Program Benefits
- 100% Online
- Earn Your Certificate in as Little as 1 Year
- Designed for Working Professionals
- No GRE/GMAT Required
“Law certificate holders earn an average annual salary of $78,619, almost $30,000 more than the national average.”
Labor Insight from Burning Glass
Online Graduate Law Certificate Programs
THE NEXT START DATE IS:
February 24, 2025
Northeastern University School of Law offers four online graduate law certificate programs designed for non-lawyer professionals who work regularly on legal-related issues. Through a hands-on curriculum, students can earn an advanced, specialized credential with fewer credits than a full master’s program. Our certificates include:
Business Law
The business law certificate gives students an in-depth understanding of corporate finance, global business regulations, intellectual property law and employee rights. Students can gain insight into the prevalent issues in the world of commerce and delve into topics including trademark and trade secret law, workplace health and safety, and valuation of assets.
Health Law
The health law certificate equips students with the skills to interpret legal regulations surrounding healthcare services. Students can learn more about the American healthcare system and the ethical and legal issues that healthcare professionals face including patient privacy and HIPPA. Topics include the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, compliance operations and healthcare financing.
Human Resources Law
The human resources law certificate can benefit anyone who works in or closely with HR, as well as business owners who want to understand a major legal aspect of an organization. Students can gain further insight into antidiscrimination laws, the employee-employer relationship and wage and hour laws.
Intellectual Property Law
The IP law certificate focuses on trademark and copyright law. Students will learn how to identify and secure intellectual property rights, understand the relationship between intellectual property and media, and gain an understanding of issues like unfair competition, user-generated content and crowd-sourcing.
What’s the Difference?
What’s the Difference Between a Graduate Certificate and a Master’s Degree?
A graduate certificate is a shorter course of study in a specialized subject. In comparison, a master’s degree is more comprehensive, covering both a wider breadth and going into more depth than a graduate certificate. Earning a certificate is a great way to upskill your knowledge quickly. Certificates can also act as stepping stones on the way to earning your graduate degree, allowing you to try out post-baccalaureate coursework without committing to a master’s program.
Learning Outcomes
Business Law
- Gain an understanding of the legal framework that underpins financial transactions between companies, individuals and government entities.
- Learn how laws and regulations influence domestic and global business strategies.
- Learn how to research, identify and analyze key legal issues affecting large and small businesses.
Health Law
- Gain an understanding of the statutory and regulatory framework that governs the American healthcare system.
- Understand how regulatory changes can influence organizations within the American healthcare system and ways in which organizations can respond to such changes.
- Learn how to research, identify and analyze legal issues relevant to American healthcare organizations.
Human Resources Law
- Gain an understanding of the statutes, regulations and major court cases relating to anti-discrimination law.
- Learn how to research, identify and analyze employment law issues.
- Identify and distinguish rights and obligations of employees and employers in private, non-profit and government contexts.
Intellectual Property Law
- Gain an understanding of the statutes, regulations and major court cases relating to intellectual property law.
- Learn how to research, identify and analyze intellectual property issues, including the securing of IP rights, defending IP rights, and relationship between IP and technology.
Who Can Benefit?
Who Can Benefit From an Online Graduate Law Certificate?
Northeastern Law’s online graduate certificate programs give students the opportunity to expand their legal knowledge across a variety of key industries. Because of this, our students include:
- Recent college graduates who want to gain specialized skills with the power to open doors in their chosen industries
- Professionals who would like to explore what post-baccalaureate coursework entails without committing to a master’s degree program
- Experienced professionals who want to expand their skill set and stay up-to-date on the latest legal issues and regulation changes
- Individuals who wish to grow their professional network
View our admission page to learn how to start your educational journey.
Graduate Law Certificate Curricula
Our online graduate certificates in Business Law, Health Law, Human Resources Law and Intellectual Property Law each require the completion of 12 credit hours.
These programs can be completed part time in less than a year. During the first 7-week term, students may only take one course. If they earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher, they may take up to 2 courses in their subsequent terms.
Coursework and Format
Our online graduate certificate coursework includes:
- recorded lectures
- discussion boards
- weekly assignments
- interactive video and audio exercises
- simulations
- solo projects
Graduate Certificate in Business Law
- LS 6102 Introduction to Legal Studies II (3)
- LS 6170 Financial Transactions (3)
- LS 6160 Regulation and Global Business Strategies (3)
Complete one of the following
- LS 6230 Intellectual Property Survey (3)
- LS 6210 Special Topics in Employee Rights and Employer Obligations (3)
Graduate Certificate in Health Law
- LS 6102 Introduction to Legal Studies II (3)
- LS 6180 Health Law Survey (3)
- LS 6181 Healthcare Regulation and Compliance (3)
- LS 6182 Patient Records, Privacy and Security (3)
Graduate Certificate in Human Resources Law
- LS 6102 Introduction to Legal Studies II (3)
- LS 6211 Anti-Discrimination Law (3)
- LS 6210 Topics: Employee Rights and Employer Obligations (3)
- LS 6212 Wages and Benefits (3)
Graduate Certificate in Intellectual Property Law
- LS 6102 Introduction to Legal Studies II (3)
- LS 6230 Intellectual Property Survey (3)
- LS 6231 Identifying and Securing Intellectual Property Rights (3)
- LS 6232 Intellectual Property and Media (3)
Course Listings
Graduate Certificate in Business Law
This course builds on LS 6101 with its emphasis on common law by introducing students to statutes and regulations. The setting involves federal administrative agencies governing employment, consumer protection, environment, labor, cyberlaw, intellectual property and international trade. Exercises and discussions require finding, summarizing, applying and arguing about the applicability of statutes and regulations in concrete situations. The capstone of the course allows students to create a project to illustrate the lessons learned in the course.
