Lehigh announces new health and business interdisciplinary program

A new integrated undergraduate degree program combining business and health will be available for Lehigh students enrolling in fall 2025. 

According to the program’s website, the degree was launched in May 2024, and it will incorporate classes from the College of Business and the College of Health to train leaders in the health industry. Upon graduation, students will receive a bachelor of science in both business and health. 

Elizabeth Dolan, dean of the College of Health, said she and the other deans were prompted to create this program when they noticed students taking double majors or minors across the two schools. 

Manoj Malhotra, a dean of the College of Business, said the program differs from other opportunities because there will be two seminar classes weaving business management into community health and policy. 

“Through seminars and some experiential opportunities, (the program) will be able to explore the interface between the two areas, more than just a double major in each college,” Malhotra said.

The program will have a required first-year seminar and a senior year capstone project for students to reflect on connections between health and business industries. 

Michael Gusmano, a member of the program’s founding committee and a professor of health policy, said the integrated capstone will equip students with a portfolio that will prepare them for positions in the health industry. 

“If you’re interested in health, you need to understand the market,” Gusmano said. “You need to understand how corporations work.” 

Fathima Wakeel, an associate professor of community and population health, was also a member of the program’s founding committee. She said the committee collaborated throughout the summer of 2023 to talk about the goals of the program, align them with the colleges’ existing curricula and discuss new courses to provide students with a well-rounded experience.

“It takes this type of experiential learning to really apply the concepts from both colleges, both health and business, to do something meaningful in the real world,” Wakeel said.

Dolan said the program is designed for students interested in working on the business side of health but unsure of their specific career goals.

She said she consulted with alumni in the industry to understand the necessary skills required in this program. 

Students will take courses in every discipline in the College of Business, including management, finance, accounting and economics, Dolan said. They will also take courses in health policy and politics in the College of Health, as well as methods courses like statistics and biostatistics in either college.

“This (program) is going to help students progress in their careers in the business side of health, and help them go further faster,” Dolan said. 

The program also provides specialized business training in the health sector to address community health issues, identify areas of reform in the healthcare system, develop actionable solutions to improve population health and make decisions that maximize health and business outcomes.

“From an educational standpoint, it’s innovative and exciting and opens up a great new opportunity for students,” Gusmano said. 

According to the program’s website, the curriculum is designed to create leaders in the health industry who understand conditions that influence health equity — which is achieved when everyone can attain their full potential for health and well-being, according to the World Health Organization.

Aliya Dworkin, ‘25, is a community and global health major and said having a clear track for students interested in the business side of healthcare would be helpful.

She said the program presents a rare opportunity for undergraduates that would set students apart when applying to graduate school. 

“Healthcare management and healthcare policy is what I’m looking to get a master’s in,” Dworkin said.“This (program) definitely would have been right up my alley.”

Gusmano said for students interested in working in the corporate world, there are enormous opportunities related to health, as the health sector is one of the fastest-growing subsegments of the U.S. economy. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in healthcare management are projected to grow 29% between 2023 and 2033. This growth is faster than the average for all other occupations, with about 61,400 job openings projected each year. 

The Bureau also reported the median salary for medical and health services managers was $110,680 in May 2023. The lowest 10% salary earned was $67,900, $8,100 less than the average starting salary of $76,000 for Lehigh’s class of 2023, according to the Center for Career and Professional Development. 

The Health and Business Interdisciplinary program is recruiting students to start in fall 2025. Current Lehigh students are not eligible to transfer into the program.