MPhil in Technology Policy
The Cambridge Judge Business School MPhil in Technology Policy – integrating science, economics, and engineering.
Programme details
Length
9 months
Start
Microeconomics pre-course October 2025
Format
Full-time
Location
You must be resident in Cambridge during your programme
Shape the future of technology policy and governance
The MPhil in Technology Policy is an intensive, 9-month professional practice masters programme designed for people with a background in science or engineering who are interested in developing the skills needed to meet the challenges of integrating technology, management, economics and policy.
In an era characterised by rapid technological advancements and complex regulatory environments, you will learn to:
- analyse and anticipate technology trends
- scrutinise and influence legislative developments
- identify business opportunities created by policy initiatives, regulation, and legislation
- understand wider political and institutional context
Our core objective is to prepare you to navigate and influence the evolving landscape of technology policy effectively. You will learn to advocate for evidence-based policy, principles-based regulation and innovative metrics and instruments that promote economic growth, human flourishing and sustainable development.
Dr David Reiner (Associate Professor in Technology Policy): “So the MPhil in Technology Policy, which is based at Cambridge Judge Business School, is a really unique opportunity for students who have had a very strong technical background – whether that’s in the sciences or engineering or perhaps even in some of the social sciences – to come to Cambridge for a year to learn about economics, to learn about policy, to confront some of the really toughest issues of our age. I think there are a number of real benefits of coming on the course that really are fairly unique globally if you look at the landscape of programmes in this area.
“We aren’t narrowly focused on a specific sector. The name ‘Technology Policy’ is intentionally meant to bridge a range of sectors which share some really interesting and confront some really interesting challenges. So whether that’s a big tech, whether that’s the energy sector and meeting the challenges of achieving carbon neutrality and net zero, or whether that’s biomedical policy and the challenges that we’ve all faced over the course of the global pandemic in 2020 and 2021. I think these sort of policy areas often operate in silos. And one of the things that we try and do here is bridge those different silos, bring together the lessons across sectors and I think also uniquely bring together insights from around the world.”
Zara Cheema (MPhil in Technology Policy alumna): “I decided to do the MPhil in Technology Policy as I have a background in technology management. And I wanted to see how involved the government would be when regulating technology such as autonomous vehicles or nonfungible tokens. The programme also offers electives from the Engineering Department so you are able to really personalise the course to whatever you’d like to study. And you can dive deeper into the elements that interest you the most.
“The Technology Policy programme has taught me how to maintain professional working relationships. As part of our course, we had to undertake a Final Group Project, which kind of acted like a consultancy project. So we had to come up with a solution for an established firm. And that taught me how to think creatively which is something that I wanted to achieve when I started this programme.”
Jonathan Chan (MPhil in Technology Policy alumnus): “I applied to the MPhil in Technology Policy programme because I knew that it would help me make the transition from scientist to policy maker, and also provide me with valuable perspectives and frameworks for dealing with really complex emerging issues like climate change, regulating big tech, and guarding our civil liberties in the digital age. So students in the Technology Policy programme take a series of interdisciplinary modules that provide solid grounding in economics, policy analysis, and business strategy. And through these modules, I really felt that I was able to develop a strong foundation for approaching a wide variety of policy issues, such as evaluating a government’s decarbonisation strategy, as well as learn some useful practical skills for identifying business opportunities created by new technologies.
“I feel so grateful to have met such incredible people through the programme and to have developed close friendships with many of my peers who have such an incredible range of interests and backgrounds and talents. I’ve definitely made lifelong friends here, and I’m just really excited to see how each of us makes a positive difference in the world after we leave Cambridge.”
Why Cambridge Judge Business School?
Cambridge Judge is uniquely positioned as a nexus of business and government. You will be supported throughout the programme by world-class faculty, who have expertise in operations, strategy, marketing, finance, and especially in economics and policy. You will join an international group of exceptionally bright, wonderfully diverse and highly motivated individuals, making for an ideal environment to learn and expand your network.
- Immerse yourself in a comprehensive and stimulating learning environment.
- Benefit from studying at one of the world’s foremost academic institutions with an over 800-year history of excellence, producing over 90 Nobel Laureates.
- Elevate your status and graduate as an alumnus of the University of Cambridge.
- Enjoy lifetime membership of your Cambridge College.
- Get the full support of the University Careers Service.
- Develop your global network and socialise with friends and colleagues of great diversity and talent.
