The UC Davis Graduate School of Management, in collaboration with the UC Davis School of Medicine, has introduced a new program designed to prepare MBA students to lead hospitals, government agencies and other organizations.

“There is a great need for strong management practices across all levels of health care," said James Stevens, assistant dean of student affairs at the Graduate School of Management. "Students who complete the public health management concentration will have a full MBA skill set, plus specialized knowledge for this critical field.”

The new program will enable students to complement the core MBA curriculum with up to four courses offered by the Department of Public Health Sciences, a clinical, research and consultative division of the School of Medicine. Approved classes for this emphasis -- including "Introduction to Public Health Informatics," "Health Services Administration," and "Social and Behavioral Aspects of Public Health" -- provide students with a broad decision-making context in which to apply and integrate tools and techniques specific to public health management issues.

"Health care is crying for more leaders and executives trained in management and public health," said John Troidl, academic administrator at the Department of Public Health Sciences. "Health care costs have reached 16.2 percent of our gross domestic product, with no proportional increase in the nation's health status. The nation needs more MBAs with a deep understanding of the management of health care organizations and the factors that lead to healthier populations."

The concentration is one of several available to UC Davis MBA students who want a specialized focus in their management education. Other concentrations include business analytics and technologies; entrepreneurship; finance/accounting; general management; marketing; strategy; and technology management.

For more information on the new MBA concentration in public health management, visit: http://www.gsm.ucdavis.edu/publichealth.