pharD/mba program

[koercive]

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anyone familiar with this program?

is it significantly more difficult to get into than just pharmD?

also, since they require the gmat, would i have to take both the gmat and pcat for schools outside of california ?(pcats aren't necessary for schools in cali)

 

[BuffaloPills]

i know some business schools require at least a 3.0 in pharmacy courses, however from my experience, business schools love pharmacy students because most pharmacy students are above average students and therefore tend to perform better. it's really a matter of getting into the pharmd program, once accpeted it's pretty much your choice if you want to pursue the mba program concurrently. of course my knowledge may be biased since i attend a small private school.

as for the gmat, i know some schools use the pcat score instead. i would call the schools which you are applying to find out for certain.

good luck

 

[Jackanese]

You just have to take the GMAT and apply to the mba program during your first year in Pharm school. Its just a matter of getting into the PharmD program first. One step at a time. And of course, theres 1-2 more years of school added on top of or in between the 3-4 years of pharmacy school.

 

[Dr.Biassi]

Definitely I will strive to get into the PharmD program first and then I will take the GMAT fot the MBA

 

[sle3pyguii]

most MBA programs require 2 years of work experience. Most people that go for MBAs, however, have a lot more experience (6 years+) in their respective fields. So you should do something a bit more than just take the GMAT, get a high GPA.

 

[koercive]

I'm a 3rd year psych major with a 3.69 gpa. my bcpm is probably around 3.58. I have my real estate license, and I have been in the mortgage business for about 9 months while being a full time student (well barely, i've been taking the minimum amount of units recently though) (i was told working with mortgages count towards "work experience")

would this be considered "competitive"?

 

[sle3pyguii]

I'm a 3rd year psych major with a 3.69 gpa. my bcpm is probably around 3.58. I have my real estate license, and I have been in the mortgage business for about 9 months while being a full time student (well barely, i've been taking the minimum amount of units recently though) (i was told working with mortgages count towards "work experience")

would this be considered "competitive"?

your GPA is competitive. Take the GMAT and you will need about a 690+ to be considered competitive nowadays. 9 months is a good amount of experience, but like I said before, most schools have a set amount of work experience (1-2 years req'd). They want to make sure that you have a good amount of experience in the real world0. And 1-2 years in a career field will show your maturity so they say.

FYI, the average age for the MBA is 26.

 

[eddavatar]

anyone familiar with this program?

is it significantly more difficult to get into than just pharmD?

also, since they require the gmat, would i have to take both the gmat and pcat for schools outside of california ?(pcats aren't necessary for schools in cali)

I would always suggest applying for pharm school first because as pre-pharm we always would have a good enough GPA (which is the case for you it seems) for MBA (typical average around 3.3-3.6) and they're more leinient on GPA anyway. Pharm app on the other hand is a grind.

GMAT's a given for any business school. And it really depends on where you are going for business school. USC, having one of the best programs in the nation, has a competitive average. Once you get into Pharm, prep and take the GMAT ASAP. Don't make the same mistake I had and take it when I had GMAT sandwiched b/t 2 midterms. The reality is, GMAT is what makes and break you getting in MBA or not.

If you got anything lower than 650, your shot of getting in is much slimmer especially since your work exp's good but not as long as the competitive candidates. Historically for USC, pharm students that got accepted to the MBA scores anywhere ranging from mid 600s to mid-high 700s.

USC does consider the fact that I'm a pharmacy student and give me an oversight of my lack of work exp. But I'm pretty sure it's my GMAT that got me in. I had a friend that didn't score so hot on the GMAT and was rejected.

Do keep in mind that the stock market crashed today. If it's a true adjustment due to economic down turn (which I personally think it might not be, and it really depends on the Chinese government's action), be prepared to fight an army of finance people applying for MBA. Traditional wisdom says that recession drives MBA app up.

 

[koercive]

I always thought you get into a pharmD/MBA program once you are accepted .

so, from the above posts: i have to get into pharm school, few yrs in, take the gmat, apply for MBA also. is that correct?

 

[eddavatar]

I always thought you get into a pharmD/MBA program once you are accepted .

so, from the above posts: i have to get into pharm school, few yrs in, take the gmat, apply for MBA also. is that correct?

What do you mean by your first sentence? If by that you mean you're guranteed a spot in MBA if you want to do it then no, at least for USC. USC's pharm and MBA admission are seperate. But if you mean you apply to both at the same time, sure. But handling 2 applications at once is rather tough imo.

To take advantage of a dual degree program, you probably should apply during your first year in pharm.

 

[SCCpharm]

Mercer has a PharmD/MBA program.

http://www.mercer.edu/pharmacy/pharmd-mba.htm

Alot of the answers to your questions are on that page.

 

[HenryH]

What kind of work would you do with a dual Pharm D./MBA? Consulting for pharm. companies, etc.? Does it open up a lot more opportunities in the consulting/marketing/business side of pharmaceuticals?

Thanks...

 

[eddavatar]

What kind of work would you do with a dual Pharm D./MBA? Consulting for pharm. companies, etc.? Does it open up a lot more opportunities in the consulting/marketing/business side of pharmaceuticals?

Thanks...

The most typical would be to go into sales and marketing. Consulting probably is a option but definitely for later on in career when you've more experience. A mentor of mine graduated w/ a PharmD/MBA around 2004 and he did 3 years of sales and now he's in internal business consulting w/ Lilly.

I also know a guy who had his MBA before pharm school and he has his own business already and he's offered a job to do marketing in Asia.

What MBA truely gives you is the connections and knowing the business language. A lot of times, you define what you want to do, MBA is just a tool to make your own niche.

 

[pmp85]

The most typical would be to go into sales and marketing. Consulting probably is a option but definitely for later on in career when you've more experience. A mentor of mine graduated w/ a PharmD/MBA around 2004 and he did 3 years of sales and now he's in internal business consulting w/ Lilly.