- Spend an academic year based in the dynamic, historic and beautiful city of Cambridge.
Curriculum
Prepare for future leadership in a policy-making institution or an organisation that operates at the intersection of public and private sectors. Learn to conceptualise, analyse and assess how technologies emerge and create value for society. Explore the governance of science and technology in areas such as energy, health, ICT and transport.
You will develop advanced analytical skills and strategic insights applicable across various technology-driven sectors, including artificial intelligence and information and communications technology, defence and aerospace, energy and electricity, manufacturing, transport and logistics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.
Our MPhil in Technology Policy curriculum builds on a foundation of economics and policy. Our core courses introduce students to key concepts and utilise case studies on policy issues. Our Sectorial & Skills electives, Enterprise electives and Open electives allow you to tailor your learning experience.
You will collaborate on a capstone Final Group Project, based on work with a major public or private technology-intensive organisation. Establish a depth of knowledge and develop a unique skillset to help shape the future of our world.
What’s really interesting about Technology Policy is that it’s very complementary. You’ve seen the technical stuff. And now it’s more about regulation and maybe changing a bit your scope of things.
Technology Policy has helped broaden my vocabulary to advocate for the decisions and solutions that I might have made in industry. So not only do I understand the engineering background of why a solution might be appropriate. But I can also cost it up effectively. And I can also use the policy language to say this is the right solution.
A lot of us hopefully will be able to help navigate these uncharted territories as we’re looking at innovation in technology and AI and how governments and institutions will have to adjust their traditional pathways to be able to make life happen in this new world and to be able to defend our human rights throughout it as well.
Cambridge Judge Business School, it’s an amazing place, an amazing place to meet a lot of people. A great aspect of the programme is the availability of all professors. Quite insightful, more so because they have more of an economic background. I’m coming with my engineering background and trying to have a bit of a conflictuality.
One of my favourite classes from Technology Policy was looking at emerging markets. I certainly hadn’t thought about the impact and the changes you have to make when operating with markets that don’t have the same capability, the same resources, and the same environment. So looking through that lens really helped me understand how I can think about problems in a developed world.
The EU has a very complicated structure in terms of the parliamentary system, the different institutions, and how policy is brought from inception to negotiation and to implementation to law. So actually getting an insight into that process and better understanding it has been really vital to be able to appreciate a global landscape for technology policy, for regulation.
As part of the Technology Policy programme, instead of doing a dissertation, we have the opportunity to do a client-facing project. Personally, I went and found my own project with someone I knew from the National Cybersecurity Centre. And we worked in collaboration with the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology and the Department for Business and Trade to work on a new UK policy, looking at software vulnerabilities and how we can better protect the UK’s supply chain from these threats.
I was involved in a project where I came for a public sector organisation on a very topical area of AI policy and standards. It was a really unique opportunity to be connected with the decisionmakers that are currently producing AI regulation and policy for us and be able to connect the dots between the theory we learn in Technology Policy and the practical applications within the companies.
I think studying a programme as broad as Technology Policy means you get lots of different opinions and perspectives because people come from different backgrounds with different experience and different knowledge. We have scientists. We have people that have studied international relations. Having their opinions in the debates and class discussions really enriches your experience as a student in Technology Policy.
Who we’re looking for
The MPhil in Technology Policy attracts bright and highly motivated individuals with a science, engineering or other quantitative background and a strong interest in technology policy.
This programme is right for you if:
- you have a UK First Class Honours degree (or overseas equivalent) in science or engineering. Other disciplines are considered if you have a solid quantitative background
- you have good interpersonal, communication and team-working skills, in addition to numeracy, problem-solving and reasoning skills
- you have English language proficiency, maths and stats proficiency
(English proficiency: English as the native language or IELTS minimum overall score of 7.5, with not less than 7.0 in each element or TOEFL minimum overall score of 110, with not less than 25 in each element).
Applying for the MPhil in Technology Policy
We are delighted that you are considering applying for the Cambridge MPhil in Technology Policy.
My time at the University of Cambridge was extremely rewarding. The MPhil in Technology Policy was a great opportunity to develop the skills required to meet the challenges of integrating technology, economics, policy, and law. The programme was no doubt challenging, but also extremely stimulating and rewarding. In my current role working for an EU institution, the MPhil has helped me understand the strategic importance of today’s complex social, economic, and political issues. I make use of the skills I learned on a daily basis.