We often get asked by prospective students: what will my days look like as a student in the MSL Program? To help answer this question, current student Justin Chae (MSL ’20) wrote the following blog post. He wrote this piece just before the MSL Program transitioned to eLearning in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak; certainly, his days – and the days of all current MSL students – have changed considerably since then! Check back later this week for a post on what life is like for MSL students after the switch to remote learning.
March 2020, by Justin Chae
Introduction
For students interested in pursuing a Master of Science in Law (MSL) degree, you may have questions about what a typical day or week in the program might look like. As a former prospective student, I know I did. After taking the leap and moving to Chicago to enroll in the MSL, almost 1 year later I found myself in the middle of an interesting 72 hours conducting research, writing papers, in class at lecture, writing a patent application, and on a call with a team from Switzerland. Sharing my experience as part of #MSLGoesSocial.
Back to School
How does this school thing work again?
After over a decade working in information technology and serving in the military, I made the decision to go full-time on a master’s program. Most of my peers had already started or finished their master’s degrees and I was looking to pivot or advance my career. In addition, I wanted to create enough personal time and space to focus on finding a master’s degree that would allow me to make an impact with my next career move. Although choosing one program over another is a personal decision, for me, the MSL program provided the right mix of academic, entrepreneurial, and interdisciplinary experiences.
Sounds great, but what is my new life going to look like? What do I do without my Outlook calendar and all those work meetings? Where am I going after I wake up each day?
Although I was dreaming big about life and academics, I had some basic questions about what the day-to-day was going to look like. But now, after closing in on the end of my time at MSL, I wanted to share a snapshot of an interesting 72 hours during the Spring 2 quarter.
Wednesday: Access to Health Research Meeting & Securities Regulation Class
- 9 am – Sipping morning coffee at my apartment in the West Loop on a Facetime call with a classmate. We’re planning a self-directed research project aimed at addressing access to health issues – for example, looking at how structural issues in clinical trials lead to bad medicine and health outcomes for underrepresented populations.
- 1:30 pm – Hop on the Green Line and grab the 157 Bus to school in time for Securities Regulation class – working through the Securities and Exchange Acts on civil damages and enforcement.
- Evening – Head back to the apartment, hit the gym for a bit, grab dinner, and then prepare for a Friday morning meeting for the Innovation Lab (ILAB) I’m the scrum master for a group of four students who are teamed up with a startup from Switzerland. Due the time difference, our call needs to be early in the morning Chicago time so that we can meet during business hours on both sides of the world.
Thursday: Ethics and IP Strategy & Management Class + Office Hours
- 9 am – Back to school for Ethics class, scrutinizing ethics in academic research and the idea of right and wrong when it comes to artificial intelligence.
- Lunch – Grilled cheese and tomato soup at Harry’s Café (in the law school) and then office hours with my Securities Regulation professor. Finals are coming up and I want to ask some clarifying questions on the 1933 Securities Act.
- Break – Grab a table in the law school atrium and take a break with some classmates.
- 3pm – Final lecture for IP Strategy and Management class – considering all the pieces that tie together a corporate mission, product, and business with patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
- Late night and back to the atrium – working with my group on a patent application for a dialysis catheter.
Friday: Call with Switzerland, Patent Application, Global Village, and Prep for a Presentation
- 8 am – Early day! Jump on a video call with my ILAB team and our project sponsor based out of Switzerland. Running a sprint demo over Zoom of the user experience and user interface (UX/UI) that we are in the middle of prototyping.
- 9 am – Final class in Patent Prosecution Workshop – getting final lessons on how to put together a viable patent application.
- Noon – Lunch with one of the part-time MSL students to learn about her job and company. Since I’m looking for a new career, I’m taking time to gain exposure to jobs and companies that I’ve never thought about before.
- 2:30 pm – Working from the Library on my resume and practicing for an upcoming job interview.
- 5 pm – Back to the atrium for the 15th annual Global Village event – watching my friends perform music and dance from their home countries and enjoying tons of great international foods.
- Late night – Meeting with my partner from the Assessing AI and Computational Technologies We are putting the final touches on a presentation that we are delivering in a few days; the slides are due on Saturday.
Saturday
- Sleep in – it’s been a mad dash to the end of the week. Today, finish writing an article on Innovation Diffusion for the Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property.
- Dinner with Friends – Meeting up with some school friends from my patent group to take on the level 5 spicy ramen challenge at a noodle shop in Lake View. I did not win the challenge; this is may be my last food challenge.
Choose Your Own Adventure
I think I claimed that this was a typical week, but after accounting for my time, it might be fair to say that this was a crazy week. It was the end of the quarter with final presentations, final papers, and final exams right around the corner. In addition, lots of fun events like Global Village and hanging out with friends in Chicago. There are a million different ways to choose your own adventure at Northwestern – I hope this article helped give you an idea of one.
