Harvard Business School – Allston, Massachusetts

Harvard Business School is located in Boston, MA, and is one of the most prestigious business schools in the world, according to Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2013.  The business school’s mission is to drive students towards excellence and encourage personal involvement with the university, team interaction, group integration and new life experiences. The campus lines the western curve of the Charles River and offers a culture of connectivity and networking.  Students are put into groups of 80-90 students and remain together throughout their time at HBS.  Students must learn to cooperate and collaborate with their group of peers while creating new, forward-thinking ideas.  This environment, combined with the core values of integrity, honest, respect, and dedication to excellence, helps students grow long-lasting relationships with peers while mastering their areas of expertise. In the past 20 years, Harvard Business Publishing was formed, a leadership development company that publishes business books, leadership articles, online management tools for corporate learning, case studies, and the monthly Harvard Business review.  Additionally, global research centers were opened in Silicon Valley and regional research centers were opened in Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Japan, Europe, and India. 75 different campus clubs are offered to the student body as well as several different social events, trips, and guest speakers.  Some of these events are the cross-dressing Priscilla ball, the Newport ball (held in Rhode Island), and the winter Hollidazzle Ball. Two immersion programs are integrated into the curriculum to educate students academically and culturally.  For first year students, the FIELD program places students in teams of six to work on consulting projects in newly emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Vietnam, and many more.  The second year students part-take in IXP (Immersion Experience Programs) for 12-16 days in January.  Led by a faculty member, topics include the 2013 Japan Disaster Rebuilding Efforts, Entrepreneurship in China, and Sustainability in South Africa. Nitin Nohria has PhD in Management from MIT Sloan School of Management and has been the Dean of Harvard Business School since July, 2010.  Alongside his position as Dean of HBS, he is also the George F. Baker Professor of Business Administration, co-chair of the HBS Leadership Initiative, and is a member of the University’s Interfaculty Initiative on Advanced Leadership.

The Full-time MBA program focuses on developing leadership skills through a course methodology of field projects, method courses, multimedia simulations, and international immersions.  The program is two years long and is broken up into four semesters. The first semester focuses on a field study program consisting of personal leadership activities, team projects, reflection, and global immersion courses.  The students then apply these learned skills in the second semester through running their own micro-business.  In the second year, students choose from 96 electives based on their concentration and integrate the skills learned into an understanding of the firm as a total enterprise.  During this time, students may complete a field study or independent research within a class; this will allow them to work closely with faculty and other students to collaborate new ideas aligned with their professional interests.

The Executive Education Program consists of an intense leadership program that enhances executives methods of operating within a business environment and broadens their skill base.  The broad selection of classes offered in different concentrations help executives choose specific programs that promote leadership, team work, and give them career advice. The executive education program uses business case method as an active learning model in their teaching methodology.  Case study teaches participants how to properly assess, analyze, and react to different business situations.  The global curriculum presents students with different business practices and issues from all over the globe.  Also, the mix of diverse areas of business allows students to network globally within the classroom.  All classes are taught by faculty at HBS who are known for their contributions in field-based research, their understanding of business, and their love and dedication to teaching. A multitude of executive education programs are offered to executives so they can customize their educational experience.  In the area of comprehensive leadership, programs are offered in advanced management, general management, and leadership development.  There are also programs in the areas of corporate governance, entrepreneurship, financial management, health care, innovation, marketing, negotiation, organizational leadership, personal leadership, professional services, real estate, service management, social enterprise, and strategy.

Although Forbes and US News do not rank MBAs globally, they were included for their impact in the US

• Forbes Rank – 1
• Financial Times Rank – 1
• U.S. News and World Report Rank – 1
• Bloomberg BusinessWeek Rank – 2
• The Economist Rank – 4

According to Bloomberg Businessweek’s Business School Ranking

• High:  95% job offer three months post-graduation

Harvard Business School 117 Western Ave, Allston, MA 02134 United States t:  +1 617-495-6155 e:  feedback@hbs.edu w:  www.hbs.edu