program students eligible to be considered for paid and for-credit research assistantships throughout their period of study.

In addition to offering programs of study for JD and LLM candidates enrolled in the Law School, the Hirsh Program offers studies through the SPHHS for lawyers who wish to acquire special competency in health law and policy. Options range from individual courses in public health and health services, health law, and health policy, to a formal certificate program and a full Master of Public Health degree.

Through its location in the SPHHS, the Hirsh Program allows law degree candidates and practicing lawyers to place their health law studies into a broader health systems context, through courses in health policy, health services management, environmental and occupational health, international health, community and preventive medicine, and epidemiology and public health.

Nation's Capital Offers Students Unique Possibilities

Situated in Washington, D.C., the Hirsh Program is structured to allow students to take maximum advantage of its location at the center of national health law and policy-making. The program offers extensive assistance with career development and works with students on landing internships in Congressional offices, federal agencies, and the hundreds of national health organizations located in and throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Student Support and Career Placement Assistance

A hallmark of the Hirsh Program is its one-on-one student support and career placement assistance. All entering students, whether law candidates or practicing lawyers, establish individual course and career counseling relationships with program faculty.

Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program
2021 K Street NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20006
202 530-2369 joelt@gwu.edu