Business School, SEAS Launch Joint Degree Program

The Business School and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences will offer a joint master’s program intended for “future leaders of technology ventures,” the two schools announced Tuesday.

The two-year program will award students both a Master of Science in Engineering Sciences and a Master of Business Administration, according to a press release, and is meant to “provide a strong foundation in general management, build design skills, and extend students’ understanding of engineering.”

“The faculty who created this program designed it specifically to bridge the divide between engineering and business for aspiring leaders in the tech sector,” Business School Dean Nitin Nohria said in the press release.

During the full-time program—including summer and January term classes—students will be enrolled at both schools. During the first year, they will primarily focus on completing the basic MBA curriculum, though they will also take a SEAS System Engineering course. The second year will be spent in electives from both schools, including a mandatory Integrated Design course and a capstone project.

The program will also feature several new courses taught jointly by Business and Engineering School faculty.

The schools seek to enroll around 30 students in the program annually, according to the Business School’s website.

Applications to the program’s first cohort will be due in two rounds in September 2017 and January 2018, and the first MS/MBA students will matriculate in August 2018. College seniors will be required to apply through the Business School’s “2+2” program, which defers matriculation for at least two years of full-time work.

Applicants will be required to have an undergraduate degree in engineering, computer science, or a similar field, as well as at least two years of full-time work experience. Applicants must also independently meet the requirements for admission to the Business School’s MBA program and the Engineering School’s MS program.

The Business School now offers six joint degree programs, including partnerships with the Law School, the Medical School, the Dental School, and two with the Kennedy School of Government. The Engineering School offers a joint degree program with the Graduate School of Design.

The announcement comes as the Engineering School prepares to move to Allston, which will bring it into close proximity to the Business School campus.

Dean of SEAS Francis J. Doyle III said that the upcoming physical proximity of the two schools helped spur the development of this program.

“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,” he said in the release.

In an interview in April, Nohria said he looked forward to greater collaboration between the Business School and Harvard’s other schools.

“We’re trying to see if some amount of joint teaching is one way in which our faculty members learn how to work with each other and partner with each other and develop relationships with each other,” he said.