Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts. The school offers a large full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, HBS Online and many executive education programs.
Harvard Business School is located in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only top business in the United States with a self-contained, residential campus. More than 65% of HBS students live on campus in dorms or apartments through HBS Housing and Harvard University Housing, strengthening the school’s sense of community.
The campus itself consists of 33 buildings across 44 acres of land, filled with state-of-the-art classrooms, elegant reading rooms and libraries, faculty centers, lounges, a fitness room, and a technology operations center.
Off-campus, Boston is a diverse community with a thriving business scene. Companies based in Boston include Bain & Company, DraftKings, and Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind. Home to over 100 colleges and universities with a student population of more than 200,000, Boston also has a vibrant social scene, with must-see attractions like The Freedom Trail, Fenway Park, and the New England Aquarium, as well as convenient public transportation options.
Harvard Business School offers a two-year, full-time MBA program, as well as several joint degree programs. Required courses in the full-time MBA include Finance, Leadership and Organizational Behavior, Marketing, Technology and Operations Management, and The Entrepreneurial Manager. Elective courses range from Negotiation to Leading with People Analytics to Deal Making in Real Estate. The program uses the HBS Case Method, putting students in decision-making roles to explore complex challenges facing global leading companies. Students will read 500 cases over the course of the two-year program.
In collaboration with other graduate schools at Harvard University, HBS offers seven joint degree programs: the MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences program, the MBA/MPP (Master of Public Policy), the MBA/MPA-ID (Master of Public Administration-International Development), the JD/MBA, the MD/MBA, the DMD/MBA, and the MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences program.
Harvard Business School is accredited by AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). AACSB is the largest business education alliance, ensuring business schools meet the highest standards of excellence.
Harvard Business School offers merit- and need-based scholarships based on a range of criteria. The average scholarship is around US$40,000 per year.
The school also encourages candidates to explore other financial aid opportunities, including external scholarships, student loans, employer sponsorship, and Complementary Fellowships.
Harvard Business School uses a 100% case method teaching strategy in the classroom. The renowned HBS Case Method is a rigorous exercise in which students must harness their communication, analytical, and leadership skills to solve complex, time-sensitive problems with limited information.
Students will explore cases from across the globe. In one case, students might be asked to examine the business imperatives for diversity and inclusion at a mid-sized consulting firm in India. In another case, students might be asked how they would tackle an accounting scandal at a large multinational company in the United States. This case method approach builds an environment of risk-taking and innovation, empowering students to enhance their leadership and collaboration skills.
The HBS Case Method is here to stay – in 2021, HBS celebrated the 100th anniversary of the HBS Case Method.
