On May 4, 2024, the first class of Mount Marty University Master of Science in Biotechnology Management students graduated from the Yankton campus at Cimpl Arena.
The Master of Science in Biotechnology Management program officially begins in August 2023. The degree is a 30-credit virtual curriculum designed to be completed in one year and to accommodate the schedule of full-time professionals. It also includes a six-month internship that provides graduates with some of the experience they need in their career search after graduation.
“We are incredibly rare,” says Dr. Mark Brown, executive director and one of the professors in the biotechnology program. “We are a unique program in terms of the type of experience that other faculty and I bring to the program, as the courses we offer are taught entirely by current industry executives.” In addition to teaching at Mount Marty, Colorado State University, the Colorado School of Public Health and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Brown currently serves as CEO of a medical device company and president of a biological pharmaceutical company.
The program is designed for industry teachers to come and teach for a semester and then rotate. Brown mentions that some of the benefits of having industry executives teach are the real-life stories they bring to the classroom and their networking experience, which is very important for these graduates.
Matthew Holler, a fall 2024 biotechnology program graduate, reports on the value of the faculty who teach the courses and how their support is monumental in the learning and career search process. “I think one thing about the faculty and professors that are there now is that they are really impressive people who have been there, done that… They have all been in the industry and have a wealth of experience in a variety of different mediums, whether they be devices , drug discovery, or anything else.”
Holler also mentions that teachers are always up for a meeting or available to provide advice and support when needed.
Biotechnology job opportunities are open and growing as these careers have been categorized as an area of national importance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently, the Mount Marty biotechnology program was also approved to offer the opportunity to earn a graduate certificate in biotechnology management. It’s a 10-credit curriculum that may seem appealing to current industry leaders who don’t have time for a 30-credit curriculum. Brown explains that students will still take the common master’s student classes, but faculty will work with graduate certificate students to fill the remaining credits based on their overall goals and experience.
Eight students participated in the May 4 graduation ceremony at the Yankton campus, with more than 20 graduating from the program in total.
