MIIPS Program Details: 9-Month Degree Format
Prepare to work closely with talented engineers, designers, and business professionals as you embrace the fuzzy front end of product and service development. Get the necessary skills to accelerate your career— and get back into the workforce quickly to put those skills to use.
Program Features
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9 months (August - May)
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Ideal for candidates with some professional experience looking to build skills in an accelerated format.
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Students take core courses across engineering, business, and design, plus specialized courses in AI, product and brand management, product development and leadership.
Curriculum Requirements & Plan
The MIIPS curriculum requires students to complete a minimum of 102 units of coursework over two semesters, Fall & Spring. Students can complete a maximum of 60 units during the fall term & 48 units during the spring term. At least 18 units of the total must be used toward electives relevant to the product development process and be approved by an advisor. This includes 6 units of electives completed within the Integrated Innovation Institute (49-xxx).
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To work with industry sponsors during the degree-required Integrated Product Development capstone course, signing contractual terms regarding intellectual property and non-disclosure agreements may be required to complete the course project.
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All coursework must be completed with graduate-level courses.
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Students must have a minimum QPA of 3.0 to graduate.
9-Month Curriculum Plan
Full Semester Course (12 units)
Full Semester Course (6 units)
Full Semester Course (6 units)
Half Semester Course (6 units)
Full Semester Course
Half Semester Course (6 units)
Half Semester Course (6 units)
Micro Course (3 units)
Micro Course (3 units)
Students have the ability to select two 6-unit electives or one 12-unit elective*
Full Semester Course (12 units)
Full Semester Course (12 units)
Full Semester Course
Half Semester Course (6 units)
Half Semester Course (6 units)
Students have the ability to select two 6-unit electives or one 12-unit elective*
*Students may select graduate level electives from across the university. Examples of departments students select electives from include Tepper School of Business, College of Fine Arts, Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy and the Human Computer Interaction Institute. Students are encouraged to review the schedule of classes each semester when considering elective options.
Featured Courses
Integrated Product Development
This hands-on, studio-style course covers the critical thinking, processes, frameworks, methodologies, artifacts, and deliverables typically associated with innovative product development. Working both individually and in teams, students will be challenged through case histories, mini-lectures, readings, a variety of hands-on exercises, and more.
Mastering Collaborative Strategies and Business Environments
This course builds finance, operations, and marketing skills to help students assemble a decision-making framework. Students will understand the multi-dimensional reality of how business is conducted while solving novel problems in a collaborative, team-based setting.
How Things Can Be Made
For the engineer and non-engineer alike, this course teaches students to work on collaborative teams to understand the perspectives, processes, and requirements for bringing products and services to fruition. Engineers will apply what they know more deeply, while non-engineers will learn the ways that engineers approach decision-making.
Application Deadline
- Applications Open:
- Now
- Application Deadline:
- January 20, 2026
The MIIPS Experience: In Their Own Words
"The program's multi-disciplinary approach of cross-pollinating design, engineering, and business has helped me understand how to identify the most important problems to solve by understanding needs in a deeply meaningful way."
“Business is my profession by training, and engineering and design are my passions. MIIPS combined all the areas that I’m interested in into one program, which is amazing. It ticked all the boxes. Plus, it helped me strengthen my product management skill set and further launch my career in that trajectory.”
"One of the things you get out of the MIIPS program is access to Carnegie Mellon and its entire network of alumni and professors. There are not many programs where you get the chance to work with that caliber of people and to build a network that lasts a lifetime."