Loyola University Chicago

Department of Biology

BS in Biology/MBA Five-Year Program

With contemporary life sciences playing an ever-larger role in the economy, there is an increasing demand by employers for individuals with rigorous training in biology as well as business. Career opportunities in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are expanding significantly, and are likely to continue to do so for the foreseeable future as applications of modern biological research continue to grow.

The BS in Biology/MBA dual-degree program provides the type of broad training that contemporary employers in these industries value. It is the first program of its type in the Chicago area. Apply now.

Program Requirements

Students will complete all the normal requirements for the BS in Biology. The MBA program is an 18-course program, including the following required courses:

  • ACCT 400. Accounting
  • MARK 460. Marketing
  • ISSCM 400. Quantitative Methods
  • ISSCM 491. Statistics
  • ECON 420. Economics

Biology majors who have been admitted to the five-year program can be waived from certain MBA courses, given the following:

  • Waived from: ISSCM 400
    If: Student receives grades of B or higher in MATH 131 & 132

  • Waived from: ISSCM 491
    If: Student receives grade of B or higher in BIOL 335

  • Waived from: ECON 420
    If: Student receives grades of B or higher in ECON 201 & 202*

* ECON 201 & 202 also fulfill the social science requirement of the Core Curriculum.

Biology majors admitted to the five-year program can take up to three of the required MBA courses listed above during their senior year. The MBA courses are taught in the evening on a quarter system, with the first quarter beginning at approximately the same time as the fall semester.

Course waivers are determined upon admission to the MBA program. Ideally, biology majors will be waived from ISSCM 400, ISSCM 491 and ECON 420. Thus, they will take ACCT 400 and MARK 460 during their senior year. These graduate courses can be applied as six hours of free electives toward the BS in Biology degree.

Progress through the Program

In addition to completing the normal requirements for the BS in Biology, students planning to enter the MBA program should do the following:

Freshman/Sophomore Years: Arrange their undergraduate course scheduling to preserve six hours of free electives until their senior year. The majority of biology majors have math and foreign language placements upon entrance that already give them the six hours of free electives. Through use of summer school, the remaining students can also readily have the free elective hours by the time they are seniors. During their first two years, students should take ECON 201 and ECON 202, which will satisfy the social science requirement of the Core Curriculum and allow the student to waive out of ECON 420.

Junior Year (2nd semester): Take the GMAT and make formal application to the MBA program. Take BIOL 335. Biostatistics, which counts as an upper-level elective in the biology major and allows the student to waive out of ISOM 491.

Senior Year: Take ACCT 400 and MARK 460, which will count as free electives toward the BS degree. Complete all requirements for the BS in Biology.

Fifth Year: During the fifth year, students who have followed the above directions will have a total of 13 MBA courses remaining. These courses can be completed full-time at the rate of three or four per quarter (including the summer quarter). Students also have the option to complete the MBA program on a part-time basis (usually one or two courses per quarter).

Tuition & Financial Aid

Students in the program will be charged undergraduate tuition for the graduate MBA courses they take as seniors. They will be charged graduate tuition during the fifth year. Special scholarships are available for students in the fifth year of the program who have achieved a high undergraduate GPA and GMAT score. Specially-designed internships at local biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are also being planned for students in this program.

To Learn More

For more information and advising contact:

Dr. James Cheverud
Chair, Biology Dept.
Quinlan 317D
Phone: 773.508.3681
jcheverud@luc.edu

Mark Law
Assistant Director
Quinlan School of Business, Graduate Programs Office
Loyola University Chicago
16 E. Pearson, Suite 320
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312.915.7203
mlaw1@luc.edu