Launching of the Graduate School
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts awarded Massachusetts General Hospital degree-granting authority in 1977, despite objections from other universities to the innovative concept of a hospital granting degrees. Mass General initially was authorized to grant Master of Science degrees in physical therapy, nursing, speech-language pathology and dietetics, as well as a Bachelor of Science in respiratory therapy and radiologic technology, although the Institute didn't offer a bachelor degree until 2008. Later amendments have approved additional degree and certificate programs.
Mass General renamed its original Educational Division as MGH Institute of Health Professions in 1980 when the first students were admitted. The first degree, a Master of Science in Physical Therapy, was granted in 1983. In 1982, the Institute admitted students to the direct-entry master's program in nursing, one of the first to enroll baccalaureate prepared individuals with no prior experience or education in nursing.
The MGH Institute became a separate corporation in 1985, with its own board of trustees, although it remains an Mass General affiliate. In 1994, Massachusetts General Hospital joined Brigham and Women's Hospital to found Partners HealthCare, now one of the most highly regarded integrated health care systems in the country.