Law and Public Health, J.D./M.P.H.

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The College of Law and the School of Public Health offer a dual degree program leading to the Juris Doctor degree (J.D.) and Master of Public Health degree (M.P.H) with a concentration in Health Management and Policy (HMGP).

The J.D./M.P.H. is a course of study which allows selected previously-approved course work earned in one degree program to satisfy some of the elective course requirements of the other degree program. This enables a student to complete the requirements for both degrees in a shorter time than required to complete each of the degrees separately. Students who have already earned a J.D. and an M.P.H. degree at Georgia State University or at another institution are not eligible for the dual program.

The following regulations apply to students who are accepted to the J.D. and M.P.H. programs and are enrolled in the dual degree program as opposed to being enrolled in each degree program separately:

Application

Applicants to the J.D./M.P.H. dual degree program must meet the entrance requirements and follow the application procedures of both the College of Law and the School of Public Health. Applicants must be accepted by both colleges. Admission into one program does not presume admission to the other. To be in the J.D./M.P.H. dual degree program, students must be admitted to both programs before completing either program.

Applicants must take the LSAT to apply to the College of Law. The School of Public Health will accept the LSAT in lieu of the GRE for students already accepted into the J.D. program.

Students who are accepted to both the J.D. and M.P.H. program and wish to be enrolled in the dual degree program are responsible for providing written notification of their intentions to each college.

Degree Requirements

Students must satisfy the curriculum requirements for both the J.D. and M.P.H. degrees.

J.D. Requirements

The requirements for the J.D. are described in the College of Law catalog.

For students enrolled in the J.D./M.P.H. dual degree program, the College of Law will permit up to 12 semester hours of 8000-level M.P.H. courses with grades of B (3.0) or better to be credited toward elective hours required for the J.D.

M.P.H. Requirements

The core requirements for the M.P.H. are described in the School of Public Health catalog.

Students enrolled in the J.D./M.P.H. dual degree program are deemed to have selected the concentration in Health Management and Policy (HMGP). The requirements for this concentration are also described in the School of Public Health catalog.

For students enrolled in the J.D./M.P.H. dual degree program, the School of Public Health will accept 12 semester hours of relevant health law elective courses from the J.D. program with grades of B (3.0) or better to be credited toward the 12 semester hours of Health Management and Policy concentration requirements for the M.P.H. Of these, 3 credit hours must be LAW 7240 Health Law: Finance and Delivery in lieu of PHPB 8250 Health Economics and Policy and 3 credit hours must be LAW 7244 Public Health Law.

In addition, 3-6 credit hours of an approved health law experiential learning course, clinic or externship may be accepted in place of 2 credit hours of PHPB 7960 Applied Practice Experience.

Enrollment Sequencing and Time Limits

Students interested in pursuing a J.D./M.P.H. must be admitted into and enroll in both degree programs prior to completion of 30 credit hours of M.P.H. coursework and 60 hours of J.D. coursework in order to qualify for the dual degree program.

After students have been admitted to both the J.D. and M.P.H. program and have declared intent to be enrolled in the dual degree program, they must, at the first opportunity, complete 30 semester hours of required courses in the J.D. program. After completion of these 30 hours, enrollment in the courses of either college or enrollment in both colleges concurrently is permitted.

Students must complete all five M.P.H. core courses, LAW 7240 Health Law: Finance and Delivery and LAW 7244 Public Health Law before beginning the applied practice experience or experiential course, clinic, or externship. If an experiential course, clinic, or externship course is taken prior to completing these required core courses, it will not count for the PHPB 7960 applied practice experience requirement.

Grading and Scholastic Discipline

Students enrolled in either of the dual degree programs must meet the academic regulations of each college, including those related to the minimum GPA and scholastic discipline. The computation of the GPA in each college is based only on courses taken in that college.

Graduation

Prior to graduation, students completing the dual degree program are responsible for confirming with both colleges that the degree requirements for each program have been satisfied. Students must complete the graduation application for each degree.

No credit hours of J.D. coursework will be applied toward the M.P.H. degree requirements until the completion of J.D. degree requirements. No credit hours of M.P.H. course work will be applied toward the J.D. degree requirements until the completion of M.P.H. degree requirements. A simultaneous awarding of degrees will satisfy this requirement.

The requirements for the M.P.H. degree must be completed within five years of the initial semester of enrollment in the M.P.H. program. The J.D. degree must be completed within seven years of the initial semester of enrollment in the J.D. program.