The Wayne State University Board of Governors approved the establishment of four new degree programs during their Jan. 24 meeting. The programs, scheduled to launch this year, include: Ph.D. program in the School of Business Administration; Joint Pharm.D/Ph.D. program in the Pharmacy Practice and the Pharmaceutical Sciences departments of the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Pediatric Global Health Graduate Certificate program in the School of Medicine; and Joint Master of Library and Information Science/Master of Arts in history program in the College of Liberal Arts & Science.

Wayne State’s School of Business Administration has more than 1,400 undergraduates and more than 1,000 graduate students – the majority of whom are in the MBA program. However, it is one of a small number of business schools within nationally ranked doctoral-research institutions that did not have a Ph.D. program.

The objective of the doctoral program, scheduled to launch during the 2007 fall semester, is to prepare students to become faculty at major research universities. The program will offer three tracks – finance, management and marketing – with a global focus in each.
Effective during the spring/summer 2007 semester, a Joint Pharm.D./Ph.D. Program in the Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences departments of the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, will be established. The need for this type of program has increased since the conversion of the entry-level pharmacy degree from a baccalaureate degree to a professional doctorate in the late 1990s. With this change, the number of graduate students in pharmacy schools nationally has decreased as well as the number of pharmacy students pursuing a graduate doctoral degree. Nationally, the downward trend has severely restricted the pool of potential pharmacy faculty, and this program will contribute to reversing this trend.

The School of Medicine’s interdepartmental Graduate Certificate Program in Pediatric Global Health, to be offered through its master’s program in Medical Research, has been approved for fall semester 2007. This interdisciplinary program offers biomedical research training to individuals with professional medical degrees (M.D., D.O., D.D.S., Pharm.D.). The certificate will provide a needed and unique educational opportunity for medical trainees and faculty to increase their understanding of issues in children’s health care worldwide, as well as the impact of globalization on children’s health care.

With the vast increase in international travel over the past decades, global health issues have become a primary focus of research and study. The health of people in one area of the world can rapidly and substantially impact the well-being of people in other areas of the world. The AIDS epidemic, Bird Flu, and the SARS epidemic represent examples of health disorders which began as local conditions rapidly expanding to have global health, psychological, physical, economic and social consequences. Because of this globalization, it is increasingly important for clinicians to be trained in issues affecting the health of children all over the world.

Effective fall semester 2007, a Joint degree program leading to the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) and the Master of Arts (MA) with a major in history, has been approved. The combination of these degrees provides education and training for those seeking employment in large libraries, archives and historical agencies. Increasingly, employers have recognized that librarians, archivists, museum employees, manuscript curators, records managers and historical agency staffers use skills requiring both advanced information management and historical knowledge.

Interest in library and information studies, history, genealogy, historic preservation and archives management creates a demand for professionals with expertise in both historical methods and information management. A Joint degree program in Library and Information Science and History will assist in meeting this demand. It will also promote collaboration between two university programs with some common interests.

For information on these programs or to apply to Wayne State’s more than 60 doctoral degree programs, 139 master\'s degree programs and 32 certificate, specialist and professional programs, contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at (313) 577-3577 or visit gradadmissions.wayne.edu.