In this course students will explore various aspects of corporate financial transactions, including vendor and supplier contracts, early stage financing, commercial loans, initial public offerings, mergers and the sale of assets. Issues involving valuation of assets will be covered, and students will learn basic securities laws related to the transactions covered.
This course provides an introduction to the international legal concepts, principles and institutions that define and shape international business relations. Globalization has increased the number of economic interactions across national borders. The globalization of production and consumption takes place in the background of an international monetary system and an international legal infrastructure facilitating and regulating transnational trade, international finance and global intellectual property and investment protection. The course specifically examines case studies of global governance based on codes of practice, certification and other regulatory initiatives.
Complete one of the following
In our modern day “information economy,” the law of intellectual property (IP) has taken on enormous importance to both creators and users of creative works. Such IP Law is the way we provide legal protection to encourage invention and creativity by guaranteeing an opportunity for financial return to the originator of novel work. This course introduces students to the classic principles of copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret law and explores the ways in which those principles are shifting and adapting in response to new technology.
Examines the legal relationship between employer and employee. Addresses issues and topics such as discrimination, affirmative action, the Americans with Disabilities Act, sexual harassment, health and safety, AIDS in the workplace, compliance issues and legal issues related to downsizing and terminations. Today’s HR manager works in a highly complex environment with constantly changing laws and legislation that govern employee rights and employer obligations. Course content may vary from term to term.
Graduate Certificate in Health Law
This course builds on LS 6101 with its emphasis on common law by introducing students to statutes and regulations. The setting involves federal administrative agencies governing employment, consumer protection, environment, labor, cyberlaw, intellectual property and international trade. Exercises and discussions require finding, summarizing, applying and arguing about the applicability of statutes and regulations in concrete situations. The capstone of the course allows students to create a project to illustrate the lessons learned in the course.
This course examines legal regulations governing the provision of healthcare services. Topics include access to health insurance and healthcare, healthcare financing, the organization and responsibility of healthcare institutions (especially hospitals), healthcare cost containment policies, public and private insurance programs, and the formulation of health policy. The course will also provide an introductory overview of the major statutes, regulations and case law related to health law, including an introduction to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.
This course covers major regulatory issues related to the healthcare field, providing an in-depth regulatory overview of health programs. Statutory schemes covered will include HIPAA/HITECH, Stark/fraud and abuse. In addition, students will learn about compliance programs, including compliance operations, and the code of conduct for particular fields.
This course explores the ethical and legal obligations respecting patient records, particularly electronic records. In addition to reviewing HIPAA’s privacy and security rules, the course will cover professional ethics regarding confidentiality, common law and state protections for confidentiality, GINA and the HiTech Act.
Graduate Certificate in Human Resources Law
This course builds on LS 6101 with its emphasis on common law by introducing students to statutes and regulations. The setting involves federal administrative agencies governing employment, consumer protection, environment, labor, cyberlaw, intellectual property and international trade. Exercises and discussions require finding, summarizing, applying and arguing about the applicability of statutes and regulations in concrete situations. The capstone of the course allows students to create a project to illustrate the lessons learned in the course.
This course will provide an overview of antidiscrimination laws governing the workplace. The focus will be on discrimination based on race and sex, but some attention will also be given to discrimination based on other characteristics, including age, sexual orientation and disability. In addition to general issues of discrimination, the course will focus on the specific topics of retaliation, harassment and bullying in the workplace.
Today’s HR manager works in a highly complex environment with constantly changing laws and legislation that govern employee rights and employer obligations. This course examines the legal relationship between employer and employee. Issues and topics addressed include discrimination, affirmative action, the Americans with Disabilities Act, sexual harassment, health and safety, AIDS in the workplace, compliance issues, and legal issues related to downsizing and terminations.
The course will cover topics related to wage and hour laws (federal and state), ERISA (pensions), health insurance benefits, the Affordable Care Act and disability insurance.
Graduate Certificate in Intellectual Property Law
This course builds on LS 6101 with its emphasis on common law by introducing students to statutes and regulations. The setting involves federal administrative agencies governing employment, consumer protection, environment, labor, cyberlaw, intellectual property and international trade. Exercises and discussions require finding, summarizing, applying and arguing about the applicability of statutes and regulations in concrete situations. The capstone of the course allows students to create a project to illustrate the lessons learned in the course.
In our modern day “information economy,” the law of intellectual property (IP) has taken on enormous importance to both creators and users of creative works. Such IP Law is the way we provide legal protection to encourage invention and creativity by guaranteeing an opportunity for financial return to the originator of novel work. This course introduces students to the classic principles of copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret law and explores the ways in which those principles are shifting and adapting in response to new technology.
This course will focus on intellectual property issues in employment, collaborative environment, and business transactions. It will cover common issues for founders and startups, employers, and contractors—including non-compete agreements, crowd-sourcing and open innovation practices.
This course will cover copyrights, trademarks and unfair competition, with a focus on media, advertising, user-generated content and other online activities.
Online Graduate Law Certificates
Get Started Now
To learn more about the curriculum, registration requirements and tuition for our online graduate law certificate programs, fill out the form to download a free brochure. You can get in touch with an admissions counselor directly by calling us toll-free at +1 877.375.9638 or at +1 617.655.6735.