I also know a guy who had his MBA before pharm school and he has his own business already and he's offered a job to do marketing in Asia.

What MBA truely gives you is the connections and knowing the business language. A lot of times, you define what you want to do, MBA is just a tool to make your own niche.

Hi All,

After working for a smaller start-up biopharm company for about 2 years now (management & R&D), I have become acquainted with many professionals. As far as I can tell all of the Directors/Presidents/CEO's/CFO's have MBA's. In today's business world it is necessary to have an MBA to become a corporate executive--somewhat like an unwritten code. The MBA, just like the PharmD, is highly versatile. Depending on what you are looking to do there are MBA programs in ALL areas (executive, marketing, accounting, finance, non profit, international, global, production/operations, IT, entrepreneurship, etc.)

Once you have acquired an MBA, it won't just be about contacts (you can get contacts anywhere if you know what you're doing--I've acquired a zillion contacts with older, seasoned professionals looking to help me advance my career in a short period of time.) Simply put, if you play your cards right you can make the right contacts. However, invaluably what an MBA does for you is qualifies you to manage something (can be anything---finances, people, networks, production lines, etc.) This is what you will need to make copious amounts of money, because as we all know the big money is rarely found in a researcher's pocket. Just like any other career there is a food-chain in the pharma industry. Finance/Management is where the big money is, theres no doubting it.

As for me, I would rather not deal with angry customers, doctors, or insurance companies. Therefore, I will certainly be pursuing an MBA in hopes of one day taking the reigns of a big pharma company.

So that said, I will leave you with a life example. My old boss, whom was an low ranking executive for GlaxoSmithKlein and now the CFO of our tiny company, was making 350k+ in salary PLUS given 30% of his base salary in stock options annually. This does not include his benefits, 401K, and other executive perks (trips, cars, etc.). Furthermore, he worked from home 50% of each week. Simply put, that kind of job seems peachy to me. Especially since it harvests the pharma, scientific, finance, and management aspects. In my opinion, the 2 years obtaining an MBA are well worth it. Diversifying is the best thing you can do with your degrees. Best of luck.

 

[HenryH]

Wow -- it sounds like Pharm D./MBA is the route to take for someone looking to make the bank! Thanks to both of you for your responses.

In reality, though, for the majority Pharm D./MBA graduates, is the situation really that rosey? Let's say that I am a recent (oh, 2006) graduate of Mercer's dual Pharm D./MBA program. What kind of opportunities should be available to me? I don't know want to be a retail pharmacist -- I want to get into sales/marketing, as suggested by eddavatar -- but the only job openings I can currently find are for chain retail pharmacists. Would I somehow establish bigshot contacts during the time I earn my MBA, or would I have to send out feelers on my own to the big pharmaceutical companies?

 

[koercive]

is the difficulty level of pharmD vs pharmD/MBA huge? for most programs, it seems like the pharmacy portion is shortened by a year with 2 years left for the MBA ?

 

[eddavatar]

Wow -- it sounds like Pharm D./MBA is the route to take for someone looking to make the bank! Thanks to both of you for your responses.

In reality, though, for the majority Pharm D./MBA graduates, is the situation really that rosey? Let's say that I am a recent (oh, 2006) graduate of Mercer's dual Pharm D./MBA program. What kind of opportunities should be available to me? I don't know want to be a retail pharmacist -- I want to get into sales/marketing, as suggested by eddavatar -- but the only job openings I can currently find are for chain retail pharmacists. Would I somehow establish bigshot contacts during the time I earn my MBA, or would I have to send out feelers on my own to the big pharmaceutical companies?

So you finished your MBA already?

I personally never think that finishing the dual degree equals automatic cash-in. It's really about how much you make out of the experience during school networking. So one way of looking at it is that it might be due to the fact that the people finishing PharmD/MBA are more ambitious and therefore they aggressively make their contacts, rather than the degrees making them the jobs. I attend a lot of mixer type events to know people from industry in hope that I get internships.

To use an analogy, I think the MBA is a key, not a door. It's up to you whether you want to walk to the doors and use the key to open the doors you otherwise have to pick open.

P.S. Industry's not the only path to go. Managed care would also love your service. One of the guys I've mentioned earlier was also offered a job to do PBM.

 

[eddavatar]

is the difficulty level of pharmD vs pharmD/MBA huge? for most programs, it seems like the pharmacy portion is shortened by a year with 2 years left for the MBA ?

For us, we take a year off from pharmacy school to go take MBA core classes. The rest of the classes we take over summer or at night. So in terms of workload, it's probably a little heavier.

 

[pharm004]

I'm applying to pharmacy school for the fall and I am interested in the PharmD as well as the MBA degree. The only school that I'm applying to that has the dual PharmD/MBA is Idaho State University. My question is would it be wise to persue this dual degree or finish my PharmD and look for a more prestigious program later?

 

[eddavatar]

It depends on what you want to do w/ your MBA. If Wall Street is in any part of your future plans, no, don't get it from Idaho State because anything from outside the top 10 is an uphill battle. But if you just want to learn to be a businessperson and make contacts, that would save you some tuition.

I do it now because USC has a pretty decent reputation and I don't want to go back to school later in my life (unless if I'll ever go for a JD).

 

[Farmercyst]

I'd agree, my Economics Prof was a USC grad and he taught at CSUSB and SBVC. He said grads from USC can typically start anywhere from 75-90K and get some pretty sweet jobs. Same degree from CSUSB you get ~60 to start and generally at no name or decent name, low level jobs. Of course there are exceptions to every rule/stereotype, but my understanding is that this has been the trend for a while now.

 

[pharm004]

Thanks for the adivce/tips. 😎