For Release
Oct. 15, 2003

Student inspires Citadel-MUSC dual degree
By ALLISON L. BRUCE of the Charleston Post and Courier
Link provided with Post and Courier permission

The Citadel, MUSC offer dual degree program

          MUSC's College of Pharmacy and The Citadel's School of Business Administration have teamed up to create a dual degree program.

          The new program will give pharmacy students the opportunity to receive both a doctor of pharmacy degree (Pharm.D.) from the Medical University and a master's of business administration (MBA) degree from The Citadel within the same four years it would normally take to complete the Pharm.D. degree alone. Graduates will be more marketable within practice settings and the pharmaceutical industry.

          "We are very excited to be able to provide this educational
opportunity to our pharmacy students," said John F. Cormier, Pharm.D., dean of the MUSC College of Pharmacy. "What began as an informal inquiry with Dr. Earl Walker, dean of The Citadel's School of Business Administration, very quickly took the form of an integrated curriculum. Getting to this point so quickly is due, in large part to the synergy between our two faculties who approached this project with an open
mind and a sense of purpose in making this work. Both institutions are
looking forward to getting started."

          The impetus for the program originated from student interest and an emerging trend among pharmacy programs across the country to sponsor dual Pharm.D./MBA programs for their students.

          "I think we have really put together a terrific program for our students," said Elinor Chumney, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacy practice, who chaired the working group charged with putting the joint degree program together. "We have been able to take advantage of unique attributes of our respective institutions to respond to a real demand for in-depth training in business practices. The COP and The Citadel's School of Business Administration were able to work together to offer our first-year pharmacy students tremendous economies of scale in terms of both credit hours and tuition."

          Required Pharm.D. courses like pharmacy law and ethics, pharmacy practice management will be accepted within the MBA curriculum. In turn, some three-hour business courses like financial management, management information systems and organizational behavior can be counted toward Pharm.D. elective credit hours.

          The program allows qualified students to begin taking MBA courses beginning the summer after their first year. Students may take one MBA course each semester during their second and third years, and must maintain specific grade requirements throughout the course of the program.

          Beginning spring 2004, interested first-year COP students can apply to The Citadel's MBA program. They must have taken the GMAT, provided letters of recommendation and completed either their bachelor's degree or its equivalent of 124 credit hours. The Citadel's MBA program is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, an organization that sets one of the highest standards of achievement for business schools worldwide.

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