Health Law Programs FAQs
Below find some frequently asked questions for the Health Law Programs at Georgetown Law.
If you don’t see an answer, don’t hesitate to contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at lawllmadmis@georgetown.edu(This link opens in a new tab) or Sarah Bosha(This link opens in a new tab), Senior Director of the Health Law Programs, at Sarah.Bosha@georgetown.edu(This link opens in a new tab). You can also visit the Office of Graduate Admission’s LL.M. and Certificates FAQs(This link opens in a new tab) page for more commonly asked admissions questions.
The LL.M. degree programs offered within the Health Law Programs are the LL.M. in National and Global Health Law and joint LL.M. in Global Health Law and Governance. The Certificates of Specialization programs offered within the Health Law Programs are the Certificate in Food & Drug Law and Certificate in U.S. Health Law.
The LL.M. and certificate programs are open to qualified candidates with a J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school or foreign equivalent degree in law. The LL.M. is a degree program over one academic year (or part-time equivalent), whereas a Certificate of Specialization is an optional certificate program for students to complete alongside their LL.M. degree studies.
Georgetown Law does not offer Certificates of Specialization on a standalone basis.
No, the LL.M. degrees and Certificates of Specialization offered by the Health Law Programs are in-person only at Georgetown Law in Washington, D.C.
No, at this time the LL.M. degrees and Certificates of Specialization offered by the Health Law Programs are only open to qualified candidates with a J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school or foreign equivalent degree in law.
In the LL.M. in National and Global Health Law, students spend the full academic year (or part-time equivalent) completing coursework, internships, and extracurricular activities at Georgetown Law.
In the joint LL.M. in Global Health Law and Governance, students spend the fall semester at Georgetown Law and the spring semester at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva Graduate Institute) in Geneva, Switzerland. After completion of the spring semester, students complete either an internship or dissertation. Students in this program receive a joint degree from both institutions. The LL.M. in Global Health Law and Governance is not available on a part-time basis and will not qualify foreign-trained attorneys to sit for the New York bar exam.
Students pursuing the LL.M. in National and Global Health Law on a full-time basis complete the program within two semesters, starting the last week of August and graduating in mid-May.
Students pursuing the program on a part-time basis must complete the program within three years of matriculation. In certain circumstances, part-time students may receive permission to extend their period of study. Foreign-trained students typically enroll on a full-time basis unless they are in the United States on a visa status that permits part-time study.
The LL.M. in Global Health Law and Governance is available on a full-time basis only. Students begin in late August and finish their program in September of the following year (upon completion of either an internship or dissertation).
Students in the LL.M. in National and Global Health Law program may complete one Certificate of Specialization as part of their LL.M. degree studies.
Students enrolled in the joint LL.M. in Global Health Law and Governance program are not eligible to pursue a Certificate of Specialization.
The Health Law Programs currently does not offer the Certificate in Food and Drug Law or Certificate in U.S. Health Law on a standalone basis.
Students can only participate in a Certificate of Specialization program while studying for a Georgetown Law LL.M. degree.
The time to complete the Certificate in Food and Drug Law or Certificate in U.S. Health Law depends on how long it takes for a student to complete a Georgetown Law LL.M. degree program (ie: two semesters for full-time, up to three academic years for part-time).
However, students must complete all certificate requirements by the last semester they anticipate graduating from their LL.M degree program.
Some foreign-trained students choose to structure their LL.M. in National and Global Health Law coursework to also meet qualifying requirements to sit for the New York bar exam. This requires careful planning and course selection, and will limit the number of health law courses that students may take. For a sample roadmap to complete both degree and bar exam qualification requirements, visit the New York Bar Exam for Foreign-Trained Students section of the Health Law Programs National and Global Health Law Curriculum Essay.
Foreign-trained students in the joint LL.M. in Global Health Law and Governance program will not be able to fulfill course requirements for New York Bar eligibility. All eligible LL.M. coursework to qualify for the New York Bar must be taken in the United States.