Geisinger Commonwealth has launched new School of Graduate Studies

Building upon its vision to create a university for health sciences, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine has launched its new School of Graduate Studies. The master of biomedical sciences (MBS) program, which has graduated 410 students since 2009, serves as the cornerstone of the school. Additional degrees in areas including informatics, genomics and population health are under development and will soon follow. The school will also house administration of joint degrees with academic partners in the region, including the University of Scranton and the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (BSBI) in Doylestown, where Geisinger Commonwealth and BSBI offer a novel delivery of the MBS program at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center.

“When the School of Medicine integrated with Geisinger Health, the strategic intent was to offer a range of new degree programs built upon Geisinger’s unique research and systems strengths,” said Steven J. Scheinman, MD, Geisinger Commonwealth president and dean and chief academic officer of the Geisinger Health System. “Our new School of Graduate Studies is the first step in that direction and I am pleased to announce that Dr. Scott Koerwer will oversee the new school as vice dean for graduate studies. Under his leadership, our master of biomedical sciences program has been redesigned to accommodate a broader array of students with varied professional goals. I am confident his vision, energy and drive will make the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Graduate Studies the first choice for students seeking instruction that is both excellent and relevant to the health careers of the future.”

Dr. Koerwer, who also serves as Geisinger Commonwealth’s vice president for strategy, planning and communication, said the new School of Graduate Studies will make the community its classrooms. Students will be required to consider community health needs and to engage with community partners when pursuing graduate studies in biomedical sciences, population health or any number of other degree programs that will be built around the health system’s intellectual and technological prowess.

“Our community is brimming with experts outside the realm of medicine – people who run homeless shelters, shelters for victims of domestic abuse, food pantries, counseling centers – who have unique and valuable insights to share,” Dr. Koerwer said. “Bringing their depth and breadth of knowledge to our curriculum is a vital component in the way Geisinger Commonwealth will educate the healthcare teams of the future.  Our new graduate programs will be grounded in the most pressing healthcare challenges in our communities and they will serve as not only an arena for education but also a foundation of workforce development.”

Geisinger Commonwealth plans to mark this milestone in its growth with a celebration Sept. 8.

About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country.  Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.