Academic Programs

Program Requirements

For the M.P.H. degree, the School of Public Health (SPH) requires 48 SPH credit hours consisting of six SPH core courses, four concentration requirements, and four approved courses accepted from the School of Law. A Practicum also is required.

Students may apply to the J.D. degree up to 12 credits of graduate-level work taken at SPH.
NOTE: Due to ABA accreditation requirements, the number of credits for an SPH course that may be applied to the J.D. degree may vary from what the School of Public Health grants for that course. Please check with the Law Registrar's Office to determine how many LAW credits apply to an SPH course.

SPH Core Courses:

  1. Biostatistics
  2. Epidemiology
  3. Social and Behavioral Sciences
  4. Health Policy and Management
  5. Environmental Health
  6. Either (1) Public Health Law (SPH course) OR (2) Health Law (LAW course worth 4 SPH credits)) plus Legal Strategies to Reduce Health Risks (SPH course).

SPH Concentrations:

  1. Epidemiology
  2. Biostatistics
  3. Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights
  4. Environmental Health
  5. Social and Behavioral Sciences
  6. Health Policy and Management
  7. International Health
  8. Maternal and Child Health

The faculty advisor at SPH must pre-approve LAW courses that students seek to apply to the M.P.H. degree. Each fall the Law School posts the Law courses that are approved for M.P.H. credit.


SPH Practicum Requirement:

For the M.P.H. degree, students must complete a Practicum. Students might be able to satisfy this by taking Law J.D. 924 Legal Externship/Legal Ethics IF the course work is related to public health and if it is approved, in advance, both by the Law School and the School of Public Health. Students may also find a practicum outside the schools, in consultation with the SPH Practicum Office.

For further program information, contact Professor Wendy Mariner, Department of Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights TW3, Boston University School of Public Health, 617/638-4626.