IBH Curriculum

The Bachelor in Science in Integrated Business and Health trains students to combine the knowledge of the social determinants of health with the business tools needed to solve complex health challenges in our society. 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.

Program-Specific Courses

Application of human resource management to the healthcare setting with a focus on how the unique institutional aspects of the healthcare industry affect the recruitment, retention and management of employees. Topics include, for example, managing conflict, burnout associated with long and unpredictable work hours and coping with repeated exposure to trauma and stress.

Prerequisites: MGT 043

The healthcare industry faces many unique operational challenges. Managing trade offs between cost, quality, and access is not only important to individual care organizations, it has become a national priority. This course will focus on how operational decisions influence these tradeoffs and the organizational drivers that yield positive patient experiences. We will examine the roles of people, systems, and technology in matching capacity and demand as well as performance measurement.

Prerequisites: SCM 186 and BUAN 044

The economic analysis of health care supply in the U.S. is vital to maximizing both health and business outcomes. This course focuses on provider behavior, market competition, and financing. Students will learn how the supply side interacts with health insurers, the government, and consumers to determine market outcomes, including the price, quantity, and quality of health care. The course emphasizes the role of public policy in shaping supply-side provider decisions and influencing market competition among providers.

Prerequisites: ECO 146 and (ECO 045 or MATH 012 or MATH 231 or BSTA 001).

This course will explain how the core principles of business apply to organizations in the health setting. It will apply knowledge and skills from business, health economics, and health policy to complex and ambiguous real world problems encountered by health and healthcare organizations. Topics include, for example, how to address potential conflicts between population health goals and the financial goals of health organizations. 

Prerequisites: None

This capstone project course immerses students in projects focused on how business, economic, and policy analysis skills can be applied ethically in an organization to improve population health. Students will work in cross-disciplinary teams of 5 to 6 business and health majors alongside a faculty mentor on projects focused on public health and health care policies and community health initiatives.

Prerequisites: BUHE 001; Senior standing

Distribution Requirements


Curriculum Notes

  1. 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 123 total credits are completed.

  2. 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 ( cohadvising@lehigh.edu).

  3. Chosen in consultation with an advisor.

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