JD/LLM Candidates

The School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS), through the Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program and in conjunction with the GW Law School, offers a variety of programs of study in health law and policy. JD and LLM candidates can earn, upon acceptance to the SPHHS, either a Graduate Certificate in Public Health or a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. The course of study for the JD degree alone consists of 84 credits. However, a student participating in a combined law-public health program may receive up to to 12 cross-over law-related SPHHS credits to his/her JD course of study. (Not all SPHHS credits may be "crossed over" to the Law School. In order to apply SPHHS credits to your law degree, the credits must be sufficiently law-related as determined by the Law School.) The course of study for the LLM degree generally consists of 24 credits. However, a student may receive up to 6 cross-over law-related SPHHS credits, under the same conditions for transfer as noted above.

The Graduate Certificate Program

The course of study for the Graduate Certificate consists of 18 credits in one of several focus areas. However, becuse six credits may be cross-credited from the Law School (i.e., the SPHHS accepts six Law School credits toward completion of the certificate program), JD and LLM students need only complete 12 credits of coursework through the SPHHS to obtain a graduate certificate in public health. Upon an individual's subsequent acceptance to the MPH degree program, credits from the Graduate Certificate program may be transferred to the MPH degree program. Full-time JD candidates can complete a graduate certificate during their regular course of study in the Law School. Full-time LLM/certificate candidates typically complete the program in one and one-half years.

The Master of Public Health Degree

The course of study for the MPH degree consists of 45 credits in one of several focus areas, including a supervised Practicum. Because eight of these credits may be cross-credited from the Law School (i.e., the SPHHS accepts eight Law School credits toward completion of the MPH degree), JD and LLM students need only complete 37 credits of coursework through the SPHHS to obtain an MPH degree.

Depending upon the focus area in which a JD student chooses to study, the joint degree can be earned, as a general rule, in 3-and-a-half or 4 years of full-time study, including summer enrollment. JD candidates selecting joint degree studies in one of the more science-oriented areas, such as epidemiology or biostatistics, should anticipate a 4-year course of study. Candidates selecting a less scientific area, such as health policy or health management, can expect to complete their joint degrees in 3-and-a-half years. Full-time LLM/MPH candidates should anticipate completing their joint degrees in approximately 2 years. Part-time JD and LLM candidates pursuing joint degrees will, of course, have longer courses of study.

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