Combined Degrees

The JD/MPH joint degree is offered through Penn State College of Medicine in partnership with Penn State Dickinson Law in Carlisle, PA, and Penn State Law on the University Park campus. The JD/MPH degree offers students an accelerated course of study of law and public health, enabling them to successfully enter the complex and ever-changing fields of public health and health law.

Penn State students pursuing this degree will gain advanced knowledge of legal matters relating to public health; use legal tools to solve public health challenges; and train for a career in public health research, policy, and advocacy; health law; or environmental law.

This joint degree offers students an accelerated course of study and advanced training in law and public health, culminating in the terminal professional degrees in both fields.

Graduates are uniquely positioned to pursue career opportunities in federal, state, and local government, as well as in the non-profit, academic, and private sectors.

Integrated clinical and research training prepares students for careers as clinicians and translational biomedical researchers.

Students in our MD/PhD Program can pursue graduate studies in anthropology; bioinformatics and genomics; biomedical sciences; engineering sciences and mechanics; molecular, cellular and integrated biosciences; or neuroscience.

This five-year course of study is for students who have a special interest in public health, community health and behavior change, and who want to incorporate this into their medical practice.

You’ll take one year off between your third and fourth years of medical school to complete MPH credits, including a practicum and a capstone project.

Some medical school credits can count double toward an MPH degree.