Global Health and Management

The Master of Business Administration/Master of Public Health dual degree program is offered by the Health Sector Management Program in the School of Management and the International Health Department in the School of Public Health.

The MBA/MPH is an accelerated, full-time program leading to the award of both the MBA and the MPH degrees in two years, including summers.

MBA/MPH in Global Health and Management

The Health Sector Management (PMM) Program at SMG and the Department of International Health (IH) at SPH offer a track for the dual degree MBA/MPH program focusing on Global Health (GH). The goal of the two-year, full-time program is to provide students with a solid foundation in both management and public health in an integrated, structured curriculum that focuses on international health systems and global health issues. This program is geared toward foreign and American students who will lead and manage institutions working to ameliorate the health of populations in resource-constrained settings around the world. The Global Health focus as part of the dual degree will help students understand the context in which international health policy, financing, and management decisions are made. Students will have the opportunity to apply management skills to practical challenges in their field of programmatic interest, such as pharmaceutical policy and management, HIV/AIDS, or global health management consulting.

The dual degree will require the completion of a minimum of 80 credits, 44 from the School of Management, 33 credits from the School of Public Health, and 3 elective credits earned at either school.

MBA Core Programs

MBA/MPH GH candidates will cover the bulk of the core MBA program from the School of Management in the first year. This includes the basic MBA skill-set of accounting, finance, information systems, marketing, operations, organizational behavior, and strategy. Students will take 30 credits of MBA core courses in the first two semesters, and 5 additional core credits in year two, for a total of 35 credits.

Health Sector Management Program:

The Health Sector Management program includes additional focused courses (9 credits) in the structure and operation of the health sector.

SPH Core Program and Other Requirements:

MBA/MPH GH candidates will be required to take core courses in the School of Public Health. Due to overlapping coursework, two MPH core requirements, Biostatistics and Health Policy & Management, are satisfied through School of Management coursework.

Summer Internship/Practice Requirement:

Students will fulfill the public health practicum requirement through the School of Management summer internship program. This summer internship requirement includes 400 hours of on-site work, which is greater than the requirement for SPH student practice placement on-site work. Students will be strongly encouraged to work overseas with a global health nongovernmental organization, private company engaging in a public-private partnership, multilateral or bilateral donor agency, or international financial institution. To allow adequate time for an overseas internship, no other coursework is scheduled for the summer after the first year.

International Health Concentration and Culminating Experience:

MBA/MPH GH candidates will be required to complete 22 approved credits in the IH-Global Health  Track. All students will take a 4-credit required course, SPH IH 704. In discussions with their IH faculty advisor, students will be encouraged to choose an area of focus within global health, and must choose at least 16 credits from approved elective options. In addition, students must complete a 2-credit culminating experience during the second year, spring semester, which synthesizes learning from prior courses and practicum. The experience includes an industry analysis, documentation of networking opportunities, career plans, and an explanation of experiences that the student brings to potential employers.