Curriculum

MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences students complete degree requirements in four semesters over two years, augmented by coursework during August at the beginning of the program and during both January terms. Students have the summer free between Year 1 and Year 2 to work on their own startup concept or pursue an internship at a technology company.

Students develop a foundation in business fundamentals—strategy, marketing, finance—while also gaining advanced skills in engineering, design thinking, and innovation management. The curriculum emphasizes that leading successful ventures requires more than technical know-how: it demands the ability to design products, business models, and organizations that meet real-world needs and create lasting value. 

Year 1 is spent at HBS completing the MBA Required Curriculum (RC), although students start the program as a cohort on campus in August and complete the Design Theory and Practice. They then come together during the January term for Technology Venture Immersion.

During Year 2, students split their time between SEAS and HBS, enrolling in electives at each school. As a cohort, they also take the Designing Technology Ventures course during the fall term, and, during the January and spring terms, complete the Capstone course, in which they work in a small team to build and launch a new product.

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First Year

Summer

During the summer between Year 1 and Year 2, most students either work on their own startup concept or as an intern in a technology venture. They may apply for a summer fellowship grant from Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. In 2017, 80 HBS MBA students received Rock Summer Fellowship grants averaging $6,000 apiece.

Second Year