JD/MS in Health Services Research, Policy & Administration: Curriculum

Law School Curriculum

Law School JD degree requirements for students entering Fall 2009 include satisfactory completion of 88 semester credits, and six semesters of full-time enrollment (defined as 12 semester credits or more). First-year students are required to take a core curriculum totaling 30 credits and comprised of the following courses: Beyond that, all courses are elective, except that a student must take a course in Professional Responsibility (3 credits) and Constitutional Law II (3 credits) before graduating. In addition, each student must satisfy a second-year writing requirement (typically by participating in a moot court or serving as a staff member on one of the Law School's law reviews), as well as a third-year writing requirement (typically satisfied by taking a course meeting this requirement, completing an independent research paper meeting this requirement, which may be an MS thesis, Plan B paper, PhD dissertation, or capstone project, or serving as an editor on one of the Law School's law reviews).

To see requirements for students entering in years other than 2009, visit www.law.umn.edu/current/degreerequirements.html.

In addition, all students in the Joint Degree Program in Law, Health & the Life Sciences take a professional seminar. This 1-credit Proseminar is taught cooperatively by faculty involved in the Joint Degree Program, offered on a pass-fail basis, and required each Fall semester that a student is enrolled in the Joint Degree Program.

MS in Health Services Research, Policy & Administration (HSRP&A)

The MS degree in Health Services Research, Policy & Administration (HSRP&A) Research and Policy concentration prepares students for research careers in the public and private sectors. A significant percentage of the MS students in this program matriculate into the PhD program in HSRP&A. MS graduates fill research positions in the health and human services departments of state government, Managed care organizations and hospitals, and private firms such as pharmaceutical manufacturers and health insurance companies.

The MS concentration that is eligible for the joint degree is the Research and Policy concentration. The Research and Policy concentration is a Plan B option requiring the writing of a Plan B paper. It requires 45-47 total credits. A final oral exam based on the Plan B paper is required. This concentration has opportunities to obtain a paid internship in the health services research field, working in a research capacity for an organization outside the University.

The Plan B MS degree is compatible with the Joint Degree Program and the law degree. See the curriculum for the HSRP&A Plan B at www.hpm.umn.edu.

Plan B students in Research and Policy take 21 specified core course credits during fall and spring of the first year. In the second year, there are 1 specified course credits. Eleven credits of electives are also required which can be fulfilled with law courses, for a total of 45-47 credits.

To achieve time savings for the JD/MS joint degree, HSRP&A MS students can fulfill their elective requirements with courses from the Law School. All MS students must pass a final examination that is based on their Plan B paper. Most paid internships extend over two years.

Combining Curricula

Students in the Joint Degree Program combine their Law and science/health curricula by cross-counting up to 12 Law credits in their science or health program and up to 12 non-law credits in their Law School program. For more details, click on "Cross-Counting Courses" above.

JD/MS or JD/PhD students are eligible for a minor in bioethics, bioinformatics, or human genetics.