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Law Center
Master of Laws
The Graduate Legal Studies Program at the UH Law Center has two distinct sections. Students with their first law degree from ABA-accredited schools in the United States pursue their LL.M. in one of five areas of concentration. Students who obtained their legal education outside of the United States earn their Master of Laws degree in the Foreign Scholars LL.M. Program.LL.M. in Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Law
Houston is the energy capital of the world. The development and use of energy and natural resources are affected by numerous environmental laws and policies. The UH Law Center has built an international reputation as a center for research and teaching in energy, natural resources, and environmental law.LL.M. in Health Law
Faculty at peer universities have consistently recognized the Health Law & Policy Institute at the UH Law Center as one of the top five health law programs in the United States. The Institute governs the LL.M. program in health law and stresses interdisciplinary studies in all areas of health law and policy.LL.M. in Intellectual Property & Information Law
The UH Law Center is the first public university in the United States to offer an LL.M. in Intellectual Property & Information Law. The IPIL Institute, which administers the LL.M. program, ranks among the top ten IPIL programs nationally and offers opportunities for students to study, research, and write on a range of topics including patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret subjects, and interdisciplinary legal protection for computer hardware and software.LL.M. in International Law
Masters students in the International Law program may choose to focus on a particular subject area or develop a broad understanding of public and private aspects of international law. The program provides students with an in-depth understanding of international and comparative law and their roles in our domestic legal process.LL.M. in Tax Law
The L.L.M. in Tax Law provides a focus for teaching, learning, research, and scholarship concerning taxation. The program provides students with enhanced practical skills to identify issues and solve both planning and controversy problems in the tax arena. Professional responsibility in tax practice is stressed, and students learn to appreciate the purposes of the tax system and how that system affects individual, commercial, and financial affairs.Foreign Scholars LL.M. Program
Attorneys holding law degrees earned in other countries are eligible for the Foreign Scholars LL.M. Program at the UH Law Center. The program employs an innovative curriculum that emphasizes practical and comprehensive examinations of comparative law. After completing their studies, many of these graduates have returned to their countries of origin to assume leadership positions in commercial enterprise and public service. In the past, students have represented many countries, including Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, India, Israel, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
Every state sets its own criteria governing who can sit for a bar examination. The Foreign Scholars LL.M. Program qualifies degree holders to sit for bar examinations in New York, for example, but Texas and other states impose additional requirements. Persons holding law degrees from foreign countries who intend to remain in the United States after earning their LL.M. are encouraged to direct questions to boards of bar examiners in the states where they plan to practice.
Concurrent Degree Programs.
Dual degree programs are available at the UH Law Center, allowing students to earn two degrees in less time than it would take to complete them sequentially. Students interested in pursuing this option must make separate application to the UH Law Center and to the desired program. Degrees that can be combined with a J.D. include:
Master of Business Administration at UH
The Law Center and the UH Bauer College of Business offer a dual J.D./M.B.A. program that prepares students for a wide range of careers where law and business overlap. This program holds special appeal for students directed toward investment banking, accounting, international trade, industrial relations, corporate law, the entertainment industry and management consulting. Full-time students complete the program in four years.
Contact:
MBA Program Office
University of Houston
C.T. Bauer College of Business
334 Melcher Hall, Room 330
Houston, TX 77204-6021
(713) 743-0700
houstonmba@uh.edu
www.bauer.uh.edu/mba
Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University
The Law Center and Sam Houston State University administer a concurrent J.D./Ph.D. program in Criminal Justice. Students can receive both their law degree and their doctorate in five to six years.
Contact:
Doris Powell-Pratt
Coordinator of Graduate Programs/College of Criminal Justice Center
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, Texas 77341-2296
(936) 294-1702
icc_dcp@shsu.edu
www.cjcenter.org
Master of Public Health at the University of Texas Health Science Center
A concurrent J.D./M.P.H. program is offered in conjunction with the University of Texas School of Public Health. Students can earn a J.D. and a masters of public health degree in three and one-half years - one year less than it would take to earn the degrees sequentially.
Contact:
UT School of Public Health
Office of Student Affairs
1200 Herman Pressler, RASE-20
Houston, Texas 77030
saffairs@uth.tmc.edu
http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/sservices/prospective.aspx
Master of Arts in History at UH
Disciplines of history and law are combined in a dual J.D./M.A. program administered through the UH Law Center and the UH Department of History. The curriculum combines legal theory and practical training with graduate work in legal and constitutional history. Students enrolled at the UH Law Center who are successfully pursuing legal studies are eligible to apply for admission to the program during their first or second year in law school.
Contact:
Daphyne Pitre, Graduate Advising Assistant
University of Houston
Department of History
524 Agnes Arnold Hall
Houston, Texas 77204-3003
(713) 743-3086
dpitre@uh.edu
http://vi.uh.edu/
Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
The Health Law and Policy Institute administers a concurrent J.D./Ph.D. program in conjunction with The Institute for Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Students can receive both a J.D. and a doctorate in medical humanities in five to six years.
