fbpx HKS-HBS Joint Degree First-Year Seminar | Harvard Kennedy School
Shawn Cole Photo

Shawn Cole

Appointment
John G. McClean Professor of Business Administration, HBS

BGP-510Y

This required seminar introduces degree candidates in the first two years of the joint programs (both MPP-MBA and MPA/ID-MBA) to key policy and management issues at the interface of the business and government sectors. It complements their learning in the required curricula of HBS and HKS, aids them in selecting appropriate elective courses, and provides context for choosing and pursuing employment in the summers following the first and second years of the joint program. It also promotes the development of program cohort cohesion in the short term and professional identity in the longer run. The course, taught via the case method, will cover four modules at the heart of the intersection between business and government: (i) Creating shared value; (ii) Impact Investing; (iii) Public Private Partnerships; and (iv) Entrepreneurship at the intersection of the public and private sector. Understanding the very different dimensions of complex problems provides a basis for applying professional skills and knowledge to help resolve them.

Required for first-year students in the joint HKS/HBS degrees, and not open to other students. Meets all year, generally on alternate weeks. Please note, this is one half of a yearlong course. Students enrolled in the fall section will automatically be enrolled in the spring section.