Integrated Business and Health (IBH)

Program Directors:

Han Ye, PhD
College of Business

Eduardo J. Gómez, PhD, MA
College of Health

Contact information:

inibh@lehigh.edu
website: https://ibh.lehigh.edu/

Integrated Degree in Business and Health 

The inter-college interdisciplinary BS in Business and Health, Integrated Business and Health (IBH), trains students to become leaders in the health industry by developing an understanding of the core principles of business alongside an in-depth knowledge of health economics and policy. The program prepares future leaders of the health industry to better understand and address the vital conditions that shape community health and promote health equity.

Integrated Business and Health offers undergraduate students interested in the health and healthcare industries the opportunity to combine knowledge and skills gained through the core curriculum offered by the College of Business with in-depth, interdisciplinary training in health economics, health policy and community health offered by the College of Health. The program will also train students to understand the social determinants of health and how to work with communities to develop and implement solutions to community health challenges.

The program incorporates an integrated seminar in the freshman year and a senior year capstone experience. These two seminars will provide students the opportunity to reflect on the connections between the business aspects of healthcare and insurance and society’s commitment to promoting the health of its members through both government and community-based initiatives.

Business and Health Career Opportunities

Health is a large and growing dimension of the U.S. economy and offers a range of career opportunities to students who understand core business principles and have the substantive knowledge to apply these principles within the health sector.

Graduates of the program will have the unique ability to effectively lead their organizations and navigate them through the complex institutional structures and policies of the healthcare sector, and by doing so, devise solutions to one of society’s most pressing challenges; the equitable promotion of population health in a resource-constrained environment.

BS Integrated Business & Health

The BS in Business and Health trains students to apply knowledge about the social determinants of health, and the ability to work with communities, to develop and implement solutions in the health industry.  This interdisciplinary program provides students with knowledge and skills from the core curriculum in business and health economics offered by the College of Business and training in health policy and community health from the College of Health.   

The program follows a cohort-based structure, which ensures that students progress through the curriculum together as a group. Consequently, transferring into the program from other programs at Lehigh or external institutions is not allowed. Students must indicate their intention to enroll in the IC program when they apply for admission to Lehigh. 

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Distribution courses should be chosen in consultation with the advisor. Courses taken within the major department to satisfy a major may not satisfy distribution requirements in more than one area. The student (with the advisor's assistance) is responsible for seeing that courses used in the major are not used to complete the distribution requirements in more than one area.  If a distribution requirement is applied to the major requirement, students may take any additional course(s) as long as 122 - 124 total credits are completed.  

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Courses that meet the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Sustainability requirements are labeled with the attributes DEIN and SUST.  Additional information on courses that meet these requirements is also available by contacting the College of Health advising office at cohadvising@lehihg.edu. 

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Chosen in consultation with an advisor. 

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Electives must be taken outside of the College of Business and the College of Health.

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Total credits may vary depending on the student's course selection for the following requirements: BSTA 101 Population Health Data Science I & BSTA 102 Population Health Data Science I Algorithms Lab (4 credits total) or ECO 045 Statistical Methods (3 credits), and BSTA 103 Population Health Data Science II & BSTA 104 Population Health Data Science II Algorithms Lab (4 credits total) or ECO 157 Statistical Methods II (3 credits).