Degree Programs
MPH-JD
MPH-JD joint degree
The joint Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management and Juris Doctor (MPH-JD) program between the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health and Robert H. McKinney School of Law provides students with an interdisciplinary curriculum in law and health policy and management. Students are trained to address the legalities, issues, and problems affecting personal and public health.
Individuals must independently apply and be accepted into both the McKinney School of Law JD program and the School of Public Health MPH program. Once students have been accepted into this joint degree program, they should meet with their academic advisors to plan the course sequencing. The program includes 82 credit hours in law courses and 45 credit hours in MPH courses. Nine hours of courses count for both the JD and MPH.
*39 MPH credit hours are required to fulfill your MPH degree. To get to a total of 45 credit hours as stated above, six credits are taken from your completed electives in the JD program. These six legal elective credits are not in addition to your required 82 legal credits. See below for more on electives.
Competencies
Graduates will be able to:
- Discuss the policy process for improving the health status of populations.
- Apply principles of strategic planning and organizational development to public health agencies.
- Demonstrate communication and leadership skills required for building community and organizational capacity.
- Apply the principles of budgeting, management, and performance evaluation in organizational and community initiatives.
- Understand the overarching policy arguments that influence the provision of health care, its financing, and the regulation of health care actors.
- Build upon an existing base of legal knowledge (e.g., contract law, torts, and administrative law) & skills (writing and analysis) to succeed in a health law career.
- Comprehend the complex relationships among health care stakeholders and the legal, ethical, and political constraints that apply to those relationships.
- Understand the complex interaction of federal and state (statutory, regulatory, and case-based) laws that defines health law.
- Appreciate that health law is a rapidly changing area of law and requires considerable effort to remain current and advise shifting sets of stakeholders.
Master of Public Health curriculum
Public Health core courses
Take all six courses for 18 credits
- PBHL-P 501 Social and Behavioral Science in Public Health (3 credit hours)
- PBHL-P 504 U.S. Healthcare System and Health Policy (3 credit hours)
- PBHL-P 510 Intro to Public Health (3 credit hours)
- PBHL-P 517 Fundamentals of Epidemiology (3 credit hours)
- PBHL-P 519 Environmental Science in Public Health (3 credit hours)
- PBHL-P 551 Biostatistics for Public Health (3 credit hours)
Health Policy and Management concentration courses
Take all four courses for 12 credits
- PBHL-H 611 Policy Design, Implementation & Management (3 credits)
- PBHL-H 616 Leading Public Health Service Organizations (3 credits)
- PBHL-H 619 Financial Management for Public Health Organizations (3 credits)
- PBHL-H 628 Healthcare Information Systems (3 credits)
Electives
Select three credits from MPH list
- PBHL-A 641 Global Health & Sustainable Development (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 643 Water & Sanitation (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 644 Sustainable Production & Consumption (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 646 Restoration of the Land & Sea (3 credits)
- PBHL-B 552 Fundamentals of Data Management (3 credits)
- PBHL-B 581 Introduction to Computing (3 credits)
- PBHL-B 582 Introduction to Clinical Trials (3 credits)
- PBHL-E 606 Grant Writing (3 credits)
- PBHL-E 609 Infectious Disease Epidemiology (3 credits)
- PBHL-E 618 Global Cancer Epidemiology (3 credits)
- PBHL-E 645 Information Exchange for Population Health (3 credits)
- PBHL-E 670 Overview of Precision Health (3 credits)
- PBHL-H 531 Pop. Health and Value-based Care (3 credits)
- PBHL-H 613 Emergency Preparedness (3 credits)
- PBHL-H 670 Policy Analysis (3 credits)
- PBHL-S 620 Stress and Population Health: A biopsychosocial exploration (3 credits)
- PBHL-S 625 Applied Public Health Campaigns (3 credits)
- PBHL-S 630 Global Maternal and Child Health (3 credits)
Select six credit hours of electives approved by JD program. These six legal credit hours are not in addition to your required 82 legal credits.
Suggested health law elective courses for JD/MPH students can be viewed here. JD course selection should be discussed with your law school program advisor.
Electives can be taken any time during course of study. Some elective courses are available during the summer. If elective is offered through another school you must obtain authorization from school or department that is offering course in order to register.
Practical experience courses
Take all courses for six credits
- PBHL-H 602 Internship in Health Policy and Management (2 credits)
- PBHL-H 705 Health Policy and Management Final Concentration Project (3 credits)
- PBHL-P 508 Certified in Public Health Exam (1 credit)
Practical experience courses require authorization before registering. In order to receive registration authorization, you must receive approval, and should consult with your graduate advisor, Elijah Barry, for sequencing, eligibility, and next steps.
Doctor of Jurisprudence curriculum
Students pursuing the JD program should contact Julie Davis at jd1@iu.edu for advising.
Admissions
Law students who are interested in pursuing the joint MPH-JD degree must apply and be admitted to the Fairbanks School of Public Health through the dual degree application supplement.Students in the MPH-JD program may be considered for scholarships through the Health Law Center to offset some of the expenses of coursework. You are encouraged to apply to the MPH program during your first year of law school.
Admission deadlines
Students may begin their MPH program in the fall or spring semester.
- Application opens: January 1
- Priority application deadline: February 1
- Application closes: March 31
Steps to apply
Current law students who are interested in the MPH degree will complete the dual degree application supplement and submit the following items:
- Current résumé or CV
- One-page essay addressing the following two questions:
- Where did your interest in public health originate?
- How do you plan to integrate your professional school degree and public health degree after graduation?
Students who are offered admission will be required to submit an IU Graduate CAS application. The IU Graduate CAS application fee will be waived; a link from FSPH admissions will be supplied as a next step.
Updated: April 2025
