Tulane University's Freeman School of Business has partnered with the university's School of Medicine to launch a new program that combines an MBA with an MD and allows students to complete both degrees in four years.
The joint MBA/MD program "is designed to prepare physicians who may later run their own practices, become biomedical entrepreneurs or pursue future careers in health care administration or pharmaceutical development," says Dr. Lee Hamm, senior vice president and dean of Tulane University School of Medicine.
As such, the program is aimed at newly admitted medical students, who will take MBA courses at Freeman during the summers before and after their first year of medical school. In doing so, participants can complete both programs in four years.
The program will help future healthcare leaders supplement their medical school studies with business skills, preparing them for a variety of roles in the industry.
“Whether their goal is to become a practicing physician, medical director of a hospital or manager of a medical group, physicians who understand the tools, concepts and language of business will have a critical advantage in bridging the clinical and business sides of health care,” according to Ira Solomon, who is the dean of the Freeman School.
Tulane also offers a second MBA/MD option, which can be completed in five years. This program option includes a required global leadership component, where students travel to an international location to get hands-on management experience.
Other business schools that offer dual-degree MBA/MD programs include the University of Miami School of Business Administration, Canada's McGill University, and the University of Rochester's Simon Business School, among others. Some schools, such as Texas Tech's Rawls College of Business Administration, offer MBA/MD programs that can be completed within four years.
For more information, please see the Tulane - Freeman press release announcing the launch of the four-year MBA/MD program.
Image courtesy Tulane University / Flickr (cropped and rotated)
