Concurrent J.D.-Ph.D. In Medical Humanities

UTMB's Institute for the Medical Humanities and the Health Law and Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center have agreed to offer selected students the opportunity to complete concurrently both the J.D. and the Ph.D degrees. The concurrent degree plan will provide an opportunity to obtain a J.D. and Ph.D. in approximately six years of study. It aims to serve a small number of highly qualified students with an academic interest in law (such as bioethics, legal history, medical jurisprudence, or health policy) and the humanities.

To be eligible for the concurrent degree track, a student must meet the admission requirements of both institutions. Certain courses taken in the medical humanities would count toward a law degree–up to twelve semester hours of approved lecture and seminar courses. Similarly, certain health law courses would count toward elective credit for the medical humanities degree–up to three courses or nine semester hours.

This unique collaboration between the Institute for the Medical Humanities and the Health Law and Policy Institute will allow serious and well-qualified scholars at an early stage in their careers to obtain both professional training and interdisciplinary academic education. In particular, the concurrent degree plan will enhance students' ability to obtain a rich understanding of how the values, theories, and ideas of the humanities are tied to law and health care.

We expect that this concurrent degree plan will accept two or three students during the next five years. In the future, we will seek additional fellowship support for outstanding candidates.

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