Applying to Harvard Business School

Hone Your Leadership Skills at Harvard Business School

With an alumni roster that includes major figures in both business and politics no less than President George W. Bush and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, The Harvard University Business School has a reputation and legacy that spells out excellence in business and leadership training. More commonly referred to as Harvard Business School or HBS, this graduate school of Harvard University offers doctoral programs, full-time MBA, and other executive education programs. Founded in 1908, the Harvard University Business School is currently headed by Dean Jay O. Light, and has a faculty of more than 200 members with different backgrounds and expertise in the field of business.

The Harvard University Business School was ranked fifth by Financial Times in their list of Top 100 Business Schools in the World, and ranked first in Forbes’ Top 10 Business Schools in the U.S. Admission to the Harvard University Business School is highly competitive and selective, as evidenced by the meager 15% acceptance rate for the MBA program in 2008. Harvard University Business School prides itself on their field-based learning and teaching methods, which include the Immersion Experience program (IXP) and Field Study. The institution believes that it is ultimately through practical application of knowledge in a real world setting that the students in Harvard University Business School will be prepared to venture into careers in business, enterprise, finance, etc.

Harvard University Business School’s curriculum is divided into two categorical experiences: the required curriculum and elective curriculum. The required curriculum subjects in the first term include Finance, Leadership and Organizational Behavior, Marketing, Technology and Operations Management, Financial Reporting and Control. For the second term, Harvard University Business School students are required to take classes on Leadership and Corporate Accountability (LCA), Negotiation, The Entrepreneurial Manager (TEM), Strategy, and Business, Government, and the International Economy (BGIE). The core classes for the first term are designed to familiarize students with the internal operations of business enterprises, while second term classes place the students’ knowledge in a larger socio-economic and governmental context.

To be considered for admission into the Harvard University Business School, candidates must submit and/or meet the following requirements:

A four-year degree program at an accredited U.S. college/university or its equivalent
Graduate Management Admission Test or GMAT exam scores,
A resume, academic history (transcripts), letters of recommendation,
Scores for TOEFL or IELTS, if applicable
Nonrefundable application fee of U.S. $235

Harvard University Business School doesn’t have required minimum years of work experience, although having at least two years experience is highly recommended. If you don’t have work experience, you can make up for it by writing a good admission essay or application essay (also known as Statement of Purpose or Personal Statement for MBA) that respects the word limit that the Harvard University Business School sets. The general criteria for admission into Harvard University Business School are the following: A Habit of Leadership, Capacity for Intellectual Growth, and Engaged Community Citizenship.

Photo credits:  Personeelsnet

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