JD-Master of Public Health

Study legalities, issues, and problems affecting personal and public health

The joint Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management and Juris Doctor (MPH-JD) program between the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health and the Robert H. McKinney School of Law provides you with an interdisciplinary curriculum in law and health policy and management. You are trained to address the legalities, issues, and problems affecting personal and public health.

You must independently apply and be accepted into both the McKinney School of Law JD program and the School of Public Health MPH program. Once you have been accepted into this joint degree program, you should meet with your academic advisors to plan the course sequencing. The program includes 82 credit hours in law courses and 45 credit hours in MPH courses.*

*39 MPH credit hours are required to fulfill your MPH degree. To get to a total of 45 credit hours as stated above, six credits are taken from your completed electives in the JD program. These six JD elective credits are not in addition to your required 82 legal credits. See below for more on electives.

Competencies

Graduates will be able to ...

Discuss the policy process for improving the health status of populations.
Apply principles of strategic planning and organizational development to public health agencies.
Demonstrate communication and leadership skills required for building community and organizational capacity.
Apply the principles of budgeting, management and performance evaluation in organizational and community initiatives.
Understand the overarching policy arguments that influence the provision of health care, its financing, and the regulation of health care actors.
Build upon an existing base of legal knowledge (e.g., contract law, torts, and administrative law) and skills (writing and analysis) to succeed in a health law career.
Comprehend the complex relationships among health care stakeholders and the legal, ethical, and political constraints that apply to those relationships.
Understand the complex interaction of federal and state (statutory, regulatory and case-based) laws that defines health law.
Appreciate that health law is a rapidly changing area of law and requires considerable effort to remain current and advise shifting sets of stakeholders.

Careers

Graduates can apply for positions as a:

Health care compliance attorney
Assistant chief counsel for litigation
Board of Health, commissioner
County, city, or state health official
Private practice attorney

Admissions

Law students who are interested in pursuing the joint MPH-JD degree must apply and be admitted to the Fairbanks School of Public Health through the dual degree application supplement.

Students in the MPH-JD program may be considered for scholarships through the Health Law Center to offset some of the expenses of coursework. You are encouraged to apply to the MPH program during your first year of law school.

See the MPH-JD admissions criteria

Master of Public Health curriculum

Take all six courses for 18 credits

PBHL-P 501 Social and Behavioral Science in Public Health (3 credit hours)
PBHL-P 504 U.S. Healthcare System and Health Policy (3 credit hours)
PBHL-P 510: Intro to Public Health (3 credit hours)
PBHL-P 517 Fundamentals of Epidemiology (3 credit hours)
PBHL-P 519 Environmental Science in Public Health (3 credit hours)
PBHL-P 551 Biostatistics for Public Health (3 credit hours)

Take all four courses for 12 credits

PBHL-H 611 Policy Design, Implementation & Management (3 credits)
PBHL-H 616 Leading Public Health Service Organizations (3 credits)
PBHL-H 619 Financial Management for Public Health Organizations (3 credits)
PBHL-H 628 Healthcare Information Systems (3 credits)

Select 3 credits from MPH list

PBHL-A 641 Global Health & Sustainable Development (3 credits)
PBHL-A 643 Water & Sanitation (3 credits)
PBHL-A 644 Sustainable Production & Consumption (3 credits)
PBHL-A 646 Restoration of the Land & Sea (3 credits)
PBHL-B 552 Fundamentals of Data Management (3 credits)
PBHL-B 581 Introduction to Computing (3 credits)
PBHL-B 582 Introduction to Clinical Trials (3 credits)
PBHL-E 606 Grant Writing (3 credits)
PBHL-E 609 Infectious Disease Epidemiology (3 credits)
PBHL-E 618 Global Cancer Epidemiology (3 credits)
PBHL-E 645 Information Exchange for Population Health (3 credits)
PBHL-E 670 Overview of Precision Health (3 credits)
PBHL-H 531 Pop. Health and Value-based Care (3 credits)
PBHL-H 613 Emergency Preparedness (3 credits)
PBHL-H 670 Policy Analysis (3 credits)
PBHL-S 620 Stress and Population Health: A biopsychosocial exploration (3 credits)
PBHL-S 625 Applied Public Health Campaigns (3 credits)
PBHL-S 630 Global Maternal and Child Health (3 credits)

Select six credit hours of electives approved by JD program. These six legal credit hours are not in addition to your required 82 legal credits.

Suggested health law elective courses for JD/MPH students can be viewed here. JD course selection should be discussed with your law school program advisor.

Electives can be taken any time during the course of study. Some elective courses are available during the summer. If an elective is offered through another school you must obtain authorization from the school or department that is offering the course in order to register.

Take all courses for 6 credits

PBHL-P 602 Internship in Public Health (2 credits)
PBHL- P 508 Certified in Public Health Exam (1 credit)
PBHL-P 705 Capstone Course (3 credits)

Practical Experience courses require authorization before registering. In order to receive registration authorization, you must receive approval, and should consult with your graduate advisor, Elijah Barry, for sequencing, eligibility, and next steps.

Please contact Elijah Barry, FSPH graduate advisor, for any questions regarding the MPH curriculum.

Juris Doctor curriculum

JD/MPH students pursuing the JD program should contact Julie Davis at jd1@iu.edu for advising.

Student profile

Marcella Gregory
MPH-JD student

marcella gregory "Four years ago, a law dual degree program was almost unheard of, especially an MPH-JD. The fact that the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health was among the few that offered this innovative program and it was located in a dynamic metropolitan area solidified my desire to become a student.

"Acquiring two professional degrees in four years was an amazing opportunity I would do again. This program offers a wide range of classes during the year and great options during the summer. The professors are knowledgeable on the subjects they teach and genuinely want to see you succeed. Through the courses I've taken, I know I'm meant to be a public health lawyer.

"I want to analyze the way in which law is used as a tool to promote public health initiatives. The MPH-JD program supports the connection between these two disciplines and creates public health advocates prepared to improve quality of life. This past summer I worked for the CDC in their public health law program - they hire only interns currently in a duel degree MPH-JD program."

JD-Master of Public Health

Study legalities, issues, and problems affecting personal and public health

Competencies

Careers

Admissions

Master of Public Health curriculum

Public Health Core Courses

Health Policy and Management Concentration Courses

Electives

Practical Experience

Juris Doctor curriculum

Student profile

Marcella GregoryMPH-JD student

Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health social media channels

Marcella Gregory
MPH-JD student