Admission

A candidate seeking admission to the LL.M. program must have a J.D. degree from an American Bar Association accredited school of law. Since HeLPP admits highly qualified candidates, the program is very competitive.  The Admissions Committee considers practice experience, graduate degrees in the health field, quality of law school academic record, demonstrated interest in health, drug or biotechnology law, and evidenced ability to excel in academic pursuits.  LL.M. applicants may apply for admission for the fall or spring semesters.  

The application deadline for the fall semester has been extended until July 1, 2008.  Classes begin in late August, 2008.  An application fee of $60 is required with the application.  The application deadline for the spring semester is October 1, 2008.    

On-line Application

Course of Study

LL.M. candidates must complete 24 credit hours of course work at the Law School. Five credits will be earned upon completion of the required Master’s Thesis. The LL.M. candidate may take up to six credits of non-law courses earned as part of an interdisciplinary program with other institutions. LL.M. students are expected to complete all course work, including the thesis, within six years.

The LL.M. candidate may pursue one of two subspecialties: traditional health law or drug/biotechnology law. Some students also integrate intellectual property courses as part of their health law studies. The health faculty and administration work closely with each student in selecting electives appropriate to the student’s subspecialty.

LL.M. requirements:

• Health Law
• Any three of the following:

• Health Care Fraud and Abuse
• Health Care Access and Payment
• Transactional Health Law
• Food and Drug Law
• Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Marketing and Compliance

• Completion of a Master’s Thesis.
• Electives (8-10 Credits)

Full-time students can complete the program in one year, while part-time students normally complete the degree in five to six semesters (including summers). A student seeking to extend this period must obtain permission from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. 

LL.M. Thesis Policy

The LL.M. student shall write his or her thesis independent of any course or seminar, with a full-time faculty member acting as a supervisor, over two consecutive semesters. Students must register for the appropriate thesis credits during the assigned registration period for each of the two semesters in which they are completing their thesis. The tuition charged for thesis credits will be the regular tuition rate for two credits in semester one, and three credits in semester two. 

In semester one, students will select a topic and be assigned a thesis supervisor. Before the conclusion of semester one, students shall submit a paper abstract, detailed outline, and bibliography. Students must meet with their supervisor for approval of the abstract, outline and bibliography, and to develop a schedule for completion of the thesis. Students shall receive a P designation and an award of two credits for the successful completion of this work. Students who do not complete any of the listed requirements to the satisfaction of their supervisor by the end of semester one will receive an incomplete. 

The student shall complete the thesis in semester two. Upon satisfactory completion, students shall be awarded three credits and a letter grade (which will be retroactively applied to the two credits received in semester one). The thesis must be completed at the end of semester two or the student will receive an incomplete. The final thesis should be of law review publishable quality, and at least 50 pages in length. 

All students must present their thesis to the health law faculty during either semester one (work in progress presentation) or semester two (a final paper presentation).  LL.M. students are expected to attend the oral presentations of their colleagues. 

Note to all LL.M. students and supervisors - Students who are writing on a topic related to that of a seminar in which they are enrolled must meet any paper requirements for the seminar independently, in addition to completing the thesis (i.e. the thesis requirements will not allow for "double-dipping"). Students are encouraged to write on a topic that will be covered in the curriculum of a course, but they should be aware that doing so will not relieve them from course’s independent final exam, take-home exam, or paper requirement.

In order to graduate, LL.M. students must achieve an overall GPA of 3.0. Students will be dismissed if their grades render it impossible to attain this GPA at the completion of the required program of study.

LL.M. students must remain in good academic standing throughout the program. If a student's GPA falls below 2.50 at any time, the student must meet with and receive permission from the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in order to continue the program. The Associate Dean has complete discretion as to whether such a student may continue and  may impose conditions, restrictions or limitations.

Exam Procedures

Students should indicate on their bluebooks that they are  LL.M. candidates. This will allow professors to exclude graduate students from the mandatory grading curve. No other reference to identity should be indicated on the bluebook. Every effort to maintain a student's anonymity will be made; however, anonymity may sometimes be compromised due to the small number of graduate students enrolled in a given class. 

To Request Information / How to Apply

Prospective students may request information for the LLM program by clicking on the following link or calling 973-642-8871: LLM Inquiry

To apply online, please complete the following form: LLM Application

If you have questions or have trouble completing the application, please contact Helen A. Cummings, Administrator of Graduate Programs at 973-642-8380.