The University of Minnesota's Joint Degree Program in Law, Health & the Life Sciences is unique in the nation. Some universities have pieces of what we are building, such as a program in health law or environmental law. But no other university has attempted an interdisciplinary program this broad, bringing together students, faculty, policymakers, and community members to tackle problems at the intersection of law, science, health, and the environment.

These problems are the most challenging of the 21st century: How should we protect genetic privacy and prevent genetic discrimination now that we have sequenced the human genome? How can we increase access to health care in an era of managed care? How do we evaluate genetically modified organisms in our food supply in the terms of food safety, environmental impacts, and long-term evolutionary effects?

These are only some of the huge issues now posed by health care and the life sciences. These issues demand a new kind of thinker, one who can reason creatively across disciplines. The Joint Degree Program aims to train precisely this new breed. We recruit highly gifted students to train them in two disciplines, bridging law and the sciences. Our students emerge with two degrees, a JD in law plus an MS, MPH, PhD, or MD in one of 13 graduate fields: Community Health Education; Conservation Biology; Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; Environmental Health; Epidemiology; Health Services Research, Policy & Administration; Maternal & Child Health; Medicine; Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology & Genetics (MCDB&G); Natural Resources Science and Management; Pharmacology; Public Health Administration; or Science, Technology & Environmental Policy.

The Program was approved by the University's Board of Regents in June of 1999. We spent 1999-2000 getting on our feet and ironing out the wrinkles with the help of a graduate student in MCBD&G who immediately plunged into the Program by starting her first year of Law School. Her success in then landing a summer associate position at one of the top law firms in town after only one year of Law School further confirmed what we already knew from our research in building the Program--demand for our cross-trained students is tremendous.

In 2000-01, we had five Joint Degree Program students. In Fall 2007, we have 36 students and 12 alumni. We are growing at a deliberate pace to ensure the quality of our students and their experience here. We sponsor three lecture series each year, as well as an annual conference. The Joint Degree Program cosponsors these events with the Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences.

For those who thrive on the truly big questions at the cutting-edge of science, we invite you to join us.