Students can now earn a degree in healthcare management or a master’s in entrepreneurship through new programs at the Ivy College of Business.

The Ivy College of Business has announced two new programs for the 2022-2023 school year. These new programs are the healthcare management program and the master of entrepreneurship program.

The healthcare management program combines student interests in healthcare and business into one major and will help students enter a growing field after graduation.

“According to the [Bureau of Labor Statistics], jobs for healthcare managers are expected to grow by 32% between 2019 and 2029,” said Natallia Gray, the director of the healthcare management program. “[This] is much faster than the average of 4% of all occupations.”

The healthcare management program will combine three categories of learning objectives: foundational knowledge of the healthcare management field; comprehensive business skills; and experiential learning to best prepare students for future careers in healthcare management.

“This degree will lead students to well-paid and ample employment opportunities in the healthcare industry where decisions that they will make will positively impact not only organizational bottom-line, but also lives in our community,” Gray said.

The healthcare management program is expected to complete the approval process by the Board of Regents during the May 31 and June 1 meeting. Students are expected to be able to declare healthcare management as their major by June 1.

While the healthcare management program is still waiting for final approval, the master of entrepreneurship program was granted approval by the Board of Regent at the April 6-7 meeting.

The master of entrepreneurship is a one-year, 30-credit program focused on experiential learning that builds off of the nationally ranked undergraduate entrepreneurship programs.

According to Pol Herrmann, a professor of management and entrepreneurship, the program is designed for four different types of students: recent graduates looking for a business idea and starting it; recent graduates who wish to be connected to existing startup teams or who wish to access university Intellectual Property (IP) to help found a business; current entrepreneurs who wish to build their startup; and working professionals with aspirations to become entrepreneurs.

The program is in partnership with the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship to give students ample opportunities for their experiential learning. Experiential learning opportunities include working in independent business ventures, summer accelerators, technology incubators and practical internships.

Students involved with the master’s program will not only have access to experiential learning opportunities, but they will also have access to startup support, mentors, professional services and founders and teams of existing entrepreneurial businesses.

“I expect this to be a very successful and popular program,” Herrmann said. “We have many resources and opportunities we can offer to potential students who can be immersed in the ISU entrepreneurial ecosystem and gain the knowledge, skills, and practical experience to start and manage new business ventures independently or within established organizations.”