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The University of Alabama at Birmingham continues to expand the institution’s business and medical education through the addition of a dual Doctor of Optometry and Master of Business Administration degree — the first of its kind nationwide.
The Collat School of Business has partnered with UAB’s School of Optometry to develop a program aiming to provide OD/MBA graduates the best possible trajectory to gain employment within the health care field through providing them with a greater understanding of the business of eye care.
The new dual-degree program will give optometry students the training and education to better understand the business side of the health care field, through providing courses in accounting and finance, economics, marketing, management, operations, and supply chain management with a focus on health care, as well as information technology and business strategy with a focus on health care.
“Some of the greatest challenges in health care today are both scientific and business-related,” said Eric Jack, Ph.D., dean of the Collat School of Business. “Combining a business degree with an optometry degree can help future health care leaders learn to manage through rapid change and traverse the uncertainties of management with flexibility. An MBA education provides our optometry school graduates not only with more job options, but also with the ability to be active participants in shaping the future of health care.”
The program is an integrative, four-year degree that combines business courses with the OD curricula, and is designed specifically for busy optometry students. Students start their business classes the summer before optometry school. The remaining courses are offered at key times during the remaining four years, with all coursework completed prior to the end of their standard optometry curricula requirements. In total, the dual degree adds only one semester of coursework to the traditional length of time it takes to complete optometry school.
Degree plans are also available for those students who decide to pursue the MBA after beginning their OD courses.
| All dual-degree participants will receive a wide variety of other benefits, including automatic MBA course registration, procurement and delivery of all books and materials, access to faculty mentors, on-site tutoring, and opportunities for hands-on learning. |
In addition to traditional coursework, OD/MBA students will be able to participate in health-specific professional development sessions throughout their time in the program. All dual-degree participants will receive a wide variety of other benefits, including automatic MBA course registration, procurement and delivery of all books and materials, access to faculty mentors, on-site tutoring, and opportunities for hands-on learning.
“We’re proud that UAB is offering the first joint OD/MBA program in the country, and we believe program graduates will be well-equipped to pursue careers with both clinical and administrative responsibilities — adding to an existing practice or starting their own practice,” said Kelly K. Nichols, O.D., MPH, Ph.D., dean of UAB’s School of Optometry. “Students in this dual-degree program will learn how to use innovation and strategic thinking to solve health care problems through fluency in the languages of optometry and business, which will put them on the fast track to career advancement and the betterment of patient care.”
UAB’s OD/MBA program is accepting applicants for the summer of 2017 for first-year optometry students. Current optometry students who are interested in matriculating into the program, including students who are already completing MBA coursework, are also invited to apply.
Students interested in pursuing the dual OD/MBA degree must complete an application through the UAB Graduate School’s ApplyYourself application system. This application is in addition to that completed through OptomCAS. The deadline for application for summer admission will follow the graduate school’s deadline each year on April 22.