Newswise — MAY 27, 2016 (East Lansing, MI) – Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine and Broad College of Business will begin a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Business Administration joint degree in fall 2016.

The joint M.D./MBA provides additional preparation for physician leaders in navigating the changing landscape of the health care industry.

“Adding business administration skills to medical education will help prepare our students to be leaders of health care organizations,” said Aron Sousa, interim dean of the College of Human Medicine.

The MBA portion of the degree specializes in management, strategy and leadership, while providing foundational management skills required for organization leaders. The dual-degree program is designed to be completed in six years, though some students may finish in five years. The first year of the MBA portion is completed in-classroom and the second is done online.

The M.D./MBA partnership comes on the heels of a similar partnership between the College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Broad College of Business to offer a D.O./MBA.

“Our new joint degree programs with osteopathic medicine and human medicine are symptomatic of physicians wanting more say in how health care is delivered. They want to be involved in visioning and leading the way forward to more efficient and effective health care organizations. Students who are taking four years of medical school and then adding another two years of business school are clearly passionate and committed to furthering the state of medical practice,” said Glenn Omura, associate dean of MBA and professional master’s programs at the Broad College of Business.

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

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