Georgetown University Law Center offers a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Global Health Law.  This innovative, full- or part-time intensive course of study under the faculty direction of Professor Lawrence O. Gostin is open to highly qualified candidates in public and private sectors with their J.D. (or a first degree in law from outside the United States) and strong interests or backgrounds in global and domestic health laws and policies. 

Globalization of Health Laws and Policies

Health laws and policies are increasingly transnational in the modern era. Trade, commerce, travel, environment, war, and terrorism transcend boundaries and profoundly impact individual and communal health.  Protecting the public’s health and improving individual health outcomes increasingly involves national and international innovation and collaboration through legal systems. A comprehensive approach to global health law involves multiple, interrelated fields including health, environmental law, trade, economics, intellectual property, human rights, ethics, and national security.

Global Health Law at Georgetown

Georgetown University Law Center offers graduate students a unique opportunity to study health law,  including both global and domestic health law issues.  As the nation’s largest school of law, Georgetown combines outstanding, preeminent faculty with a diverse and talented student body located in Washington, D.C. Recently, the Linda and Timothy O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law was established at the Georgetown University. The Institute focuses on the study of global and national health law and features centers on global health, disease prevention and health outcomes, health regulation and governance, and health care financing and organization.

The Global Health Law Program offers lawyers working nationally and internationally the opportunity to advance their knowledge and skills through focused studies in core legal and policy courses on global health, individual and public health, human rights, trade law, bioethics, international economics, environmental law, biotechnology, and science.  Additional coursework may focus on other areas of legal interest, including disabilities, insurance, intellectual property, patents, and refugees.  Significant opportunities for independent student research also exist (please see Graduate Independent Research below).

Academic Requirements and Curriculum

Graduate students who received their JDs from law schools in the United States must complete 24 academic credits, 16 of which must be in courses in Global Health Law from the list below. Graduate students trained outside the United States must complete 20 academic credits including U.S. Legal Discourse I [one credit] in the fall semester and 14 credits in courses in Global Health Law from the list below.

As part of their required Global Health Law credits, all students pursuing the Global Health Law LL.M. are required to take the 2-credit course Global Health Law (Professor Taylor) and the 2-credit course Global Health Law Intensive, Problem-Based Exploration (Dean Gostin) or the 4-credit course Global Health Law (Professor Taylor).  (Please note that the 2-credit Global Health Law and Global Health Law Intensive, Problem-Based Exploration classes will not be offered in 2009-2010).

In addition, the remaining credits must be completed from an array of other health courses that may include required courses (noted above) or the following courses*:

Access to Health Care Coverage
Aging and Law Seminar
AIDS Law and Ethics Seminar
Alternative and Complementary Medicine: Legal Issues Seminar
Bioethics and the Law Seminar
Biotechnology and Patent Law Seminar
Disability Discrimination Law
Drug Abuse and the Law: Policy, Politics and Public Health
Economic Analysis of Health Care Law
Epidemiology for Lawyers
Food and Drug Law
The Global Environment, Health and the Law
Health and Human Rights
Health Law and Policy
Human Rights at the Intersection of Trade and Corporate Responsibility
Human Rights Obligations of Non-state Actors: Implications for Global Health
Intellectual Property in World Trade
International Organizations and Global Health Lawmaking
International Protection of Intellectual Property through the WTO
International Trade and Health
International Trade, Investment, and Sustainable Development: Reconciling Open Markets with Environmental and Social Concerns
Law and Psychiatry Seminar
Law and Regulation of Drugs, Biologics and Devices
Medical Malpractice for Nonphysicians Seminar
Medical Law Seminar
O’Neill Colloquium: Scholarly Perspectives on Health Reform
Pharmaceutical Intellectual Property Law Seminar
Public Health Law and Ethics
Trade, IP Rights & Public Health
The Mind and the Law

* Please note that not all of these courses may be offered in each academic year.

Law Center Faculty

One of the significant strengths of the Global Health Law Program is the depth of full-time faculty who teach or conduct other academic activities in its extensive subject matter.  Associate Dean and Professor Lawrence O. Gostin, Director of the Global Health Law Program, is an internationally-known scholar in public health law, ethics, and human rights.  Additional prominent faculty include: Dean Alex Aleinikoff, Judith A. Areen, Gregg Bloche, Richard Diamond, Vicki Girard, Steven Goldberg,  Lisa Heinzerling, John Jackson, Patricia King, Associate Dean Wendy Perdue, Susan Ross, Allyn Taylor, Jay Thomas, Carlos Vásquez, Timothy Westmoreland, Wendy Williams, and Kathryn Zeiler.  In addition, many courses are offered and taught by a talented array of Adjunct Faculty with extensive expertise in their subject matter.     

Certificates in Related Areas of Study

Students applying for the Global Health Law LL.M. may also apply to receive a certificate in International Human Rights Law, National Security Law or World Trade Organization Law in combination with the LL.M. degree.  Applicants with relevant interests and backgrounds for any particular certificate program should include a discussion of them in their personal statement for Admissions.

Graduate Independent Research (GIR)

Applicants to the program also are eligible to take one (1) Graduate Independent Research (GIR) during their academic program.  A GIR carries two (2) academic credits, typically involves an identified faculty advisor, and requires a twenty-five (25) page paper of publishable quality.  The Law Center will not approve more than one project as part of a single LL.M degree.

Beyond Coursework

The Global Health Law Program seeks to develop future leaders in international and national health law and policy. Beyond formal studies, motivated candidates from governmental or private sector backgrounds may enhance their leadership skills by working closely with faculty and others on international and regional projects at the intersection of law, policy, and health through the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law , housed in the Hotung International Law Building, which offers a modern facility and outstanding international law library.  Additional opportunities for faculty/student collaboration or non-Georgetown Law legal and policy positions with international, national, or regional entities are also possible.        

Given Georgetown's location in the nation's capital featuring direct access to national and international organizations and government agencies, there are numerous externship and supervised research placement opportunities for LL.M. students.  Students completing externships or supervised research opportunities receive no compensation, but earn two academic credits on a pass/fail basis.

Admissions

Admissions criteria for this LL.M. are contained in the admissions materials that can be accessed on the Graduate Programs Admissions Information webpage.

For more information,please contact the Graduate Admissions Office at (202) 662-9020.