Trivia Tuesday: Health Care Majors

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday, our weekly examination of the offerings and opportunities at the leading business schools.

Today we turn our attention to options for studying health care in business school, with a particular emphasis on Wharton’s Health Care Systems Major, one of the oldest and strongest health care programs among U.S. business schools. Drawing its faculty from the business, medical and nursing schools, as well as from practicing health care professionals, the Health Care Systems major is an interdisciplinary approach to the issues in the field.

The Health Care Systems major differs from other majors at Wharton in that students must choose the major in their initial application to the school instead of in their second year. Health Care Systems further differs in that it aggressively integrates professional development and field work into the major.

For instance, all Health Care majors are required to complete a Field Application Project (FAP). In the FAP, teams of students spend a semester working with an industry partner to solve real world problems in the health care field. Given the amount of time these projects can take, students must work carefully to balance classes around the demands of their projects.

Despite the prominence of Wharton’s health care major, it is far from the only option for MBA applicants seeking a career in health care. For instance, Columbia recently unveiled a new Health Care and Pharmaceutical Management major, Kellogg offers a major in Health Industry Management, Duke offers a Health Sector Management program, and HBS hosts the Healthcare Initiative. Those business schools that do not offer formal health care concentrations tend to have a student club and/or a student-organized conference dedicated to supporting interest in the field, so regardless of the program, health care minded applicants should find plenty of resources.

For more on health care options, majors, student clubs or conferences, be sure to check out business schools’ websites and the Clear Admit School Guides!