Harvard Business School and Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have unveiled a joint master’s degree aimed at equipping students with the engineering, management, and design skills to drive innovation in new or established technology companies.
The two-year, full-time program will begin to enrol students in August 2018. That cohort would be eligible to receive their joint master of science in engineering sciences and master of business administration (SM/MBA) degrees at Commencement in May 2020.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants should have an undergraduate degree in engineering, computer science, or a related technical field (the so-called STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering, or math). They should have at least two years of full-time work experience—preferably in designing or developing technology-intensive products. They should also fulfil the separate requirements for admission to the HBS and SEAS degree programs.
“The faculty who created this program designed it specifically to bridge the divide between engineering and business for aspiring leaders in the tech sector who want to drive and manage innovation throughout their organisations,”
“We are looking for individuals who want to balance their passion for engineering and innovation with a deep understanding of management and leadership,” said Chad Losee, Managing Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid at HBS. “The students we are seeking have already distinguished themselves technically; this program will help propel them into leadership roles.”
Candidates for the MS/MBA can apply in either Round 1 (September 6, 2017, application submission deadline) or Round 2 (January 3, 2018, deadline) to matriculate with the first cohort in August 2018. College seniors must apply in April (April 10, 2018, deadline) for “2+2” deferred admission.
According to HBS, the program, designed to train future leaders of technology ventures, will provide a strong foundation in general management, build design skills, and extend students’ understanding of engineering. The program will leverage existing HBS and SEAS curricula, as well as several new courses designed and taught jointly by faculty from both schools.
“The faculty who created this program designed it specifically to bridge the divide between engineering and business for aspiring leaders in the tech sector who want to drive and manage innovation throughout their organisations,” said HBS Dean Nitin Nohria, the George F. Baker Professor of Administration.
“This is a truly collaborative endeavour between HBS and SEAS,” said Frank Doyle, dean of SEAS and the John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “The expansion of SEAS to a state-of-the-art science and engineering complex across the street from HBS presents a compelling opportunity to leverage the resources of our schools. This collaborative program will meet the needs of an increasingly technology-driven world, in which breakthrough solutions to societal problems require deep knowledge of both engineering and business.”
The program spans four semesters, augmented by additional summer and January term coursework. In the first year of the program, students will take a System Engineering course that emphasises an interdisciplinary approach to analysing complex systems, as well as the HBS MBA Required Curriculum, which conveys concepts and builds skills across disciplines relevant to general management, including marketing, organisational behaviour and finance.
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In the second year, students will take electives at each school. The program also features three new design courses that emphasise learning-by-doing and build students’ skills with human-centred design and lean experimentation methods.
As graduate students in SEAS, students will be formally enrolled in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and enjoy the benefits of affiliation with this vibrant academic community. Harvard master’s students join a cohort of innovative thinkers who seek to answer fundamental questions, advance new knowledge, and develop creative modes of inquiry in an interdisciplinary environment.
HBS said the nascent program was different from similar programs like MIT’s suite of integrated design and management and system design and management programs and one at Northwestern’s Kellogg School. The Harvard students’ combined prior undergraduate studies, required work experience, and two-year curriculum—with its deep immersion in engineering, much of HBS’s management curriculum, and design disciplines applicable to both products and enterprises—differentiate the new joint degree.
