The Stephen M. Ross School of Business has announced two new dual degree programs, in conjunction with the College of Pharmacy and the School of Dentistry, which will be offered this academic year.
As an increasing number of students explore career opportunities in the medical and health care fields, the programs are designed to help them become more marketable and knowledgeable across disciplines.
more information
Applications will be handled through Ross Admissions. Courses begin during the 2018 spring/summer semester, but students can begin applying this fall.
The College of Pharmacy and Ross will offer a Doctor of Pharmacy and Master of Business Administration degree. To qualify, students must already be admitted in the College of Pharmacy and apply to Ross their third year of Pharmacy enrollment, allowing students to complete their degrees within a five-year span.
“The College of Pharmacy has a long history of alumni becoming entrepreneurs and innovators in business, but much of this business acumen was learned after graduation,” said Bruce Mueller, associate dean of academic affairs at Pharmacy.
“This dual degree program combines the strengths of the highly esteemed Ross School of Business and College of Pharmacy, and packages them in an accelerated five-year program that will give our graduates a fantastic head start as they begin their professional careers.”
There is also a Doctor of Dentistry and Master of Business Administration degree being offered through the School of Dentistry and Ross. This program was initiated, in part, because several dental students advocated for an MBA concentration in the dental school curriculum. Through various surveys and research, they found that other students desired high-level business leadership training that only a MBA degree could offer.
“The advantage of this joint MBA program goes beyond helping our dental graduates operate their private practices. The real benefit is that it will provide in-depth leadership and business training for our students who aspire to leadership roles in dentistry,” said Carol Anne Murdoch-Kinch, associate dean of academic affairs at Dentistry.
“That could include corporate dentistry, public health or transforming health systems. It will prepare students to be a CEO, to be a leader of the profession, and the great part is that we are utilizing the world-class business school we have on this campus.”
Ross has more than 20 dual degree offerings, including several health care-related joint programs with the Medical School and School of Public Health. Ross also offers a health care management concentration, providing a suite of electives for full-time MBA students.
Ross’ action-based and experiential learning curriculum is ideal for the DDS/MBA and PharmD/MBA. Programs including the Multidisciplinary Action Projects, Impact Challenge, and Crisis Challenge provide students the opportunity to use their business and communication skills to strategize, analyze and develop leadership skills for their careers.
“Michigan Ross’ partnership with the College of Pharmacy and School of Dentistry meets the needs of today’s array of global talent,” said Brad Killaly, associate dean of full-time and global MBA programs at Ross.
“The new PharmD/MBA and DDS/MBA degrees give students the opportunity to have a multifaceted background and explore various career options in the pharmaceutical industry, medical, health care, business and beyond. As the medical and business sectors become increasingly connected, students will need the skill set and experience to become effective, impactful leaders in both areas.”
