MMM Program: MBA + MS Design Innovation
A dual-degree MBA + MS for cross-functional leaders in business, human-centered design and technology
The Kellogg MBA + MS Design Innovation (MMM) Program at Northwestern University equips students to seamlessly integrate human-centered design thinking with empathetic, AI-enabled product building while mastering the ability to communicate, influence and align diverse stakeholders. Graduates emerge with the capacity to translate complex ideas into clear action and lead effectively at the cross-functional center of modern organizations.
Why the MMM Program
MMM BUILDERS navigate complexity and ambiguity with confidence and judgement. They do not wait for clarity. They create it.
- Build what matters: As technology makes it easier to build, judgement becomes the differentiator: knowing which problems are worth solving, for whom and why.
- Think across disciplines: MMM leaders connect business strategy, technology and human-centered design to solve complex challenges.
- Navigate ambiguity: Develop the judgment to define problems, evaluate opportunities and act when the path forward is unclear.
- Design for people: Understand human needs and translate insights into solutions people will actually use.
- Lead across functions: Bring analytical and creative thinking together to align stakeholders and turn ideas into impact.
What sets MMM apart
MMM is an integrated program that brings together business, human-centered design and technology in a way no single discipline can. Students learn to move beyond identifying problems to building solutions that create value for both people and organizations.
MMM develops builders who know how to identify opportunities, create what works, and move before the path is clear. They learn to connect strategy, human-centered design and technology to make ideas real.
The result: leaders equipped to build what matters, for the people who matter.
A different kind of MBA: MBA + STEM
Northwestern’s MMM Program is a fully integrated dual degree between the Kellogg School of Management and the Segal Design Institute at the McCormick School of Engineering. Students earn both an MBA and a Master of Science in Design Innovation.
The curriculum is designed not only to build analytical rigor and creative problem-solving capability, but to develop the ability to integrate them into practice.
At Kellogg, students develop strength in strategy, finance, operations and market analysis. At Segal, they engage deeply in human-centered research, synthesis and prototyping. Across both, they apply these approaches together by framing problems, generating concepts, testing solutions and refining them in real-world contexts.
The goal is not exposure to multiple disciplines, but fluency across them and the judgment to know how and when to apply each.
How MMM Program Graduates Lead
- Identify the problems worth solving and the opportunities others overlook.
- Bring business, design and technology together to create shared direction across disciplines and stakeholders.
- Use human insight, analytical rigor and technological possibility to determine where to act and where not to.
- Deliver insights organizations can implement, scale and sustain.
In-demand alumni
MMM Program graduates are in demand globally due to their superior ability to develop desirable, feasible and viable business solutions. MMM Program alumni work throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. Notable MMM Program alumni include:
- Tyler Hamilton - Capital One
- Claire Henderson - Zillow
- Quinnell Smith - Starbucks
- Paul Chang – Salesforce
Dual Degree Program Highlights
Northwestern’s MMM Program is a fully integrated dual degree between the Kellogg School of Management and the Segal Design Institute at the McCormick School of Engineering. Students earn both an MBA and a Master of Science in Design Innovation.
The curriculum is designed not only to build analytical rigor and design capability, but to develop the ability to integrate them in practice.
Academic Pillars
- Business Strategy & Execution
- Human-Centered Design
- AI & Technology Foundations
- Communications & Influence
The most consequential challenges facing organizations do not sit within a single discipline. They emerge at the intersection of business strategy, technological possibility, and human experience. They are ambiguous, contested, and often owned by no one.
The MMM Program was created to develop leaders who can operate in that space. Leaders who think analytically and creatively, and who act with clarity when the path forward is unclear.
- Frame the right problem before resources are committed
- Translate across disciplines, aligning business, design, and engineering around a shared direction
- Apply technology with judgment, focusing on what is appropriate in context
- Deliver, turning insight into solutions that organizations can implement, scale, and sustain
Curriculum
The MMM Program is a dual-degree, full-time program that equips students to drive the entire innovation life cycle of a product or service. The MMM Program is comprised of lectures, experiential courses and studio-based classes that take place in both the day and evening. Much of the core coursework in the curriculum requires technical aptitude and the capacity for both analytical and creative thinking. When you graduate from the program, you will find yourself with a new, unique perspective, one that allows you to balance big-picture ideas with the detailed processes that make those ideas come to life.
MMM Program Class of 2025 employment outcomes
Where will a Kellogg MBA take you? For our recent graduates, they're seeing impressive returns on investment, and maybe even more importantly, a return on experience that will last a lifetime. Class of 2025 MMM Program students accepted roles across the most diverse mix of industries among the last five classes, with consulting, tech and financial services taking the top spots.
Where MMM Program Graduates Excel
MMM Program graduates excel in roles that do not sit neatly within a single function. These roles demand multiple forms of fluency - across business, technology, and human experience - and are defined less by narrow technical credentials and more by the integration of critical and creative thinking, applied with sound judgment.
- Product management and platform leadership
- Innovation, venture building, and startup roles
- Strategy roles that extend into execution and business design
- Consulting roles centered on complex, cross-functional problem solving
- Design strategy and customer experience leadership
- Transformation, product operations, and system-level leadership roles
- Amazon
- Bain & Company
- The Boston Consulting Group
- Deloitte Consulting LLP
- Gameto
- J.P. Morgan Chase
- Keeta
- McKinsey & Company
- Procter & Gamble
- Starbucks
- The Vanguard Group
- Weiss Asset Management
Lifelong career support
A Kellogg MBA doesn’t just enhance your job prospects, it helps you build the skills necessary to conduct a successful job search at any point in your career. You will cultivate a partnership with our best-in-class Career Management Center, gaining access to individual career coaches, job boards, 80+ business databases, on-campus recruiting and alumni introductions and networking. Best of all? These resources are available to you as an alum throughout your career.