Graduate students at the UNLV College of Business now have additional degree choices.

Starting in the fall, the college will expand the master of business administration program with two dual degrees. MBA students can now combine a traditional MBA degree with either a law degree or a dental medicine degree.

In addition, the college will begin offering a master of science in management information systems (MIS).

The college is offering these programs in response to market demand. "We are not unlike any other business," said Nasser Daneshvary, associate dean and director of MBA programs. "We must change our product to meet the demands of the market."

He said that both lawyers and dentists often enter their practices skilled in their professions but with little practical knowledge of the daily business management issues they will encounter. "The dual MBA program provides students with a solid foundation for making the business decisions that they most assuredly will face as practicing professionals," Daneshvary said.

The MIS program was in direct response to the institutional mission of becoming a premier urban university and to the regional, state, and national demand for highly skilled information technology professionals, according to Reza Torkzadeh, chair of the department of MIS. "The master of science in MIS is a critical program for the UNLV College of Business," he said. "With this program, we will be able to attract high-caliber students and faculty. And, as a result, Southern Nevada will benefit from the pool of highly trained information systems specialists available to the local workforce."

Through its teaching, research, and service activities, the UNLV College of Business is a critical component of economic development in the region. In addition to serving more than 3,800 undergraduate students in nine majors, the college offers five graduate degrees.