The Owen faculty recently approved two new joint MBA/PhD programs—one with the Medical School, the other with the School of Engineering.
- The Medical School joint degree includes programs currently administered through the Office of Biomedical Research Education and Training (BRET) within the School of Medicine. This includes both traditional biomedical sciences degrees and the recently established PhD in Biomedical Informatics.
- The second program is offered through the School of Engineering.
Ideally, students would apply to the joint degree program at the outset of their PhD studies. However, students can apply to enroll in the joint program after their first or second year of PhD study. It is important for students to note that PhD scholarship aid provided by the partner school is not assured for the semesters of MBA enrollment.
As with other joint professional and graduate degrees, the number of hours required to earn the MBA credential is reduced from 61 to 49 hours because Owen will give credit for 12 hours of course work from these partner schools. It is this double-counting of credit hours that permits students to complete both degrees by the end of the third year following the start of core courses at Owen.
Students must complete all first-semester (mods one and two) core requirements in the fall of their entering year at Owen. These requirements include microeconomics, finance, marketing, accounting, operations, statistics, leadership, strategy, and communications. (Exemptions in a few of these courses are possible based on past coursework). The remaining requirements for the degree include four hours of core courses (macroeconomics and strategy) and 12 credit hours of Concentration electives. These requirements can be taken in the spring semester following enrollment at Owen or in subsequent years.
Because MBA/PhD students have fewer credit hour requirements to earn the MBA degree then traditional MBA students, they must meet the coursework requirements of the partner program in which they are enrolled. Thus, Owen will not grant a degree to a student who does not finish his or her dissertation. If a student were to withdraw from the PhD program, Owen would require 61 hours of Owen coursework toward the MBA degree and payment of the equivalent of four full semesters of tuition.
Students are required to obtain the approval of the department chair of the relevant program in the School of Engineering or School of Medicine before being admitted as a student into this joint program. Applications for the PhD program in Engineering are handled through the Graduate School rather than the School of Engineering.
