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Stanford to Offer Joint Computer Science MS/MBA Degree Program

September 17, 2013

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For the first time, a joint Stanford Computer Science MS/MBA degree program will be available to graduate students in the 2014-2015 academic year. Students may apply for admission starting this fall.

“The combination program recognizes the critical connections between technology, innovation, strategy, and execution that are needed to move great ideas forward,” said Madhav Rajan, senior associate dean and faculty director of the MBA Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

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The combination program recognizes the critical connections between technology, innovation, strategy, and execution that are needed to move great ideas forward.
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Madhav Rajan, senior associate dean and faculty director of the MBA Program

The joint program structure will allow students to complete the two degrees in three years, instead of the usual four years needed to complete each one separately.

“This is an example of Stanford University’s commitment to cross-disciplinary learning,” said Mehran Sahami, associate chair for Education and director of Educational Affairs for the Department of Computer Science at the School of Engineering. “This degree will better equip our students to create and implement new technologies that will change people’s lives for the better.”

Students wishing to undertake the joint program must separately apply to and be accepted by both the Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA Program and the School of Engineering’s Computer Science MS program. Completion of the joint program requires a combined total of 129 units, including 84 units at Stanford GSB and 45 units in the Computer Science department.

Students must complete 21 of their computer science units in one of the following areas: artificial intelligence, biocomputation, computer and network security, human-computer interaction, information management and analytics, mobile and internet computing, real world computing, software theory, systems, or theoretical computer science. Students who complete the joint program will earn two degrees: an MS in computer science and the MBA.

Requirements for admission to the joint graduate program include an undergraduate or work background in computer science or quantitative subjects such as engineering or mathematics. Applicants will be assessed on intellectual vitality, demonstrated leadership potential, and personal qualities. Students also must take the GRE exam to be eligible for admission. Complete details on admission to the Computer Science MS program are available online. The deadline for application to the Computer Science MS program for the 2014-2015 academic year is December 10, 2013.

Applying to the MBA Program may be made in any of three rounds ending October 2, 2013; January 8, 2014; or April 2, 2014.

With seven world-class schools on one contiguous campus, Stanford University has long supported the concept of multidisciplinary learning to seek solutions to the world’s great challenges. Stanford MBA students have increasingly sought second degrees in recent years as the opportunities for cross-sector leadership in the workplace have grown. Among MBA students, approximately one in six currently pursue dual-degree studies.

The Computer Science MS is the latest joint degree program to be offered in tandem with the MBA. Students may already pursue the JD/MBA, Master of Arts in Education/MBA, Master of Science in Environment and Resources/MBA, and the Master of Public Policy/MBA. Stanford GSB offers a dual-degree program, which offers cross-school coordination and a reduction of one academic quarter in time, for the MD/MBA with the Stanford School of Medicine.

The School of Engineering offers a number of other joint degree programs such as the JD/MS in bioengineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or management science and engineering. A joint program to earn the MS in Management Science and Engineering/Master of Public Policy is also available.

By Barbara Buell

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