What are the Best Schools for Medical Law Education?
Learn about the types of medical or health law programs offered, including dual law and medical degree programs. Find rankings for the best schools with these programs.
How to Choose a Top School for Medical Law
Schools that offer medical law programs typically have both law and medical schools, utilizing services and offering courses from both. You might want to choose a school with government agency affiliations or a strong service emphasis, as evidenced by health-related clinics and externship opportunities. Choosing a school with one or more research centers or an interdisciplinary law and medicine institute also could prove beneficial.
<h2 id="section---WhatAreThreeOfTheBestSchoolsForMedicalLawEducation">What Are Three of the Best Schools for Medical Law Education?</h2><h3 id="section---DukeUniversityInDurhamNC">Duke University in Durham, NC</h3><p>Duke's law school ranked 10th in <i>U.S. News & World Report</i>'s evaluation of law schools nationwide for 2019. Duke Law School and the School of Medicine offer a 6-year J.D./M.D. option. Applicants must be admitted to both schools. After 2 years of medical science and clinical disciplines, students complete 72 law credits, followed by medical elective credits in an area of interest. The medical program supports a rare full year of independent scholarship.
</p><p>Duke hosts the AIDS Legal Project and the Center for Genome Ethics, Law and Policy, and its Center for Judicial Studies promotes international scholarship on the judiciary. The law school's Health Law Society provides interdisciplinary educational and networking opportunities for law, public policy, medicine and healthcare management students. Duke has these programs:
</p><ul><li>Juris Doctor/Doctor of Medicine
</li><li>Juris Doctor/Master of Public Policy
</li><li>Certificate in Legal Nurse Consulting
</li></ul><h3 id="section---SaintLouisUniversityInSt.LouisMO">Saint Louis University in St. Louis, MO</h3><p>For 2019, Saint Louis University's healthcare law graduate program was ranked the best in the country by <i>U.S. News & World Report</i>, while the law school itself was ranked 90th in the nation. The School of Law is home to the Center for Health Law Studies, which offers students access to a number of health law resources, like health law literature and career information. Established in 1982, the Center for Health Law Studies offers students the opportunity to complete a semester in Washington, D.C., that focuses on health law. The School of Law offers programs both for individuals who are looking to become lawyers and for lawyers seeking knowledge in a specialized area. Health law programs include:
</p><ul><li>J.D. - Health Law Concentration
</li><li>J.D./Master of Health Administration
</li><li>J.D./Master of Public Health - Health Policy
</li><li>J.D./Ph.D. in Health Care Ethics
</li><li>Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Health Laws
</li></ul><h3 id="section---UniversityOfMarylandBaltimoreInBaltimoreMD">University of Maryland, Baltimore in Baltimore, MD</h3><p>Established in 1816, the University of Maryland's Francis King Carey School of Law was ranked 52nd in the country by <i>U.S. News & World Report</i> for 2019, and the health law graduate program was ranked 6th. Students at this school have access to various academic centers, including the Center for Health and Homeland Security. The school produces several journals, such as the Journal of Health Care and Law Policy and the Maryland Law Review. Programs through the Francis King Carey School of Law include:
</p><ul><li>J.D. - Health Law Concentration
</li><li>J.D./Master of Public Health
</li><li>J.D./Master of Public Policy - Health Policy Concentration
</li><li>J.D./Ph.D. in Public Policy - Health Policy Concentration
</li><li>J.D./Doctor of Pharmacy
</li><li>Certificate in Health Law
</li></ul><h2 id="section---8MoreSchoolsForMedicalLaw">8 More Schools for Medical Law</h2><p></p><table border="1"><tr><th>College/University </th><th>Institution Type</th><th>Location</th><th>Estimated Graduate In-State Tuition*</th></tr>
<tr><td>Georgia State University </td><td>4-year, Public </td><td>Atlanta, GA</td><td>$9,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>Boston University </td><td>4-year, Private </td><td>Boston, MA</td><td>$53,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>Loyola University Chicago </td><td>4-year, Private </td><td>Chicago, IL</td><td>$19,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>University of Houston </td><td>4-year, Public </td><td>Houston, TX</td><td>$9,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>Case Western Reserve University </td><td>4-year, Private </td><td>Cleveland, OH</td><td>$45,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>Harvard University </td><td>4-year, Private </td><td>Cambridge, MA</td><td>$47,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>Indiana University - Indianapolis</td><td>4-year, Public </td><td>Indianapolis, IN</td><td>$9,500</td></tr>
<tr><td>Yale University </td><td>4-year, Private </td><td>New Haven, CT</td><td>$42,000</td></tr>
</table><p><i>*Source: NCES, U.S. Department of Education</i></p>