MBA/MPP & MBA/MPA-ID

Joint degrees with Harvard Kennedy School

Under skillful faculty direction, classrooms become crucibles for leadership: students test their judgment, explore complex ideas, reflect on their leadership styles, and embrace new models and methods for effective business management.

The HBS/HKS joint degree programs serve a growing need of critical importance to global society: their mission is to develop leaders, skilled in management and the shaping of innovative public policy, who will assume positions of influence spanning business, government, and nonprofit organizations, through which they will contribute significantly to the well-being of society.

In 2007, Harvard Business School (HBS) and Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) created two joint degree programs in business and government: the Master in Business Administration/Master in Public Policy (MBA/MPP) and the Master in Business Administration/Master in Public Administration-International Development (MBA/MPA-ID). The first cohort accepted to these joint degree programs matriculated in fall 2008.

By participating in the HBS/HKS joint degree programs, structured to be completed in three years, candidates will have demonstrated exceptional aptitude in the complementary areas of policy expertise and cross-disciplinary management. Graduates will be prepared for complex issues that call for the collaboration of the public, nonprofit, and private sectors—and for leadership effective in each.

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Curriculum

The MBA/MPP and MBA/MPA-ID are three-year programs that combine the core curricula of the HBS MBA and HKS degrees with a wide range of elective options from both schools. The two joint degree programs are structurally similar but differ largely in the HKS courses required and in the elective options in the final year.

Admissions & Financial Aid

Students interested in the MBA/MPP or MBA/MPA-ID joint degree programs apply to HBS and HKS separately and are selected independently within the same application cycle of a given year. When applying, students must identify their interest in the joint degree program in each school’s application and submit a joint degree program application essay to both schools.

Frequently Asked Questions