Students at UIC Law have three additional JD concentrations to choose from as they prepare to pursue justice on behalf of their clients and communities. The new concentrations in Criminal Law & Procedure; Critical Race & Gender Studies; and Health Equity, Law & Policy aim to equip graduates with the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to tackle emerging challenges in our society and in the field of law.
Criminal Law & Procedure
Designed for degree candidates pursuing careers as criminal defense attorneys or prosecutors, UIC Law’s new JD Concentration in Criminal Law & Procedure, under the direction of Professor Hugh Mundy, immerses students in criminal law doctrine and cultivates skills related to practice before Illinois and federal courts. After taking core classes in adjudication, criminal investigations and trial advocacy, students pursuing the concentration develop further expertise by taking elective courses involving litigation technology, expert witnesses and jury selection or, in specialized areas ranging from white-collar crime to sex crimes.
Critical Race & Gender Studies
The JD Concentration in Critical Race & Gender Studies provides degree candidates with the concrete tools to address society’s increasingly frequent issues of privilege and power. Led by Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Development & Research Teri McMurtry-Chubb, students pursuing the concentration study the intersection of race, class and gender in the law and related disciplines throughout a course of study that includes courses on Human Rights, Race & Mass Incarceration; Critical Race & Feminism; and Social Justice Lawyering. Students interested in this area can also take advantage of student-faculty research projects, such as participating as research assistants for UIC Law’s Antiracism and Social Justice Fund, as well as independent study projects. There are also several elective courses available, including American Constitutional History; Comparative Human Rights; and Immigration Law & Procedure. Graduates who complete the concentration will be prepared for career opportunities that focus on improving diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the legal workplace, and as drafters of policy and legislation, lobbyists, politicians and staff attorneys at public service agencies and organizations.
Health Equity, Law & Policy
Students interested in health law and policy need to look no further than the JD Concentration in Health Equity, Law & Policy. Designed and directed by Amy Campbell, Professor and Associate Dean for Law & Health Sciences, the JD concentration prepares tomorrow’s advocates to creatively solve complex public health issues and effect equitable, sustainable health in their communities. In keeping with the vision, mission and values of the Health Equity, Law & Policy Program (HELPP), this concentration emphasizes the intersection of health equity, law and policy and other disciplines as a critical nexus for creating just health for society. Students who pursue this concentration will complete courses in Administrative Law; Quality & Safety; Structure & Financing; as well as an independent study project. Concentration candidates also have the option of taking elective courses, such as Assisted Reproductive Technology: Law & Practice; Bioethics & the Law; Cancer Rights & the Law; and Food, Drug & Cosmetics Law. This concentration will prepare students for careers in the public and private health sectors, as well as nonprofit and government agencies.
These three new JD concentrations join existing options in Intellectual Property Law; International Human Rights Law; Sustainability; and Trial Advocacy & Dispute Resolution. All of UIC Law’s JD concentrations are intended to serve the degree candidate as a guide for selecting electives in specific areas of study and to develop the courtroom-ready skills that employers seek in career applicants.
For more information about UIC Law’s Concentrations, visit https://bit.ly/JDConcentrations.