Focus on Entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School

A quick glance at Harvard Business School: HBS currently ranks in first place (tied with Stanford) as one of the best business schools, according to US News & World Report (March 2012). It was ranked as third for entrepreneurship.

Harvard Business School Class of 2014 Profile*

8,963 people applied to Harvard Business School in 2012; 13% were admitted and 925 enrolled.

The Harvard class of 2014 students have an average age of 27 and a median GMAT score of 730. 43% of students have educational backgrounds in economics and business.

*Statistics as of 6/11/2012

HBS Academics Related to Entrepreneurship

The Harvard Business School curriculum is divided into two parts: the required curriculum (RC) and the elective curriculum (EC). Students spend their first year taking RC courses which cover fundamental business practices, as well as FIELD courses, smaller, hands-on projects that complement the case-method style used in the RC courses.

Term 1 Required Courses:

Finance 1
Financial Reporting and Control
Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Marketing
Technology and Operations Management

Term 2 Required Courses:

Business, Government, and the International Economy
Strategy
The Entrepreneurial Manager
Finance 2
Leadership and Corporate Accountability

Elective courses enable students to delve deeper into the subject areas that most interest them.

Entrepreneurial Management Courses:

Course Title	Faculty Name	Credits
Building Life Science Businesses	Richard G. Hamermesh	1.5
Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise	Stephen P. Kaufman, Derek van Bever, Clay Christensen, Chet Huber	3.03.0
The Coming of Managerial Capitalism: The United States	Tom Nicholas	3.0
Contemporary South Asia: Entrepreneurial Solutions to Intractable Social & Economic Problems (University-wide Course)	Tarun Khanna	3.0
Creating Shared Value: Entrepreneurial and Corporate Models for a Changing Economy	Christopher Marquis	3.0
Creative High-Impact Ventures: Entrepreneurs Who Changed The World	Mukti Khaire	3.0
Entrepreneurial Finance	William Sahlman, Joseph Lassiter, Ramana Nanda	3.0
Entrepreneurial Management in a Turnaround Environment	Jim Sharpe	3.0
Entrepreneurial Solutions for Market Failure	Joseph L. Bower	1.5
Entrepreneurship and Global Capitalism	Geoffrey Jones	3.0
Entrepreneurship in Education Reform	John Kim	3.0
Entrepreneurship in Healthcare IT and Services	Robert Higgins	1.5
Executing Strategy	J. Bruce Harreld	3.0
Field Course: Entrepreneurial Opportunities and Challenges in China’s Emerging Market	Elisabeth Koll	1.5
Field Course: Entrepreneurial Solutions for Market Failure	Joseph L. Bower	3.0
Field Course: Entrepreneurship through Acquisition	Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff	3.0
Field Course: Evaluating the Entrepreneurial Opportunity	Mike Roberts	3.0
Field Course: Innovation in Business, Energy, and Environment	Joseph B. Lassiter, Forest L. Reinhardt, Rebecca M. Henderson, John D. Macomber, Woodward Yang	3.0
Field Course: Launching Technology Ventures	Jeffrey Bussgang	1.5
Field Course: Running Small and Medium Size Enterprises	James M. Sharpe	3.0
Field Course: Social Innovation Lab	Allen S. Grossman, Herman B. Leonard	3.0
Founders’ Dilemmas	Noam Wasserman	3.0
Innovating in Health Care Intensive Course	Regina E. Herzlinger	3.0
Innovation in Business, Energy, and Environment	Joseph B. Lassiter, Forest L. Reinhardt, Rebecca M. Henderson, John D. Macomber, Woodward Yang	1.5
Introduction to Innovation & Entrepreneurship	William Sahlman, Joseph Lassiter	1.5/3.0
IXP Course: China; Understanding China’s Business Environment	Elisabeth Koll	1.5
Launching Global Ventures	William R. Kerr	1.5
Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship	Lena Goldberg	1.5
Management of the Family Business	John A. Davis	1.5
The Online Economy: Strategy and Entrepreneurship	Peter Coles, Benjamin Edelman	3.0
Running Small and Medium Size Enterprises	James M. Sharpe	1.5
Venture Capital and Private Equity	Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Alexander Ljungqvist	3.0
Venture Capital in Historical Perspective	Tom Nicholas, G. Felda Hardymon	1.5
Venture Capital in Historical Perspective: Research Component	Tom Nicholas, G. Felda Hardymon	1.5
Visible and Invisible Hands in China: State and Business since 1800: Seminar	Elisabeth Koll	3.0

In addition to the above, students may also choose to participate in the Immersion Experience Program (IXP). For entrepreneurship students, there’s the Silicon Valley Immersion Program.

Other field study opportunities are available for entrepreneurs, including the Entrepreneurship Initiative.

Students may also cross register (up to two courses) at other schools at the university or at the Entrepreneurship Lab at MIT. See Cross-Registration Opportunities.

Research Centers for Entrepreneurship at Harvard

Extracurricular Clubs, Activities, and Competitions for HBS Entrepreneurship Students

Entrepreneur Stats at Harvard Business School

25% of the class of 2011 graduates did not seek post-MBA employment, 7% of which started their own businesses.

8% of class of 2012 students did not seek summer internships; 3% started their own businesses.

Companies Founded by HBS Alumni:

Bain & Company – Orit Gadiesh
Goldman Sachs – John Whitehead
Intuit – Scott Cook
Krueger International – Robert Higgins
Landmark Communications/Weather Channel – Frank Batten
R&R – Robert Reiss
Staples – Thomas Stemberg
TNT Group – Steven Belkin
United Bank for Africa – Hakeem Belo-Osagie
US Labs – Michael Danzi

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