Five Top Business Schools Launch Dual-Degree Master’s Degrees

Five of the world’s top business schools including Yale School of Management have joined forces to launch a dual-degree master’s course – highlighting the growing trend towards globalized and specialist courses. 

The M2M, as it is known, is an effort by leading business schools on multiple continents to meet the demands of the global economy and provide future business leaders with a distinctive learning experience that will accelerate their careers. 

While there is no shortage of applicants to top MBA programs – the flagship business school course – there is a shift to more specialized programs, and a desire among students to rub shoulders with people from other cultures. The diversity of a business school program is among its key selling points. 

The other M2M schools are FGV Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo of Brazil, HEC Paris, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School (HKUST), and the Sauder School of Business at University of British Columbia in Canada. 

The five schools are all members of the Global Network for Advanced Management, a group of top business schools committed to educating global leaders through collaboration and innovation.

 Six double degrees available from September 2017 

Six M2M double degrees are available as of September 2017. They ground students in the distinctive academic cultures and approaches of two top business schools in different countries, while preparing them for global roles. 

After students complete both academic years, they will graduate with two master’s degrees, one from each school they attended. Graduates will be alumni of both schools and will have access to the schools’ career resources. 

They will also benefit from curricular and extracurricular collaborations among the schools, and the networks of two global business schools. 

“Whatever pathway students choose, young leaders who are interested in having impact throughout their careers will quickly develop skills that set them apart in the global marketplace, while building a deep network of like-minded peers around the world,” says David Bach, deputy dean at Yale. “The world needs more globally-minded leaders.” 

Double-degrees ‘passports to global careers,’ says HEC dean 

Peter Todd, dean of HEC Paris, says: “This offer meets the demand of the growing number of extremely talented and globally-mobile students who are targeting prestigious double-degree programs [and view them] as passports to international careers.” 

The M2M comes as many business schools roll out joint degrees. HEC Paris launched a joint MPA/MBA dual degree earlier this year, in partnership with Sciences Po, a leading French social sciences university.  

HEC Paris associate dean Andrea Masini says: “There are multiple advantages for students. As a political science student, you will be more credible to businesses as you speak their language. Also, the flexibility of the program is an advantage. You get two degrees from highly-respected institutions, and more quickly than if you did the two degrees separately.”  

Stanford Graduate School of Business has launched three new dual degrees in recent years, combining business programs with its highly-regarded engineering and computer science departments.  

Dual degrees appear to be valued by the market 

Stanford offers six in total, and they seem to be valued by the market: one out of five of Stanford’s business school students choose to pursue a second degree, and 83% take classes in other schools within Stanford University. 

Cross-disciplinary collaboration is possible – and important – at Stanford, with the contiguous proximity of the GSB to six other world-class schools. 

Yossi Feinberg, senior associate dean for academic affairs, says: “The need for graduates with both management and technical expertise is being driven by the previously unimaginable innovations made possible by, and tremendous disruptions caused by, the internet.” He added that dual-degree students are in high demand by employers across industries.