Jd-mph

[Chimichunga]

Greetings all,

I'm wondering if there are any joint JD-MPH folk on this board. If so, would you be so kind as to entertain a few questions? Thanks in advance ~

1. What do you want to do with your joint degree?
2. In which program are you involved? Do you find the MPH coursework to interfere with the amount of time you can dedicate to your JD?
3. Any advice that you wish you'd been aware of at the start of your program?

Cheers,
Chimichunga

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[cheelee]

I'm a fellow JD/MPHer who's currently applying for Fall 2007. To answer your questions:

1. What do you want to do with your joint degree?
I want to go into health policy and/or public health law (a bit different from health law). The ASPH website has a good career guide that features what you can do with a JD/MPH.

2. In which program are you involved? Do you find the MPH coursework to interfere with the amount of time you can dedicate to your JD?
Programs I applied to with joint programs - UCLA, UNC, Tulane, UTHSC/Univ. Houston and Michigan. Boston, Oklahoma, ASU, OSU and Emory are other schools with the program but I didn't apply. Your first two years are typically spent exclusively in the law school or public health school, and your last two years are spent in a combination of both schools.

3. Any advice that you wish you'd been aware of at the start of your program?
You're applying to both the public health school and law school in separate applications, meaning you'll have to take both the LSAT and GRE to satisfy application requirements (some schools may allow you to substitue the LSAT for the GRE though) and double the application fees . Acceptance into the law school doesn't guaratee acceptance the public health school, and vice versa.
Also, check out the LawSchool Discussion website, and you can find some good discussions about the degrees (http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/prelaw/index.php/topic,59066.0.html).

I wish I could be more helpful and offer "insider advice," but hopefully this will give you a good start.

 

[Chimichunga]

Thanks so much for the advice. I too am giving a lot of consideration to UCLA, so maybe I'll see you in Westwood next year.

Would you mind linking me to the ASPH page on joint degrees? Cheers ~

 

[southernexport]

As a current JD who'll be starting MPH next year, let me suggest getting the JD first at an advanced pace, then getting the MPH. The presence of an advanced degree will let you get into a much better MPH program down the line. JD programs are much more difficult to get into at the top, so this way you aren't stuck at a MPH below where you'd like to be.
I'll have finished my JD in two years, and am in at Hopkins and Yale so far for MPH. Hopkins doesn't have a JD (unless you do the combo with Georgetown) and Yale is the top law school in the country, so I couldn't have done either in combo form. Employers will think you're only as good as your last school, so you get the best name last.

That's my two cents at least. Good luck.

 

[cheelee]

Would you mind linking me to the ASPH page on joint degrees? Cheers ~

Check out - http://www.asph.org/
It looks as though the link for the Pfizer career guide is broken. PM me, and I'll send the PDF to you by e-mail.

 

[jdmph]

i'm also a future jd-mph. i'll be heading off to public health school first and was trying to guage for those of you already in law school, is there a certain mph program that would help me get into law school. for example, if i did my mph at columbia, would that help in getting admitted into columbia law? how about umich?

 

[southernexport]

Law school admittance is all about LSAT. The fact that you'll have an MPH and the school you've done it from will aid you as a tiebreaker, but law school admission is about as numbers oriented as you get. So much of their rankings comes from that, so if you're doing an MPH first, my best advice is go with the place that gives the best aid, b/c it is much harder to get for law school and you don't want to run up obscene debt (3 years Michigan or Columbia will be close to 150k before all is said and done). Devote 6 weeks to studying for the LSAT even at the expense of your schoolwork if lawschool is definitely the plan. You're going to want to be in the 170 neighborhood for Michigan or Columbia.

That said, for anyone else, I suggest lawschool first. MPH programs seem to be much more about the total package, so your JD will open doors the MPH doesn't when applying to law school.

 

[jdmph]

thanks southernexport. many people have told me that law school is all a number's game...legally blonde confirmed it.

that being said, is it solely undergrad gpa? what about master's level courses. ostensibly, i would be getting letters of rec from master's professors.

 

[Chimichunga]

jdmph -

you'll find that undergrad gpa numbers are generally afforded considerably more weight in the law school admissions process. however, each school is different, and some have even suggested to me (like northwestern) that they give considerable weight to graduate grades. I'd recommend calling up the specific school and inquiring into their policy.

as to what you should pursue first, if you're already planning on starting an MPH come fall, stick with that. otherwise consider going for a joint program.

southernexport is absolutely right in her/his emphasis on lsat scores, but I disagree with the six-weeks to prep recommendation. I'd suggest 8-12 weeks, depending on how high your initial diagnostic score is. if you're starting in the mid-high 160s, you won't need as much time (unless you have a weak ugpa, in which case you'll likely need a +170 lsat).

cheers ~

 

[KPZ]

Hi,

I recognize this is an old thread, but I thought maybe someone would see this and be able to weigh in. I am interested in learning more about what someone can do with a JD/MPH and a lot of the schools list job titles as "attorney" or something equally generic and not helpful.

