Masters in Multitasking

Insurance industry CEO Steven Mariano, with Christopher Callahan, the first recipient of the Mariano Scholarship.

Three new degrees offer University of Miami students innovative ways of efficiently broadening their knowledge base. The J.D./M.M. degree is a three-to-four-year program combining a Juris Doctor from the School of Law and a Master of Music in Music Business and Entertainment Industries from the Frost School of Music. Business school graduates can earn a triple-degree—J.D., LL.M. in taxation, and M.B.A.— in four years. The “unique in the country” program, says Miami Law Dean Patricia D. White, blends “an extraordinarily powerful combination of skills.” Third-year law student Christopher Callahan suggested the idea and is its first Mariano Scholarship recipient. Christopher Pizzo, J.D. ’09, a “distinguished graduate,” liked the law school and wanted to do something for it; his cousin, Steven Mariano, the CEO and chair of Patriot National Insurance Group Inc., showed his support for his cousin’s alma mater by making a $1.5 million pledge to launch the program.

And there is now a six-year J.D./M.D. program for those seeking health sector law, leadership, and policy careers; wanting to understand the legal aspects of running a medical practice; or planning to become high-level hospital executives or administrators. Students spend two years in the M.D. program, two focusing on the J.D. degree, and the last two completing aspects of both.