ANN ARBOR—The art of business and the business of art is more than a semantic twist—it’s an apt synopsis of a new post-graduate degree.

As a strategic and timely solution to the ongoing challenge of preparing students to thrive in the complex 21st-century job market, the University of Michigan announces a new dual graduate degree program that joins a rigorous business curriculum with an immersion in the conceptualization, development and distribution of creative work.

This four-year program awards participating graduate students two degrees upon completion of their studies—Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA). The program is a coordinated curriculum between the U-M Stephen M. Ross School of Business and U-M School of Art & Design and is one of the first MFA/MBA programs in the U.S.

Applications are now being accepted for fall 2009 admission into the program. Applications are due Jan 1, 2009.

Teaching business fundamentals to art and design students and encouraging business students to investigate the context and methodologies of creative work is an uncommon but exceedingly timely hybrid of academic disciplines in a multidisciplinary world where innovation is essential.

“Market pressures and commercial realities have a profound impact on creative work in art and design,” said Bryan Rogers, dean of U-M School of Art & Design. “Yet study in economics, marketing and accounting isn’t available through standard MFA programs.”

“The new program”, said Brad Smith, associate dean for graduate education, School of Art & Design, “provides students critical entrepreneurial and management skills along with a thorough analysis of advertising and marketing models. It gives students a deeper understanding of how creative work is conceived, produced and distributed.”

In a culture immersed in visual images, multimedia and branding, creativity is an indispensable component of business success. For business students, in addition to combining intensive training in real-life business consulting and traditional coursework, the MBA program aims at a deeper understanding of the cultural currents that shape marketplace sensibilities. The dual degree program expands business students’ traditional coursework to include a study of perception, design processes and visual media culture.

“Business students must learn to be innovative in responding to challenges, and creative in solving problems,” said Valerie Suslow, associate dean, Ross Business School. “Learning design principles and understanding the evolution of creative work gives business students insight into marketing, product design and organizational behavior.”

Design is increasingly integrated into business strategy, said Suslow. “Designers benefit when they are fluent in basic business fundamentals that haven’t been part of the traditional design education or career path,” she said. “Graduates with the dual degree will be prepared to operate effectively within the growing number of organizations that require significant cross-functional collaboration.”

The dual degree program requires one year less of study than pursuing the two degrees independently.