Where would a JD/MPH typically work? What are some job titles? What is the general perception of job satisfaction measures such as work/life balance, etc.? Ballpark salary range? Other thoughts on the matter?

Thank you!

 

[Solara]

Hi,

I recognize this is an old thread, but I thought maybe someone would see this and be able to weigh in. I am interested in learning more about what someone can do with a JD/MPH and a lot of the schools list job titles as "attorney" or something equally generic and not helpful.

Where would a JD/MPH typically work? What are some job titles? What is the general perception of job satisfaction measures such as work/life balance, etc.? Ballpark salary range? Other thoughts on the matter?

Thank you!

It's quite flexible, really. My personal opinion is that the MPH won't really add a whole lot unless you go to a top school where you make good connections. If you're set on going into law, do a JD and develop a skill set on the side. That skill set could include journalism, research (more important), etc.

There are hundreds of JDs working in global health, though I really only know of a few off the top of my head. Here's one I know who's director of the NIH's Global Health Research Branch:
http://obssr.od.nih.gov/mHealth_Winter_2011/anand_bio.html

Here's another one who works at the Council of Foreign Relations and does a lot of writing/journalism/consulting related to global health policy: http://www.cfr.org/experts/global-health-economics-international-law-trade/thomas-j-bollyky/b11198

Both of them went to Stanford Law School. With law school, I would say there's a greater importance on getting into a prestigious law school since the market is currently saturated with JDs. With med school, it's a different deal, in my opinion. It's not necessary to go to a top 5 law school as a global health lawyer, but it certainly helps considering the market is flooded with lawyers.

I've also seen JDs working at the WHO as legal officers (having to deal with international health law, etc). Salary varies. I would say anywhere from $60,000-$100,000. It really depends on where you work. In government, you'll make a lot more compared to academia, for instance. Those two people I listed, I don't know them personally, but my guess is that they pursued their interest in global health on the side (reading on the side, doing research on the side). The NIH lady, my guess is that an MD or PhD could have also taken that same position, but she had the skill set necessary for that position (the research experience). The JD is important, but you need to develop the global health skill set on the side. Get involved with research, do internships, make connections, etc, and make sure you actually need the JD for whatever you're looking into.

Lastly, see if international health law and global health policy interests you (does the type of stuff in this article interest you? http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1314094 )

 

[KPZ]

It's quite flexible, really. My personal opinion is that the MPH won't really add a whole lot unless you go to a top school where you make good connections. If you're set on going into law, do a JD and develop a skill set on the side. That skill set could include journalism, research (more important), etc.

There are hundreds of JDs working in global health, though I really only know of a few off the top of my head. Here's one I know who's director of the NIH's Global Health Research Branch:
http://obssr.od.nih.gov/mHealth_Winter_2011/anand_bio.html

Here's another one who works at the Council of Foreign Relations and does a lot of writing/journalism/consulting related to global health policy: http://www.cfr.org/experts/global-health-economics-international-law-trade/thomas-j-bollyky/b11198

Both of them went to Stanford Law School. With law school, I would say there's a greater importance on getting into a prestigious law school since the market is currently saturated with JDs. With med school, it's a different deal, in my opinion. It's not necessary to go to a top 5 law school as a global health lawyer, but it certainly helps considering the market is flooded with lawyers.

I've also seen JDs working at the WHO as legal officers (having to deal with international health law, etc). Salary varies. I would say anywhere from $60,000-$100,000. It really depends on where you work. In government, you'll make a lot more compared to academia, for instance. Those two people I listed, I don't know them personally, but my guess is that they pursued their interest in global health on the side (reading on the side, doing research on the side). The NIH lady, my guess is that an MD or PhD could have also taken that same position, but she had the skill set necessary for that position (the research experience). The JD is important, but you need to develop the global health skill set on the side. Get involved with research, do internships, make connections, etc, and make sure you actually need the JD for whatever you're looking into.

Lastly, see if international health law and global health policy interests you (does the type of stuff in this article interest you? http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1314094 )

Thank you for the thoughtful response! This gives me a lot to go on. I am doing an MPH, but wondered what opportunities would open up with the joint degree. I'm mostly interested in mental health policy, from a law perspective. This is very helpful, so thanks again!