Top 5 Signs You Are Ready for an Online Master’s Degree in 21st Century Healthcare

June 11, 2018

Taking that step to enroll in a Master’s degree program could result in a promotion, open doors to a new career, and help you achieve a dream. It can even transform your life.

But, deciding to go back to school can be confusing, daunting, and expensive.

What if you could realize your graduate school dream, keep working, continue living where you are, and not break the bank?

The top-10 ranked University of Florida’s Online Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy offers professionals a way to pursue MS, MS+MBA, or Graduate Certificate degrees in one of 4 Specialty Areas, all while continuing to work full-time in their job! 

Is this the type of graduate program for you? Let’s explore.

Here are the top 5 signs you are ready for a Master’s Degree to advance your career into 21st Century healthcare.

 

1. You want more advancement potential in your job.

Are you in a job that is starting to feel routine, or you believe you have more to offer but can’t? Do the positions you aspire to require additional degrees or specialization? No matter how hard you work, unless you have the right credentials, these new opportunities may continue to be out of reach…unless you get a specific graduate degree that gives you marketable skills.

A graduate degree that focuses on a the areas most in demand in healthcare (health outcomes, analytics, patient safety, managed care, pharmaceutical regulation) is virtually required in today’s changing healthcare environment; and a degree from a top 10 University taught by world-renowned professors may be just the right antidote for your current employment “failure to thrive”.

2. You know what you want to study.

Simply going to graduate school – any graduate school –  is not the best solution if it’s just a way of treading water or delaying a decision. Pursuing a master’s degree, a MS+MBA, or even a graduate certificate, is a big decision and a commitment.

If you know the area you want to specialize in and it’s related to the vastly growing field of healthcare outcomes and policy – and specifically, Applied PharmacoEconomics, Managed Care Systems, Patient Safety in Medication Use, or Pharmaceutical Regulation – then the University of Florida’s Online Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy may be the perfect fit for you.

This flexible graduate program blends applied, real-world learning and is taught by professors with rigorous academics and in-the-trenches knowledge. Your fellow students are working professionals who bring their life experiences and business savvy to the classroom, creating a melting pot of learning that gives you tools to apply to your job on the very first day of class.

3. You miss working on real-life problems that can change healthcare.

Do you want to work in a job that helps make things better in our world and gives you satisfaction at the end of the day? Do you crave working on projects that solve real problems?

Then pursuing a graduate degree from a world-renowned research institution like University of Florida, within the Top-10 ranked School of Pharmacy, is a perfect fit. Fellow students come from a vast array of global companies, including health systems, hospitals, law firms, biotechnology, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. You are in a virtual classroom with seasoned business executives, entrepreneurs, healthcare providers, and individuals just beginning their careers. Diversity, innovation, real-life problem-solving – all this awaits you.

 

4. You need a flexible graduate program that allows you to keep working and/or balance your family demands.

Many of us want to pursue a graduate degree, but it’s impractical to quit our job and become a full-time student. Many of us having families, children, community and volunteer responsibilities. You wonder, “can I manage it all?”.

At the University of Florida, we understand this, and the Online Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy allows you to pursue an MS, MS+MBA, or Graduate Certificate while you stay employed full-time, or manage your family life. We have more than 400 alumni success stories who have balanced their academic commitments with family life. The UF Online Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy Graduate Program provides flexibility in so many ways:

  • Start anytime during the year
  • Complete in <5 semesters, or take time off for life/professional events and take up to 7 years!
  • Applied, practical, real-world model education
  • GRE waived/delayed for most students
  • No thesis

Priced less than most competitor programs with a substantial discounts offered for Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy members, the UF POP program is fully accredited and recognized worldwide for educational rigor and quality.

 


“The course load, timing of exams, and amount of assignments worked well with my other responsibilities and it wasn’t too burdensome. This was really important.”

~Former graduate student, now Manager, GHEOR at Xcenda


 

5. You’ve looked at online graduate programs, but they all seem the same, are too niche, or it seems hard to learn “alone on your computer.”

The UF Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy program is different than most online graduate programs. Open to anyone with a B.S. (or higher) degree, students in UF’s program come from all walks of life, many with diverse and varied experience. And you do NOT have to have a healthcare background! Up to 25% of students come from non-healthcare backgrounds, and recognize the importance of applied skills in healthcare systems, one of the greatest growth areas of the future! No prior healthcare experience required!

 

Choose from MS, MS+MBA, or Graduate Certificate Program.
And focus on your area of interest, with 4 Specialty Tracks:

 


 “I got a great foundation across many areas of healthcare, including policy, ethics, epidemiology, data analytics, and economics. I learned things in my classes that immediately helped me in my job – even before graduating!”

~Former Graduate Student, now Director, Clinical Program Management at major PBM


 

Another way the UF POP graduate program is different is that it is online, but interactive with professors and students!

At UF’s Online Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, you won’t be stuck learning on your own with a dis-embodied voice and a PPT presentation! In an innovative, time-tested, and highly rated format called “Live Online Learning”, students in the online graduate program learn in a teacher-led once weekly class attended by you and all your fellow students. For about two hours on Sunday nights, you gather online to listen to a live lecture, ask questions, network, and problem-solve – together. So, you get the advantage of online learning, where you can “attend” class from anywhere (your home, in your PJs, or the airport while on a business trip). But, you also get the advantage of interactive learning as if you are in a classroom – albeit a “virtual classroom”.

Here’s what other students say about the Live Online Learning in the UF Online Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy Graduate Program:


“I had taken online classes before that had no live component to them, and you just play it back on-demand. I found it really hard if you have questions. You can’t raise your hand (like you can in our live online classes), and interaction with classmates was invaluable, particularly for me because I didn’t have a healthcare background.”

~JB, Managed Market Account Manager for a large pharmaceutical manufacturer.

 

“This program really met my needs for workload and offered important flexibility when I started a new job. I was able to take a semester off to move and get into my new position, then restart the program.”

~DG, PharmD, MS, MBA, Director at a major healthcare insurance company


 

Not quite ready to commit? Then join us for an Informational Webinar, Wednesday, June 20th, 2018 from 6:00 to 7:00 pm EST.

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