FAQs

How do I apply to SLU for the Certificate in Health Law?

There is no formal Certificate applications process. Any student admitted into the J.D. program is eligible to enroll in the Certificate program.
Prospective students should contact the law school admissions office for information on general law school admissions.

How do I become admitted to the Certificate program?

Once a student begins law school at Saint Louis University School of Law, they are eligible to enroll in the Certificate program. In order to enroll, a student must fill out the certificate registration form, which is available on the health law website or from Mary Ann Jauer. Students should fill out the application by the beginning of the student's second to last semester of law school.

What are the Certificate requirements?

In order to earn the Certificate, students must:

1. Register
   Students must register by completing the Certificate Registration form (available on the web site) and turning it in to Mary Ann Jauer in Room 158.
   

2. Health Law Course Work
   Certificate students must take and earn a grade of C or better in a minimum of ten credit hours in designated health law courses and seminars. A list of classes that satisfy this requirement are provided for each registration period and posted online.
   

3. Health Law Practice Externship
   Certificate students must gain supervised experience in a health law practice setting. Typically students will be expected to satisfy this requirement by enrolling in the School's externship or in-house clinic program. Alternatively, with prior approval of the Assistant Director, students may satisfy this requirement with placement in a practice setting (ordinarily with a government agency, a non-profit provider, or advocacy organization) that includes at least 115 hours of health law legal work such as research or drafting.
   

4. Health Law Paper
   Students must complete a substantial paper of high quality on a health law issue. Typically this requirement will be satisfied by a seminar paper from a designated health law seminar or by a minimum two-hour directed research with a Center faculty member.
   

5. Colloquium Series
   The student must participate in the Center's Health Law Colloquium Series. Students are required to attend a minimum of five sessions and submit to Ms. Jauer a critical summary of that colloquium session within thirty days after each session attended. Students may begin to fulfill the colloquium requirement during their first year. Only the Distinguished Speaker events and the Annual Health Law Symposium will satisfy the colloquia requirement. A student may submit up to two critical summaries from any Annual Health Law Symposium.
   
   

I have completed my practical experience externship. Now what do I do?

If you satisfied your practical experience requirement through the law
school clinic or externship, you do not need additional documentation. If you satisfied your requirement through a pre-approved position outside the law school, you will need a letter from your supervisor stating (1) the length of time you worked with the office, (2) how much you worked, such as 10 hours per week or full time in the summer, (3) and that while you were working with the office, you completed a substantial number of health law related projects. It is appropriate for the letter to describe some of the types of projects you completed.

I am interested in your program. Can you send me some materials?

All our brochures are available online through the health law website. If
you have reviewed our brochures and still have questions about our programs, please feel free to contact Kelly Dineen at dineenkk@slu.edu or Mary Ann Jauer at jauerma@slu.edu.

What types of jobs do your students take after graduation?

Recent graduates have obtained jobs at the nation's leading law firms
specializing in health law; large health care systems and hospitals; federal and state agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration or the Veterans' Administration; national trade associations or biotechnology or pharmaceutical firms. Students' post-graduation opportunities are geographically and substantively diverse.

Is the Certificate program open to evening students?

Yes! Evening students are strongly encouraged to enroll in the Certificate
program. While they must meet all the same requirements as full time day
students, sometimes small changes can be made in the program to make it available to evening students. Examples of small changes include (a)
allowing an evening student to work part time over a slightly longer period of time to satisfy the practical experience requirement or (b) allowing evening students who are unable to attend colloquia sessions during the day to listen to podcasts of the sessions.

Evening students are strongly encouraged to contact Kelly Dineen to discuss the Certificate Requirements.

I missed a speaker. Can I make it up?

Any student who wishes to listen to a podcast of a speaker in welcome to do so; however, only students enrolled in the part time evening program or those with documented class conflicts will be allowed to use the video to satisfy the colloquia requirement.