Nov 23, 2024

2016-2017 Graduate Catalog

2016-2017 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Joint Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Health Informatics, J.D./M.H.I.

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A student entering the joint JD/MHI program is required to complete 108 semester credit-hours, consisting of 78 hours in the College of Law and at least 30 hours in the College of Informatics. If the same student were to complete each degree separately, he or she would be required to take 90 credit-hours in law and at least 30 in Health Informatics. Thus, the joint degree program allows the student to take 12 fewer law credit-hours and 3 fewer MHI hours. This potentially would allow a student to complete the joint degree program as much as a year earlier.

Students currently enrolled in either the MHI or JD program may elect to pursue the joint degree if they comply with the admission requirements of each program.

Admission Requirements

Consideration for admission to the MHI program requires the following be submitted in addition to the application:

Official transcripts showing an earned baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Applicants who attended a university outside the United States must submit an evaluation of their transcript showing it is equivalent to a US four-year degree. As a criterion for full admission, applicants must have no less than a GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for either the last 60 semester hours of earned undergraduate credit or overall undergraduate credit hours. Applicants completing their undergraduate work at the time the application is submitted may be considered for provisional admission based in part on an official transcript of work completed thus far.
Official transcripts from all post-secondary work.
A standardized test score. Those acceptable are the Miller Analogies Test (MAT), Graduate Record Exam (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or admission to Chase College of Law with an approved LSAT score. Minimum acceptable scores vary by test and by version of test. Those holding a master’s, Ph.D., or professional doctoral degree (e.g., M.D., D.D.S.) from a U.S. regionally accredited school are not required to submit standardized test scores.
A carefully drafted statement about your personal interests, career goals, and relevant background experience.
For students with a degree from outside the US and who are not native English speakers, a TOEFL score (minimum score of 550 paper version, 213 computer-based version, 79 iBT version) or IELTS score (minimum 6.5).
A statement addressing your proficiencies in the use of computer technologies.

Visit http://chaselaw.nku.edu/futurestudents/jd/apply.html to learn how to apply to NKU Chase College of Law.

♦ Indicates prerequisite.

Informatics Curriculum

The Master of Science in Health Informatics (MHI) portion of this degree is designed to expose students to the interaction and interdependencies of technology with other key elements in healthcare, including HIPAA compliance, JCAHO accreditation, FDA regulations, clinical decision support, evidence-based practices, and other organizational issues. This program addresses both areas of clinical informatics and health information systems, with a focus on the integration and interoperability of technology within this total environment. The graduates of this program will be able to analyze and understand the effects of the latest technologies on health care organizations, learn various clinical informatics data handling methods, and solve particular problems in the domain.

The required foundation courses provide broad technical skills as well as the organizational competencies required for success by MHI graduates. All courses are associated with specific learning outcomes and outcome assessment methodologies. Students without an adequate academic or work background in health care will be required to take the language and culture of medicine class in addition to the 30 credits required for the joint degree.

Required Core Courses (21 credit hours)

NOTE: Students with an academic background in technology or clinical medicine may petition to waive a single foundation course and replace it with an elective; approval is based upon the assessment of the graduate program director.

Electives (9 credit hours)

Students are required to take a minimum of 9 hours in elective courses. The following courses are pre-approved; students can submit for approval any graduate level course offered at NKU to which health informatics can be applied.

Note: the MHI electives are updated often with courses from the College of Health Professions, College of Informatics, and College of Business. Students should check with graduate program director for year-to-year changes.

Law Curriculum

All students in the JD/MHI program must take all required law courses plus the following:

Corporations (3 credits) or Business Organizations (4 credits) *
Healthcare Law (3 credits)
Informatics and Cyberspace Law (3 credits)
Information Privacy Law (3 credits)
Intellectual Property Survey (3 credits)

Required Courses

For students matriculating at Chase on or after August 1, 2014, the required law courses (total of 44 credit hours) are the following:

Basic Legal Research (2 credits)
Basic Legal Writing (3 credits)
Civil Procedure (4 credits)
Constitutional Law I (3 credits)
Constitutional Law II (3 credits)
Contracts I (3 credits)
Contracts II (2 credits)
Criminal Law (3 credits)
Criminal Procedure (3 credits)
Evidence (4 credits)
Legal Analysis and Problem Solving (1 credit)
Professional Responsibility (3 credits)
Property I (2 credits)
Property II (3 credits)
Torts I (3 credits)
Torts II (2 credits)

*Students taking courses at both Chase and the College of Informatics prior to August 1, 2013 are required to take Tax-Basic Income Tax Concepts but are not required to take Information Privacy Law and Informatics and Cyberspace Law. Students doing so on or after August 1, 2013 are not required to take Tax-Basic Income Tax Concepts. Instead, they are required to take Information Privacy Law and Informatics and Cyberspace Law. The number of required credits is affected by these requirements.

Elective Courses

The additional hours needed to fulfill the total of 78 law school hours will be taken from other courses offered by the College of Law, all as elective hours in the joint degree program - whether those courses are offered as Core courses or as Elective courses in the regular law curriculum.

Note: The Core Curriculum will not apply to students in the joint degree program. Students receiving credit for MGT 670 may not also receive credit for Law 972: Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Advanced Writing Requirements

Students in the joint degree program shall fulfill both parts of the Advanced Writing Requirement.

Skills Training

Every student must pass at least three credit hours of professional skills training beyond the required curriculum. Courses that satisfy this requirement will be identified on the course notes that accompany registration instructions provided each semester.

Additional Information and Requirements

Students enrolled in the joint program should complete their first year of the JD program before beginning to take courses in the College of Informatics. Thereafter, students are encouraged to blend their classes each semester so that a student can gain a better understanding of the interplay between law and informatics.

Students enrolled in the joint degree program are advised to take these courses, as they are available: Patent Law and Patent Prosecution.

No more than 6 hours of credit from courses listed in the “18 Hour Rule” will apply to the 78 hours needed to fulfill the law hours in the joint degree program.

Minimum Law School Grade Point Average

Students in the joint degree program must maintain at least a 2.5 cumulative grade point average in all courses after their first 30 hours of law study and thereafter. Students who do not achieve this GPA will not be permitted to continue in the joint degree program but will be permitted to complete the law degree consistent with academic policies, standards, and requirements applicable to all other law students. The College of Informatics will determine whether that student may continue to pursue the MHI degree outside of the joint degree program.

Academic Standing

A student who fails to meet academic requirements of the College of Informatics but who satisfies the academic requirements of the College of Law will be permitted to continue to pursue his or her law degree. Such a student will be required to meet all of the academic requirements of students who are not in the joint degree program.

A student who fails to meet the academic requirements of the College of Law will not be permitted to continue pursuing the law portion of the joint degree. The College of Informatics will determine whether that student may continue to pursue the MHI degree.

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