LSUS, LSU Health Shreveport partner to supplement medical education with dual graduate degrees

LSUS, LSU Health Shreveport partner to supplement medical education with dual graduate degrees

SHREVEPORT -- Medical students at LSU Health Shreveport now have an opportunity to leave with more than just a medical degree thanks to a new partnership with LSU Shreveport.

LSUHS medical students can pursue one of three LSUS master's degrees while in medical school:

• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• Master of Health Administration (MHA)
• Master of Public Health (MPH)

Leaders at the two institutions celebrated the Memorandum of Understanding with a signing ceremony in the Business Engagement Center on the LSUS campus.

"We've been working on the integration of our two programs for about a year, and we think this is great for our two schools as well as for the state in general to allow medical students the opportunity to do graduate work in public health, business and health administration," said Dr. Lester Johnson, MD, FACS, LSU Health Shreveport Senior Vice Chancellor. "Our medical students will be able to utilize the knowledge from these graduate degrees throughout their career and will add width, breadth and depth to those careers.

"This is something that's happening nationwide, and now it's available in our state."

Medical students who are completing their second pre-clinical year at LSU Health Shreveport can enroll in either LSUS's MBA, MHA or MPH programs, completing those degrees in approximately one year before starting the clinical phase of medical school.

The MBA and MHA programs are online while the MPH is face-to-face in the evenings. Nine MPH credit hours would be completed during the clinical phase from LSUHS electives which are already part of the MD program.

"LSUS nor LSU Health Shreveport alone would have never been able to pull off something like this, but pooling our resources, we are able to provide something that meets the needs of the broader Louisiana community," said Dr. Robert Smith (Ph.D.), LSUS Chancellor. "Medical students now have access to our outstanding graduate programs and to opportunities they didn't have previously.

"We are continuing to look for opportunities to grow in high need areas where there's no present access."

Future doctors are furthering their understanding of an increasingly complex healthcare system, preparing themselves to operate their own practices or obtain administrative positions, and understanding how to protect and improve the health of entire groups.

Medical students are increasingly desiring dual degrees with an estimated nine percent pursuing a second degree, according to a 2025 study by the American Association of Medical Colleges.

That doesn't include doctors and other medical professionals who return to school for graduate degrees once they are a practicing clinician, including LSUS's own three graduate programs mentioned above.

LSUS and LSU Health have partnered on numerous occasions throughout recent years, which includes joint operation of the Master of Public Health program and various degree pathways that leverage the strengths of both institutions.

Both leaders said more agreements are in the works.