UB Law School Offers Two New Interdisciplinary Programs

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Law School this fall will offer two new collaborative programs that underscore the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of careers in the field of law.

The Law School is offering a collaborative program in law and public health in conjunction with the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences that is one of seven in the U.S. and the only one offered in New York State. Students can obtain both a J.D. and an MPH degree.

The Law School also is joining with the School of Informatics to offer a collaborative program in legal information management and analysis that is one of the first programs in the nation with an emphasis on academic law librarianship. Students in this program can obtain both a J.D. and an MLS degree.

The law and public program is based on the critical interrelationship between the delivery of health care services, the protection of public health and the legal system.

"The program is a four-year accelerated course of study rather than the five years traditionally required to obtain both degrees," said Sheila Shulman, adjunct associate professor who is program director.

The program aims to foster the critical interrelationship between the delivery of health-care services, the protection of public health and the legal system. It focuses on the role of public policy, laws, regulations and the courts as tools in formulating effective public health interventions.

Shulman said graduates of the program, who will receive both a juris doctor degree and a master's degree in public health, will be prepared to deal with the complexities of the current legal and health-care systems and to appreciate the expanding sources of conflict between the individual and the broader community-based health-care needs and interests.

"The integration of the science of epidemiology and public health law allows students to develop skills that will make them attractive candidates for positions in the public and private

health-care sectors, as well as in positions dealing with environmental and international health law matters, " she said.

Applicants must combine an area of interest in the law school with an MPH emphasis in either epidemiology and biostatistics, or health services administration.

Individuals interested in the law and public health program may call Shulman at 716-645-5984 or 716-645-3683.

A collaborative program of UB's Law School and the Department of Library and Information Studies in the UB School of Informatics, the program in legal information management and analysis offers students preparation for careers as law librarians and legal-information professionals.

The program, under the direction of James Milles, associate dean of the Law School and director of UB's Law Library, blends solid grounding in the techniques of librarianship and knowledge management with a critical understanding of legal concepts, information resources and services.

"While our focus in the short term is on academic law librarianship, I believe that the technical and intellectual training that is the basis of this program will in the long term prepare the best and brightest law students for careers as future leaders in the legal information profession," said Milles. "Those careers may take them into law librarianship, knowledge management, legal publishing, or even into new paths that we can't yet foresee."

In addition to their academic studies, students in the program will have the opportunity to participate in a law library internship that will offer participants the chance to develop practical skills in a variety of law library settings, including experience in electronic and audiovisual services, acquisitions and cataloging, and reference services.

Successful candidates will receive both the juris doctor degree and a master's degree in library and information studies in a four-year, accelerated course of study, rather than the four-and-a-half to five years traditionally required to obtain both degrees individually.

Prospective students must submit separate applications and be admitted to the UB Law School and the UB Department of Library and Information Studies. Application to both schools may be simultaneous, or students admitted to one program may opt for the additional degree during their first year of study and seek admission to the other program.

For more information, contact Milles at 716-645-2089 or jgmilles@buffalo.edu.