Science, Technology & Management: Curriculum
Degree candidates in the Science, Technology and Management (STM) program will master a broad discipline of learning, and demonstrate competence in a specialized field within that discipline. The breadth requirement will be satisfied by course work and by passing a qualifying examination. Candidates will prove their competence in a specialized field by completing a body of original research, writing a dissertation that documents that research and defending it at a dissertation examination.
STM Program Requirements
Students are expected to take two courses in Management and Markets, a full year of microeconomic theory, a course in statistics and quantitative methods, five HBS MBA courses, and graduate-level courses in engineering and applied sciences, which define an area of technical expertise.
Coursework
HBS Courses
- Two semesters of Management and Markets
- Two elective HBS graduate business courses
- MBA courses — Students without an MBA must take five MBA elective courses or the first semester of the HBS MBA program. Students with a non-HBS MBA must take one HBS MBA general management elective.
HSEAS Courses
- Four advanced courses which define a technical area of expertise as selected in consultation with an HSEAS advisor and approved by the PAC. The advanced technical courses should consist of at least three graduate level (200 level) courses and at most one upper division (100 level) course. SEAS Courses can be in the following areas: software systems; microelectronics; bioengineering; or advanced materials.
Four graduate level courses in non-HSEAS related areas (e.g. business, statistics).
Years 1 and 2: Course work at SEAS and HBS
By end of year 2: Field Examination
The Field Exam consists of a written and an oral examination and is administered by a committee appointed by the PAC and consisting of HBS and HSEAS faculty members. The Field Exam will test the knowledge of the student in basic business management concepts and evaluate the potential of the student as a researcher. Students are normally expected to take the Field Exam before the end of their second year in the program.
Year 3: Complete remaining course requirements and submit a Dissertation Proposal before the end of the first semester.
Year 4 and beyond: Conduct research, write a Ph.D. dissertation, and pass a final dissertation defense.
STM students will be required to submit a Dissertation Proposal before the end of the first semester of their third year. The dissertation committee will consist of at least one faculty from HBS and one from SEAS. The defense will be public.
Students are expected to complete the program in five or six years.