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 Professor Term Required
Business Organizations 3 credits Branson
or Chew
Fall Required Fall 2d year
Current Issues in Health Law I 1 credit Meisel Fall & Spring Required Fall & Spring 2d year
Current Issues in Health Law II 1 credit Meisel Fall & Spring Required Fall & Spring 3d year
Health Law & Policy 3 credits Meisel Fall Required Fall 2d year

Required Electives (register for at least two)

Course Credits Professor Term
Business Planning, Entrepreneurship & Technology 2 credits Schreiber Fall
Health Care Antitrust 1 credit   (Not offered 12-13)
Health Care Business Transactions & Finance 3 credits Schreiber Spring
Heath Care Fraud & Abuse 1 credit Ramsey Fall

Clinical Experience (register for at least one)

Course Credits Professor Term
Civil Practice Clinic (Elder Law) 7 credits Mannix Fall & Spring
Civil Practice Clinic (Health) 7 credits Smetanka Fall & Spring
Health Law Practicum – Alternative Dispute Resolution 4 credits Smetanka/Turner/Kidwell

Spring

Health Law Externship 4 credits With Prior Approval of Program Director 2d or 3d year or summer

Electives (register for at least three)

Course Credits Professor Term
Administrative Law 3 credits Luneburg Spring
Bioethics & Law 3 credits Meisel (Not offered 12-13)
Biotechnology Law 2 credits Black Fall
Business Planning, Entrepreneurship & Technology§ 2 credits Schreiber Fall
Civil Practice Clinic (Elder Law)* 7 credits Mannix Fall & Spring
Civil Practice Clinic (Health)* 7 credits Smetanka Fall & Spring
Clinical Bioethics and Law 3 credits Meisel Summer
Commercializing New Technologies 3 credits Kasznica Fall
Elder Law 3 credits Frolik Fall
Elder Law Seminar 3 credits Frolik (Not offered 12-13)
Emergency Preparedness Law 2 credits Bjerke (Not offered 12-13)
Employee Benefits 3 credits Frolik (Not offered 12-13)
Health Care Antitrust**§ 1 credit   (Not offered 12-13)
Health Care Business Transactions & Finance§ 3 credits Schreiber Spring
Health Care Fraud & Abuse**§ 1 credit Ramsey Fall
Health Law Moot Court* 1 credit Smetanka (Not offered 12-13)
Health Law Practicum: Alternative Dispute Resolution* 4 credits Smetanka Spring
Health Reform in the U.S.: Past, Present and Future 2 credits James Spring
Information Privacy Law Seminar 3 credits Pike Spring
Journal of Envir and Public Health Law*** 1 credit   (Not offered 12-13)
Law of Disability Discrimination 2 credits Hornack Spring
Mental Health Law 2 credits Rozel/Zottola Spring
Nonprofit Tax Exempt Organizations 2 credits Lieber Spring
Physician Disclosure to Patients Seminar 3 credits Meisel Spring
Public Health Law 3 credits Sweeney/ Bjerke
Spring

Reproduction, Sexuality and the Law

3 credits Frietsche/ Pfeifer Fall
Topics in Food and Drug Law 1 credit McSherry/ Schneider
(Not offered 12-13)
US Reproductive Rights Seminar 3 credits 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 Catalogue 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 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.

4/2/12

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