Harvard University is a private ivy-league research university established in 1636. It is one of the top-most universities in the US. It is widely acclaimed for its focus on innovation, invention, and international exposure. It is very popular for the top-notch courses it provides in the fields of engineering and management. One of these popular courses is MS/MBA program at Harvard.
The Harvard MS/MBA program gives equal importance to engineering, design, and business fundamentals that are required for successfully leading the technology ventures. In order to succeed, a technology venture must meet customer’s needs, make the most of available technological tools, and have a profitable business model. The leaders in the field of technology must possess skills related to designing of products. This program will help in building skills across the fields of engineering, design and management.
In the MS/MBA course, students are provided knowledge to transform them into leaders of technology ventures. The students enrolled in this course usually have undergraduate degrees in engineering, computer science, or a related field. They possess a record of academic excellence. They have at least two years of full-time work experience, ideally in designing and/or developing technology-intensive products.
Read our article on MS vs MBA.
Course Objective
The program aims to educate students to create future leaders in the field of technology. This course helps in building a strong foundation in general management, building design skills, and deepening students’ understanding of engineering. The students can build on this foundation to start their own ventures or work as managers in technological firms.
Faculty & Resources
Students will be advised by the program’s two faculty co-chairs, who are tenured professors at SEAS and HBS. It gives the students a chance to learn from highly qualified faculty in both the institutes.
Relevant resources include the Harvard Business School are Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, the Digital Initiative and the Harvard Innovation Lab (i-lab).
Application
The applicants must possess work experience of two or more years. Work experience of less than two years will not be sufficient to get admission into this program. The strongest applicants have experience that is directly related to designing or developing technology-driven products.
Examples of a “related technical field†include computational science, applied mechanics, applied maths, and applied physics. The degree should provide both mathematical and technical proficiency as well as address applications to practical technologies, particularly software and hardware development.
Applicants to HBS must have the following:
– A 4-year undergraduate degree or its equivalent
A degree at an accredited U.S. four-year undergraduate college/university or its equivalent is required. Equivalent programs include international three-year bachelor degree programs.
– GRE or GMAT test results
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) test must be taken in the timeframes mentioned on the chart below. The GMAT or GRE is a prerequisite for admission.
If you are applying in… |
YOUR GMAT OR GRE TEST DATE MUST FALL ON OR BETWEEN |
ROUND 1 |
September 5, 2013 and September 4, 2018 |
ROUND 2 |
January 4, 2014 and January 3, 2019 |
2+2 ROUND |
April 9, 2014 and April 8, 2019 |
Facts related to GRE
!5% of the entire class strength in the year 2017, got admission in the course through the GRE exam. Students often get confused about the score they need to target for admission. Following is the data provided by Harvard about the score required in the GRE exam for admission into the MS/MBA course:
- Verbal Range is 147-170
- Quantitative Range is 151-170
- Median Verbal score is165
- Median Quantitative score is 163
English Proficiency
TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE test results are required if you attended a non-English undergraduate program. Results from the Internet-based version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or the Pearson Test of English (PTE), from a test taken on January 1, 2017 or later, is required for international applicants who attended a non-English-speaking undergraduate university.
Application Process
1. Written Application
In order, apply for MS/MBA course, you need to assemble and prepare a variety of materials that will reflect your achievements. All documents must be submitted to HBS online before the application deadline. The things given below need to be submitted in order to apply for this course:
- Transcript(s)
- GMAT/GRE
- TOEFL/IELTS/Pearson Test of English (PTE)
- Essay
- Letters of Recommendation (2)
- Resume
- Acceptance of Policies
- Application Fee
2. Interview
After your written application has been submitted and reviewed, you may be invited to interview.
3. Post-Interview Reflection
Within 24 hours of the interview, candidates are required to submit a written reflection through our online application system. Detailed instructions will be provided to those applicants who are invited to the interview process.
Tuition fee
MS/MBA students will be charged tuition that is currently $72,000 for the Class of 2019, for both years of the program. The students will have to pay an additional 15% premium due to the cost of the additional courses taken by MS/MBA students.
Financial aid
The aim of the MS/MBA program is to produce world-changing technological leaders. Harvard provides financial aid to the candidates, who are worthy and have the potential to become great leaders of tomorrow.
MS/MBA students can apply for HBS Fellowships and student loans in both years of the program. The students do not need to apply for financial aid until after they have been admitted, and need-based fellowships will be awarded to the students with limited resources. 50% of MBA students receive need-based fellowships at Harvard every year.
Internship
During the summer between Year 1 and Year 2, MS/MBA students can either work on their own start-up concept or as an intern in a technology company. They are matched in either case with alumni mentors and may apply for a Rock Summer Fellowship, which funded up to $7,800 in 2017.
Job prospects
Most the students enrolled in MS/MBA program aim to start their own entrepreneurial ventures or the start-ups that are driven by technology. Other students aspire to become leaders in established technology firms. After graduating, MS/MBAs who do not pursue their own start-up should be well qualified for positions like product managers, managers of engineering teams (i.e., “tech leads“), and consultants in firms that design new products.
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