Skip to main content

Growing Master in Law program begins fifth year

September 10, 2018

ML Program Director Catharine Restrepo L'93 talks with a student
ML Program Director Catharine Restrepo L'93 talks with a student
Penn Law welcomes 56 students to its Master in Law (ML) degree program and more than 300 students who will take ML courses during the year

This fall Penn Law welcomes 56 students to its Master in Law (ML) degree program, along with more than 300 students from throughout the Penn community who will take courses within the ML curriculum throughout the academic year. The ML program offers Penn graduate students, researchers, faculty, and professionals the opportunity to gain a solid understanding of how the U.S. legal system functions, and to combine that understanding with their own interest and expertise in fields like health care and technology.

This year’s class includes students from diverse personal and professional backgrounds, among them physicians, dental students, journalists, engineers, psychologists, a museum curator, and graduate students studying medicine, cyber security, and business.

“Our students come to the law school with humility and deep respect for the law which they seek to learn in order to better understand their work, and indeed their world,” said Catharine Restrepo, Director of the ML Program. “Not only do they embody the determination and interdisciplinary spirit we value so much at Penn Law, they are a collegial and pleasant group with whom I consider it a privilege to work.”

The ML curriculum combines foundational courses in U.S. law, business law, and regulatory law with the array of upper-level course offerings from Penn Law’s JD program. Established in 2014, the ML program has continued to grow: Due to its popularity, many foundational ML courses are now offered in both the fall and spring semesters, and summer curricular offerings have also expanded.

Among the new additions to the curriculum this academic year are Contracts and Negotiations, the Law of Medical Liability, and a healthcare-focused Compliance course. Through the design of the curriculum, ML students benefit from the knowledge of Penn Law’s faculty and practitioners who are experts in their fields. In particular, this upcoming spring Penn Law Dean Ted Ruger will teach the ML Introduction to Constitutional Law course.  

The ML degree program has graduated 32 alumni to date and expects 20 students to graduate this academic year.