Graduate

Doctor of Medicine (MD)/MBA Joint Program

Overview

Students have the opportunity to obtain a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) through a joint degree program offered by the School of Medicine and the College of Business. This combined degree program pairs the traditional medical curriculum with an MBA degree. The MBA degree is largely completed during a sabbatical year from medical school. Students in the program complete the MBA curriculum as full-time students between the M2 and M3 years of medical school. This degree program provides students with additional career opportunities as administrators and executives in health-care related fields. It will also help MDs in large and small practices perform business-related functions more effectively and with a deeper level of understanding.

One hallmark of this program is its flexibility. As long as students take at least 15 credits during the sabbatical year between M2 and M3, they can complete the remaining 14 hours for the MBA degree in a number of different ways. This flexibility will afford students the opportunity to work at jobs or internships, conduct research, and engage in other valuable activities that enhance their practical experience. The course schedules presented here are but two of numerous possible configurations.

Eligibility

Students entering the MBA curriculum must provide evidence that they have completed IDC 135 (Ethical and Legal Topics in Clinical Medicine; 3 credit hours) and IDC 138 (Evidence Based Medicine; 1 credit hour). The traditional MBA application must be completed, including an application form, brief essay, two letters of recommendation, and transcripts (copies from School of Medicine files are adequate). Prior admission to medical school and the MCAT score implied by that admission is accepted in lieu of a GMAT score submission for this program.

MBA Requirements

33 total credit hours; 4 transferred from IDC 135 & 138; 29 additional business credit hours

All MD/MBA students will complete two core courses (6 credit hours) that address business processes and skills. MBA 771 should be taken early in the student’s program of study; MBA 775 is a capstone business course and thus should be taken near the end.

  • MBA 771 Leadership and Organizational Behavior
  • MBA 775 Business Policy and Managerial Action

MBA Plan of Study

Graduate Business Programs office staff will map out a program of study for the MD/MBA student that reflects his or her academic and work backgrounds, business competencies, and career goals. Plans of study will consist of courses from the Functional Core and/or from an extensive list of Concentration courses.The relative emphasis of a student’s plan of study on each of these areas depends upon whether or not the student’s academic background and experience was primarily business or in another area or discipline.

Functional Core

15 credit hours; exemptions may be granted if a student has taken an equivalent undergraduate course or has extensive career experience in a functional area. Students new to the study of business because they hold neither an undergraduate degree in business nor have extensive business work experience may be required to take some or all of the functional core classes. Taking these classes and the core MBA courses will lead to general competency in most areas of business. Students who hold undergraduate business degrees or have extensive business experience may elect to take one or more of these courses with the approval of the Associate Dean for Graduate Business Program’s office
or may elect to move directly to concentration courses.

  • MBA 701 Financial Reporting for MBA’s
  • MBA 711 Managerial Finance
  • MBA 741 Economic Analysis for Managers
  • MBA 761 Marketing Management
  • ITM 731 Information Systems Management

Concentration

8–23 credit hours

All MD/MBA students will complete the balance of their 29 hours from concentration courses available in all of the functional areas. These business courses cover advanced topics in all areas of business including accounting, finance, economics, information technology, marketing, and management. To ensure appropriate breadth and depth:

  1. Students must take one course in each of three of five functional areas (accounting, finance, economics, information technology,and marketing);
  2. Students may take a maximum of three courses beyond MBA 771 in the management/leadership area; and
  3. Students may take a maximum of four courses in a given functional area.

Concentration Courses

Concentration courses are advanced courses in each functional area of business. These courses may be taken by students with undergraduate degrees in business or students who have completed the Functional Core courses and would like additional courses in an area.

  • MBA 702 Managerial Decision Making Using Quantitative & Qualitative Data
  • MBA 712 Advanced Managerial Finance
  • MBA 742 Seminar in Applied Managerial Economics
  • MBA 765 Marketing Information for Executives
  • ITM 736 Managing Information Resources
  • ITM 788 Business Information Analysis and Process Design

Focus Areas

Depending on the number of credit hours to be filled by concentration courses, students may wish to delve deeper into a particular business function by taking multiple concentration courses in a single area. For example, a student wishing to focus on the study of investments may take courses from our Master of Security Analysis and Portfolio Management curriculum and our finance curriculum such as:

  • MBA 715 Investment Value and Theory
  • MBA 719 Current Issues in Finance
  • MBA 719 Institutional Investing

The student interested in information technology management could take courses from the Master of Science in Information Technology Management curriculum such as:

  • ITM 734 Human Factors in Information Systems
  • ITM 735 Information Systems Projects and Risk Management
  • ITM 782 Data Base Management Systems

Students with a strong interest in accounting may take advanced accounting courses such as:

  • MBA 717 Corporate Governance
  • MBA 717 Current Issues in Accounting
  • MBA 739 Tax Theory and Business Decisions

Students who wish to focus on the study of leadership may take advanced leadership electives such as:

  • MBA 779 Personal Leadership Development
  • MBA 779 Business Consulting
  • MBA 779 Managing for Innovation and Excellence
  • MBA 779 Leadership Through the Hollywood Lens

Students interested in Bioscience Entrepreneurship might consider taking:

  • MBA 579 Technology Commercialization
  • MBA 579 Bioscience Entrepreneurship