WU's Olin and Brown Schools Offer New MBA/MPH Dual Degree

ST. LOUIS, MO, October 01, 2010 (Press-News.org) A new dual master's degree program in business administration and public health (MBA/MPH) is being offered to meet the growing demand for business-savvy, public policy-minded health-care managers, announced officials from the Olin Business School and the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

The two schools will administer the program that offers students a uniquely interdisciplinary approach to understanding and managing the complex challenges in the health-care industry.

"The time is right for this degree," says Timothy D. McBride, PhD, professor and associate dean for public health at the Brown School. "Implementing national health reform will be a key priority for many years."

"Now more than ever, all sectors of the health care industry need to understand how these reforms affect the delivery and financing of medical care," McBride says. "A joint degree in public health and business offers students a rich understanding of business, economics and policy and gives them the tools needed to help implement health reform now and into the future."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. health-care industry will generate more than three million jobs this decade. In addition to doctors and nurses, well-trained managers whose expertise bridges the worlds of business and health care are vital in the new era of health-care reform.

Graduates with the dual MBA/MPH degree will have the interdisciplinary functional and critical-thinking skill set needed for distinctive impact and long-run leadership in hospitals and pharmaceutical firms, health-care consulting, policy think tanks, public administration and other management roles across the health-care industry spectrum.

WUSTL's MBA/MPH program will combine the foundational courses of graduate-level business and public health degrees with a total of 87 course hours and require two-and-one-half to three years to complete.

Applicants must be accepted into the existing MBA and MPH programs and must apply for the dual degree before the end of their first year of study in either graduate program.

"Washington University has a longstanding tradition of offering timely, uniquely collaborative dual-degree programs at the graduate level," says Joe Fox, associate dean and director of MBA programs.

"The MBA/MPH degree is a direct response to the needs of the health-care industry which accounts for a huge fraction of our economy and is the subject of continuous policy and implementation debate," Fox says. "It is a critical subject matter for future business leaders in the U.S. and around the world."

WUSTL's highly ranked Schools of Medicine, Social Work and Business will provide a unique set of resources to students in the new MBA/MPH program, which is destined to set its graduates apart with unparalleled advantages to succeed in the healthcare sector.

About Olin Business School
Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis is an institution of leaders: distinguished business faculty... exhilarated, brilliant students... and successful, energized alumni. Our 12 business degree and nondegree programs emphasize rigorously analytical, critical-thinking skills; applied learning; global competence; and communication and collaboration skills -- advancing today's business world and tomorrow's global leaders. Learn more about Olin Business School on the Web at:

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