• Course Descriptions
• FAQs
• Online Experience
• Summer Institute

M.S. Health Law Program

This two-year, 30-credit master's degree program offers health care practitioners, administrators, members of the insurance and managed care industries, public policy advocates, and others involved in health care the opportunity to study the issues, processes and concepts that determine the framework and function of American health care law. As the law and health care delivery become increasingly interconnected, it is essential for those in the industry to keep pace with the significant changes in health law and their impact on the health care system.

Each student will complete 6 10-week term, attend three brief on-campus Institutes for the Study of Health Law, and complete an Individual Research Project in seminar format. Students take two courses per term, except for the final term, during which only one course is required. Thereafter, students have approximately six months to complete an in-depth research project.

To accommodate the need and desire of most health care professionals to remain in their present location and employment and, at the same time, draw upon a nationwide faculty, the M.S. Health Law program is uniquely offered via NSU Law's state-of-the-art, Internet-based distance learning technology. The majority of work, with the exception of attendance three brief on-campus Institutes, will be accomplished conveniently from the student's own home, on the student's own timing, without requiring compromise of career and other obligations.

The program begins with a brief, mandatory, on-campus, Institute for the Study of Health Law at NSU's campus. Students at this, their first Institute, become oriented with classmates, meet the faculty, tour NSU's legal facilities and undergo intensive computer training. They also begin coursework in at least two of their courses (Legal Research, Methods & Reasoning and Legal Perspectives on Health Care Ethics). Sessions include discussions of the health care system's regulatory scheme and of the judicial system of the United States. The Institute is mandatory, and students must attend for the entire time. During this time students will also complete an orientation regarding the policies and procedures of the M.S. Health Law program.

Students return after a year of coursework to attend a second, shorter, Institute. At this Institute, returning students will meet incoming students, engage in some hands-on work relating to their courses, and discuss their Individual Research Projects. This Institute is also mandatory, and students must attend for the entire time.

The third institute is mandatory as well. At this time students will present their Individual research projects to faculty and other students.

Online, students are guided through interactive class lessons over the Internet, working closely with faculty members and exchanging ideas with fellow classmates online.

Required interactivity is all asynchronous, meaning that students do not need to access their online course at any particular time during the day. The program is, however, characterized by a great deal of required interactivity. Students will often find themselves online nearly everyday. Such interactivity promotes a high-quality learning experience and differentiates this program from a correspondence or "self-study" program.

Grades are mailed out to students via nova email accounts from the registrar's office at the end of each session. Grades may also be viewed by visiting http://webstar.nova.edu/ and entering your personal identification number, PIN. The M.S. Health Law program uses the following grading scale: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F

Summer Institute

Students are required to begin their M.S. Health Law experience with, and to return annually to, a short residential institute for the Study of Health Law. Such visits to NSU's campus in Fort Lauderdale provide students with opportunities to meet their classmates face-to-face and to interact personally with faculty, Industry Advisory Board members and health law practitioners.

At the first on-campus Institute, students will be exposed to the American legal system's structure and history, the basics of the court system, and legal research and reasoning techniques. They will preview the federalist method of regulating health care in the U.S., thus laying the foundation for the course on Administrative Law, and will examine the relatively recent shift in America from fee-for-service medicine to managed care. They will also have the opportunity to speak with and hear from leading practitioners in various areas of health law.

At the second on-campus Institute, students will undergo further instruction in legal research, attend courses and presentations on specialized topics building on their year of coursework, and confer with faculty advisors regarding their Individual Research Projects. They also must present their Individual Research Project ideas to a group of their peers, incoming students, various faculty members, and practitioners in the field. Such presentations will offer opportunities for further development of their ideas and refinement of their project plans.

At the final on-campus Institute, students orally present the results of their Individual Research Projects, attend additional courses and presentations, and participate in a graduation ceremony.

The Program’s Expected Learning Outcomes for Students

The Program has seven expected learning outcomes for students in the Program.  Each outcome has multiple enumerated sub-skills.  A successful recipient of the M.S. Health Law degree is expected to:

1. Demonstrate a solid grounding in the basics of health law.
   • Use legal terminology appropriately.
   • Apply knowledge of the structure of the legal system to understand the validity of various types of legal pronouncements, rulings and regulations.
   • Identify various types of legal issues when encountering them in the workplace.
   • Identify the steps of the litigation process.
   • Identify the basic attributes of the court system and of common-law development.



2. Demonstrate an understanding of the legal aspects of the structure, history and values underlying health care in the U.S.
   • Trace the rise of the regulatory state in health care.
   • Trace the development of patients' rights in health care.
   • Trace the development of managed care and the effect of the law on the provision of care under a managed care system.



3. Recognize when he or she is about to encounter a legal issue in the health care industry workplace.
   • Apply basic legal principles to facts seen in the workplace.
   • Evaluate the likelihood of legal implications resulting from those facts.



4. Research the broad outlines of the legal question at hand.
   • Locate federal and state statutes in legal texts and online.
   • Locate federal and state regulations in legal texts and online.
   • Locate case law in legal texts and online.
   • Locate legal secondary sources in hard copy and online



5. Recognize when a legal issue requires the involvement of a lawyer.
   • Analyze the way a lawyer will approach a legal issue.
   • Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of legal arguments regarding the issue at hand.



6. Discuss matters intelligently with lawyers he or she encounters them or calls them in to deal with legal issues
   • Apply knowledge of the relevant statutes, regulations and case law to situations arising in the workplace.
   • Display familiarity with and understanding of a legal vocabulary by communicating with lawyers by properly using their vocabulary.
   • Understand and follow the lawyers' reasoning process as presented orally or through memoranda.
   • Understand and follow the lawyers' use of various legal practice skills.



7. Communicate conclusions clearly and logically.
   • Write a logically constructed, clearly worded, properly supported paper proposing a practical solution to a legal issue in the workplace.
   • Deliver to an audience with diverse backgrounds, including lawyers, a professional oral report clearly communicating factual predicate, analysis and conclusions regarding a legal issue.