Contact:
Donna Vickers, Graduate Program Coordinator
University of Texas Medical Branch
Institute for the Medical Humanities
301 University Blvd.
Galveston, Texas 77555-1311
(409) 772-2376
davicker@utmb.edu
www2.utmb.edu/imh
Doctor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine at Houston
The UH Law Center, in conjunction with the Baylor College of Medicine, allow students the opportunity to jointly obtain both a law (J.D.) degree and a medical doctorate (M.D.) degree. Students in this program attend their first, second, and fifth years of study at the Baylor College of Medicine, start their law school curriculum during their third and fourth years, and complete both degrees in their sixth year.
Contact:
Office of Admissions
Baylor College of Medicine
One Baylor Plaza
Houston, Texas 77030
Telephone: (713) 798-4842
Fax: (713) 798-5563
admissions@bcm.tmc.edu
http://www.bcm.edu
Master of Social Work at UH
Students wishing to combine a masters of social work and a law degree can earn a concurrent degree in the J.D./M.S.W. program.
Contact:
University of Houston
Graduate School of Social Work
237 Social Work Building
Houston, Texas 77204-4013
(713) 743-8130
mswinfo@sw.uh.edu
www.sw.uh.edu
Special Programs
Blakely Advocacy Institute
The Blakely Advocacy Institute (BAI) is a national leader in improving the efficacy of the legal profession and justice system and teaching the art of advocacy. Through research and study for the advancement of our nation's dispute resolution systems, through continuing legal education programs in advocacy and lawyering technique, through the education of law students to become accomplished members of the legal profession, and through the representation of Houston's underserved, the Blakely Advocacy Institute merges substantive law and lawyering skills to enhance the local, national and international legal communities.
For more information:
www.law.uh.edu/blakely/
Blakely@uh.edu
Center for Consumer Law
The Center for Consumer Law has been a mainstay of the UH Law Center for over 20 years, offering the community easy-to-understand explanations of consumer law issues through "The People's Law School," television programs, and newspaper columns. The Center educates lawyers, professors, and laypeople about consumer law; seeks legal, practical, and legislative solutions to common consumer problems; and encourages the development of consumer rights.
For more information:
www.peopleslawyer.net/
Criminal Justice Institute
The Criminal Justice Institute (CJI) brings together nationally-recognized scholars, top criminal law practitioners, judges and students through a variety of programs designed to enhance the study and practice of criminal law. The Institute includes such established programs as the Texas Innocence Network, the Criminal Prosecution and Criminal Defense Clinics, the Southwest Juvenile Defender Center, and the Criminal Trial Advocacy training program. The Institue also offers opportunities for educational and practice programs, a dual degree in law and criminology, and conferences and symposia. All of the activities of the Institute aim to enhance the practice of criminal law at the local, national, and international levels.
For more information:
www.law.uh.edu/cji/
sgthompson@Central.uh.edu
Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Curriculum
The Law Center has special strengths in the areas of energy, the environment and natural resources. About a dozen courses in these areas are offered each year to both J.D. and LL.M. students. The Law Center's reputation in these areas has been enhanced by research projects such as the Environmental Liability Law Program and the Russian Petroleum Legislation Project. These projects received major funding from outside sources which enabled Law Center professors to engage in research related to liability for complex environmental injuries and to draft model oil and gas legislation under a protocol with the Russian Federation. Students have opportunities to take specialized courses and write seminar papers with the professors who conduct this type of research.
For more information:
http://www.law.uh.edu/eenrcenter/
Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Curriculum
Health Law and Policy Institute
The Health Law and Policy Institute is one of the top health law programs in the country, with one of the broadest course curricula. It was established in 1978. The Institute is an interdisciplinary center designed to stimulate teaching, research, and service in all areas of health law policy. It is actively involved in helping shape health law at the local, state, national, and international levels.
For more information:
www.law.uh.edu/healthlaw
healthlaw@uh.edu
Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance
The Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance provides research, instruction, and service in the field of higher education law, and encourages interdisciplinary work in the applied studies of administration and law. The institute offers interdisciplinary course work in education law to doctoral and law students as well as to other qualified graduate and professional students. Ongoing institute interests include the study of litigation, legislation, governance, statewide coordination, finance, and equity issues in post-secondary education. International and comparative education are also a focus within the institute and foreign scholars are regular participants in research activities. It is the only such research institute in the U.S. For more information:
Internet: www.law.uh.edu/ihelg
E-mail: ihelg@uh.edu
Intellectual Property and Information Law
The University of Houston Law Center's program in Intellectual Property and Information Law affords students the opportunity for study, research, and writing on patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret subjects, as well as on interdisciplinary legal protection for computer hardware, software, and other aspects of protecting information in the global networked environment. The Law Center's offerings in these areas are the most extensive of any law school in the western United States, and are designed to provide students with a broad exposure to the central concepts of domestic and international protection of proprietary technology, information, and expression in the modern industrial world. For more information:
www.law.uh.edu/ipil
ipil@uh.edu
North American Consortium on Legal Education (NACLE)
The UH Law Center leads the North American Consortium on Legal Education (NACLE), a consortium of law schools in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. NACLE arranges semester-long exchanges for UH law students and law faculty, which facilitate greater understanding of neighboring legal systems and foster greater international and multicultural cooperation.
For more information:
www.nacle.org/