STEM-Designated Graduate Business Programs

By 2028, it is estimated that there will be more than a million jobs in the science, technology, engineering and math ( STEM ) fields. In preparation, these STEM-designated programs offered by the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall will equip you to utilize technology, data and business analytics to make effective business decisions and solve complex business problems.

• M.B.A. in Business Analytics

Students receive an experiential learning experience by analyzing actual data used to determine findings essential for decision-making in management.

• M.B.A. in Information Technology Management

Students develop technology management skills critical for protecting confidential data for high-profile organizations.

• M.B.A. in Supply Chain Management

Students receive high-level training to apply analytical and technical methods required for enhancing supply chain operations.

• M.S. in Business Analytics (Online) in my career and development. The program is special to me for a myriad of reasons, particularly as I am a graduate of the program, a former graduate assistant of the long-standing former director (Mike Reuter) and now serve as a member of the Advisory Council.

Students receive an experiential learning experience by analyzing actual data used to determine findings essential for decision-making in management.

In addition, international students benefit from taking STEM programs as the STEM designation allows them to apply to extend their 12-month optional practical training (OPT) by an additional 24 months.

What great minds can do.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is difficult, but necessary.

ITL What attracted you to the law field, and more specifically, to practicing law in health care?

SWOGIER Health care and patients. When I started my career — like many young law students not knowing exactly what I wanted to specialize in — I knew I had a passion for the healthcare industry, from supporting providers and healthcare systems to the regulation of drugs and devices.

HOMETOWN

Wheatfield, New York CAREER

Pharmaceutical regulatory attorney, at Gilead Sciences

SETON HALL STATS

B.A./B.S., Stillman School of Business; J.D., Seton Hall Law; Dean’s Advisory Committee; Alpha Kappa Psi; The Stillman Exchange; graduate of the Gerald P. Buccino Leadership Program

IN THE LEAD Thanks for taking the time with us, Jillian. Can you describe your current position?

JILLIAN SWOGIER I am an in-house attorney at Gilead Sciences, Inc. My area of practice is focused on market access and drug pricing. I work on regulatory and government affairs matters to help ensure Gilead is compliant with all laws in bringing our products and pipeline drugs to market, ensuring patient accessibility to our life-saving drugs.

My passion and time also aligned nicely to help guide my career path. The year I graduated from Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business was the same year the Affordable Care Act was starting to take effect throughout the industry. I started my career in healthcare informatics, working on strategies and solutions to create predictive modeling and bring new delivery methods into the complex healthcare system.

It was experience after experience that continued to shape my path. I kept practicing in areas that I enjoyed. Naturally being drawn to logic, problemsolving and complex science brought me to the life sciences industry and regulatory path.

ITL How did the Buccino Leadership Program prepare you to lead after graduation?

SWOGIER The Gerald P. Buccino Leadership Program played a huge role

The program helped arm me as a leader by requiring my colleagues and me to continuously challenge ourselves and always strive to be better and improve as professionals and individuals. The greatest preparation in becoming a leader was the higher-level honors curriculum, additional coursework, creating relationships and a network, and being surrounded by the “best of the best” and brightest in our class.

ITL Is there a moment or an activity that stands out as being a turning point in your leadership development at Seton Hall?

SWOGIER Two moments stick out.

The first was my junior-year mentoring project. Each leadership student was paired with a seasoned mentor who was at the peak of their career. My mentor was Dick Smith, the former president and general counsel of Chubb Insurance. I spent many, many hours learning from Dick about his career, the law and notably his experience during the infamous Lindbergh trials. Dick single-handedly prepared my mindset at a very young age for law school and a long, long legal career.

The other moment that sticks out to me was the Advisory Council dinners. These dinners are opportunities for students to meet and interact with senior executives from a variety of fields in a one-on-one way. Students and top executives can exchange contact information, discuss everything from hobbies and lifestyles to career paths and education. I have met many professionals from universities all over the country who never had the opportunity to experience that type of exposure when they were in school. Those experiences really stick out to me.

ITL How important is teamwork in your career? Did the program prepare you to be a good team player?

SWOGIER Teamwork is critical in my career. My team at Gilead works in a very communicative and uniform fashion, meaning we have multiple meetings a week to connect both as a full team (all seven of us) and in smaller subgroups. While it is common for many practicing attorneys to work in an individual capacity, my team manages risk, bounces ideas off one another and creates a brain trust by continuous collaboration.

The program honed my teamwork skills as a developing professional in a lot of ways. One day upon my arrival at Seton Hall as a freshman (and even the summer prior), Mike Reuter connected our class as a unit through communication channels and by encouraging forming relationships. Once on campus and in the program, our class did everything together from taking the same core classes and extracurriculars to attending frequent events and dinners. The unity promoted by the structure of the program is truly beneficial to teaching students to be team players and think about the group, rather than just oneself.

ITL What leadership skills do you find recent college or law school graduates need to be successful, but often don’t have?

SWOGIER Newly minted graduates have so much to offer. Typically, a new graduate excels at being agile, tireless and nimble. Especially in the legal field, I see new attorneys with great ideas and solutions; however, these same graduates still need training and practical practice. This is something I learned quickly. Law school teaches the doctrinal law and how to think, but it does not teach the practice of law.

This learning will continue for any lawyer, and will not stop. So, be humble and admit what you do not know. There’s this mantra I try to live by that I think is so important: Be comfortable being uncomfortable. Step outside your comfort zone, continue learning, take every opportunity that comes your way and take every chance you get.

ITL What advice would you have given your younger self at Seton Hall?

SWOGIER Stay the path. Do what you enjoy. The rest will come. L