University of Pittsburgh

Administration, Finance, and Governance

The Health Law Certificate Program is intended to give students interested in health law a basic grounding in the field, complemented by clinical experience and more in-depth study of advanced topics and closely related areas of law.  Students are expected and encouraged to obtain the same broad background in law expected of all graduates for the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.  Students must elect to enter the Program by the beginning of their second year of law school.  Only in rare situations (such as when a student is in the Flex Program or a joint degree program) will exceptions be made.

Core Courses (required)

Course Credits Instructor Semester Offered Comments
Business Organizations 3 Chew Fall Required Fall 2d year
Current Issues in Health Law I 1 Meisel Fall & Spring Required Fall & Spring 2d year
Current Issues in Health Law II 1 Meisel Fall & Spring Required Fall & Spring 3d year
Health Law & Policy 3 Meisel Fall Required Fall 2d year

Required Electives (register for at least two)

Course Credits Instructor Semester Offered
Business Planning, Entrepreneurship & Technology 2 Schreiber Fall
Health Care Antitrust 2 McClenahan/Scheuermann Fall
Health Care Business Transactions & Finance 3 Schreiber Spring
Heath Care Fraud & Abuse 1 Ramsey Fall

Clinical Experience (register for at least one)

Course Credits Instructor Semester Offered
Civil Practice Clinic (Elder Law) 7 Mannix Fall & Spring
Civil Practice Clinic (Health) 7   Not offered 13-14
Health Law Practicum – Alternative Dispute Resolution 4 Turner/Kidwell

Spring

Health Law Externship 4 With Prior Approval of Program Director 2d or 3d year or summer
Medicare and Medicaid Practicum 4 McKendree Fall and Spring

Electives (register for at least three)

Course Credits Instructor Semester Offered
Administrative Law 3 TBD Spring
Bioethics & Law 3 Crossley Fall
Biotechnology Law 2 Black Fall
Business Planning, Entrepreneurship & Technology§ 2 Schreiber Fall
Civil Practice Clinic (Elder Law)* 7 Mannix Fall & Spring
Civil Practice Clinic (Health)* 7   Not offered 13-14
Clinical Bioethics and Law 3 Meisel Summer
Commercializing New Technologies 3 Kasznica Fall
Elder Law 3 Frolik Spring
Elder Law Seminar 3 Frolik Not offered 13-14
Emergency Preparedness Law 2 Bjerke Not offered 13-14 GSPH
Employee Benefits 3 Frolik Fall
Health Care Antitrust**§ 2 McClenahan/Scheuermann Fall
Health Care Business Transactions & Finance§ 3 Schreiber Spring
Health Care Fraud & Abuse**§ 1 Ramsey Fall
Health Law Moot Court* 1   Not offered 13-14
Health Law Practicum: Alternative Dispute Resolution* 4 Turner/Kidwell Spring
Health Reform in the U.S.: Past, Present and Future 2 James Spring GSPH
Information Privacy Law Seminar 3 Pike Not offered 13-14
Journal of Envir and Public Health Law*** 1   Not offered 13-14
Law of Disability Discrimination 2 Hornack Spring
Medicine in the Courtroom 2 Panella Fall
Medicare and Medicaid Practicum* 4 McKendree Fall & Spring
Mental Health Law 2 Rozel/Zottola Spring
Nonprofit Tax Exempt Organizations 2 Lieber Spring
Public Health Law 3 Sweeney/ Bjerke Spring
Reproductive Rights Seminar 3 Frietsche/Brake Not offered 13-14
Reproduction, Sexuality and the Law 2 Frietsche/ Pfeifer Not offered 13-14
Topics in Food and Drug Law 1 McSherry/ Schneider Spring
US Reproductive Rights Seminar 3 Garrow Fall
Other Graduate Level Courses Students may take up to 6 credits of graduate level courses outside the School of Law for credit toward the Health Law Certificate Program with permission of the program director.  Courses that are especially relevant are those offered by the Department of Health Services Administration in the Graduate School of Public Health, the Center for Bioethics and Health Law, and the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie-Mellon University.  See http://my.pitt.edu, Self-Service, Browse Catalog for a listing of all Pitt courses.

*  If used to satisfy Clinical requirement, may not be used to satisfy Elective requirement.

** Counts as one-half course for purposes of satisfying required number of electives.

***Counts as one course if two or more semester’s credit; count as one-half course if one semester’s credit.

§ If used to satisfy the required elective requirement, may not be used to satisfy this requirement.

Writing Requirement

All students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law must satisfy the Faculty Supervised Writing Requirement (including students who are members of a law journal).  For a full explanation of this requirement, consult the Student Handbook.  Students in the Administration, Finance and Governance Track of the Health Law Certificate Program must satisfy it by writing on a health law topic pertaining to administration, finance or governance, using any course, clinic, seminar or practicum which may be used in satisfaction of this requirement.  (Courses taught by adjunct professors ordinarily may not be used.)  Prior approval of the topic by the HLCP Director is required prior to the paper’s being written, in addition to approval by the course instructor. This requirement may be satisfied by an independent study only with prior permission of the HLCP Director which will be given only in extraordinary cases.

Recordkeeping

The HLC Program Office keeps track of your fulfillment of requirements and periodically notifies you of your status.  However, you are ultimately responsible for knowing whether or not you have met all the program requirements in a timely fashion.

3/19/13

Revised 09/28/2011 | Copyright 2011 | Site by UMC