Health Law Certificate Program: What Students and Alumni are Saying

As a non-traditional student I chose the University of Pittsburgh School of Law largely because of the Health Law Certificate Program. By providing classes and practical experiences tailored to the health care industry, the Health Law Certificate Program enables me to build upon my years of experience as a Registered Nurse and focus my legal education to the area of law I wish to practice.

The Health Law Certificate Program was the main reason that I decided to attend Pitt Law. The breadth of health law courses offered and the opportunity to take elective classes in Pitt's other highly regarded graduate schools has allowed me to tailor a program to fit my particular interests in the health law and policy field. However, the strength of HLCP lies not only in the wide range of courses that are available to take and the cutting edge issues we are exposed to in the classroom. HLCP also provides its students the ability to develop a niche in the law school where they can be exposed to other students, faculty, alumni, and mentors who share an interest in the health law field and who enhance HLCP students' learning by sharing their experiences and expertise in the field.

Having been out 'in the field,' I believe the best aspects of the HLCP are the variety of courses and the opportunity to learn from adjunct professors who are expert practitioners in their fields. Having one of the greatest medical centers in the country right there also enabled me to gain experience unobtainable elsewhere. Overall, the HLCP prepared me well to practice. I find that because of the HLCP, I know the fundamental law underlying nearly every issue and I am able to attack my clients' assignments without having to learn the basic principles.