Inside Stetson Law's M.J. Program

Aging Boomers. Rapidly advancing medical technology. Increased demand for regulatory, corporate and privacy compliance. The healthcare profession is soaring and is expected to continue to be one of the most in-demand fields for a long time.

It is crazy to think that someone would spend three or four years in law school and even think about getting another degree, or is it? Lawyers go back for the LL.M., the M.B.A. and other graduate degrees and certificates all of the time. Knowledge and skills quickly grow stagnant in today’s dynamic environment and few people stay in one job or field more than a couple of years at best, especially new professionals.

In the best classes, the professor isn’t the only one teaching. Students learn from each other. Connecting with classmates and discussing the material is integral for building knowledge. You might be worried that you’ll miss interacting with students if you take an online class, but even though our M.J. programs in Aging, Law and Policy and Healthcare Compliance are conducted virtually, our classes are set up so that students connect every week.

If you have a passion for working with the elderly and a background in healthcare, you may be considering becoming a Nursing Home Administrator or Executive. This position is a collection of responsibilities, which all comes down to providing a better quality of life for your residents by understanding not only the business aspects, but also the unique needs of the elderly in your care. If that sounds like one of your future goals, you may want to consider furthering your education in the area of aging and law.

My name is Juliette and I am a French student studying at Stetson Law from Toulouse Capitole 1 University. I have been studying (and living) at Stetson College of Law for 6 weeks now and I am really having the time of my life.

For the purpose of this essay, I have listed the reasons why it's so special to study law at Stetson University College of Law.

In 2017, a study was published by SAI Global, a risk management company, about benchmarks within the healthcare compliance industry. Healthcare compliance executives were asked about the biggest barrier to success. Their top responses were leadership, time, resources and staffing. Now more than ever the healthcare industry needs experts who can guide their companies to monitor and enforce laws and regulations within their organizations to protect the company, their employees and their patients.

For some, knowing the law is vital to their career. Elder care, for instance, can quickly become very complicated with regulations, laws, and standards. Healthcare and business transactions are two more fields that are bound by regulation. Knowing the law can help professionals distinguish when further legal assistance is necessary, provide the fluency necessary to understand the law and ultimately make a final decision with the needs in mind of both the patient/client and business.

With over 10,000 baby boomers retiring every single day, the need for skilled elder care professionals is only going to increase. In 2015 the population of Americans age 65 and older stood at 47.8 million, by 2060 that number doubles to 98.2, according to projections by the US Census Bureau.

While a Master of Laws (LL.M.) and Master of Jurisprudence (M.J.) are both degrees obtained at law school, who is qualified to earn them — and reasons to pursue them — are quite different. While an LL.M. is for those who already have a law degree (J.D. or LL.B.), M.J. degrees can be pursued by lawyers and non-lawyers, and the M.J. degree cannot qualify one to practice law. Instead, an M.J. grows core competencies and introduces strong legal understanding. For those who have not attended law school, but still need to know the language of the law as it applies to their specialized industry, an M.J. degree is appropriate.

Preparing to start an advanced degree can be an exciting time. However, for some it can be an anxious one. There are a few things you can do to ease the anxiety that will make it much easier for you to focus on your studies. With that in mind, below you’ll find ideas you can use this summer, to prepare for Stetson's Master of Jurisprudence programs.