Health Law and Policy Certificate

Broaden your knowledge of public health law

The Health Law and Policy Certificate at ASU’s College of Law serves as a pivotal component of the health law careers for our law students. The certificate is geared toward students seeking to practice health or public health law in diverse employment settings. It is designed to immerse students in multiple areas of health law and policy, broadening their knowledge and skills in preparation for legal practice or policy development. As the health law market in Arizona and the U.S. continues to expand, new positions for candidates who are well-trained and versed in multifarious health law and policy topics are emerging. Achievement of the Health Law and Policy Certificate is a prime indicator that students at ASU Law are knowledgeable, poised and ready for these positions.

ASU’s Health Law and Policy Certificate is administered through its Center for Public Health Law and Policy. For 2024, ASU Law was ranked #14 nationally for its health law specialization by U.S. World & News Report.

Certificate details

Minimum average grade requirement

Each student must earn a cumulative average grade of at least 3.0 for the courses taken to satisfy the substantive coursework requirement of the Health Law Certificate. A student must also earn a minimum grade of "B-" for any law-related course taken outside of ASU Law if permitted.

(Note: Any course in which the professor opts to grade all enrolled students on a Pass/Fail basis is an exception to the Minimum Average Grade Requirement. One such course may count toward satisfying a core or specialization or elective requirement as though it were a graded course.)

Active participation in Health Law

Each student must participate in at least one (1) of the following activities (others may be considered by the Certificate Director):

• Research assistant for at least one (1) semester or summer session with the Center for Public Health Law and Policy (or other centers or programs at ASU Law provided research is focused predominantly on health-related topics);
• Active participation as an officer for at least one (1) year in the student Health Law Society;
• Editorial board position for at least one (1) year with Jurimetrics; or
• Health/public health law-based externships (upon approval from Certificate Director or designee) for at least one (1) semester or summer session.

Writing requirement

Each student must write a substantial paper on a health/public health law topic of at least 15 single-spaced pages and under the guidance of a College of Law faculty member. Papers satisfying the College’s Graduation Writing or Flexible Writing requirements or law journal requirements can fulfill this certificate requirement, including as part of seminar courses among the Elective Courses. Co-authored papers with at least 15 single-spaced typewritten pages per co-author may also satisfy this requirement with the Certificate Director’s approval.

Faculty Advisors

The Certificate Director is primarily responsible for the administration of the Health Law and Policy Certificate. Staff within the Center for Public Health Law and Policy may also assist with its administration. Students who meet the requirements will be admitted into the Certificate program. Each student who registers as a candidate for the Health Law and Policy certificate will be assigned a Faculty Advisor (subject to reassignment as needed, given faculty and students' special interests) at the request of the student or current/successor advisor.