Indiana University Offers Dual Degree in Dental and Business

Indiana University is offering a dual degree program where students can simultaneously earn a DDS degree and MBA from the Kelley School of Business.

Indiana University is offering a new dual degree program combining patient care training and the business of healthcare.

Students who successfully complete this program will receive a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from the School of Dentistry and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis.

Dual degree students will begin their business training in Kelley’s Graduate Certificate in Medical Management in the summer of the third year of their DDS degree and take two years to complete the DDS and MBA concurrently.

“We are excited and proud to introduce this dual degree, which offers an individualized and relevant learning pathway for future dentists,” said Julie Manning Magid, vice dean of the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis. “This new degree will combine the study of clinical dentistry with management and leadership education from a top-ranked MBA. It offers these providers the best dental instruction along with the business skills necessary to succeed in today’s complex healthcare environment.”

Students in the dual degree program will complete 205 credit hours: 163 credit hours in dentistry and 42 credit hours in business courses delivered through the Kelley Evening MBA Program, which is ranked the top part-time MBA in Indiana by U.S. News & World Report. The MBA courses include foundational business courses including accounting, finance, marketing, strategy, and supply chain as well as healthcare-specific courses. They are delivered across four, 12-week quarters every year using a hybrid online and in-person delivery model.

“It is advantageous to understand the business aspects of the dental profession beyond what is provided in the predoctoral curriculum,” said Laura Romito, DDS, MS, MBA, associate dean of education and academic affairs for the IU School of Dentistry. “An MBA provides the business skills and knowledge needed to manage and grow your own dental practice or to take on leadership positions in large organizations or corporate dentistry. A DDS/MBA dual degree better prepares students for an ever-changing world that increasingly requires dentists to be adept in both clinical knowledge and business skills.”

More than 70% of dentists in Indiana are trained at IU, and these dental professionals need to know how healthcare works outside the dental chair to provide patients with a valuable service without compromising quality patient care. DDS/MBA dual degree students will learn from Kelley faculty with years of experience researching and teaching at the intersection of healthcare and business.

The DDS/MBA dual degree is among four healthcare programs from the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis. Other offerings include the one-year Graduate Certificate in Medical Management for non-physician healthcare professionals and those who want to break into healthcare, the Physician MBA Program that is designed specifically for physicians and an MD/MBA dual degree with the IU School of Medicine.