Harvard Business School

What Harvard Business School does

Harvard Business School (HBS), founded in 1908 as the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, is the constituent graduate business school of Harvard University, operating from a 40-acre, 37-building residential campus in Boston, Massachusetts. HBS runs four core product lines: a two-year full-time residential MBA program (1,878 enrolled in FY25), seven PhD programs funded for five years, Executive Education (12,256 participants in FY25, delivered on-campus and virtually), and Harvard Business School Online, a self-serve certificate platform (38,917 online learners in FY25) that launched the CORe+ program in January 2026 and the Harvard Business Analytics Program in collaboration with Harvard SEAS and FAS. The school's pedagogy is anchored by the case method (introduced 1924) and a suite of proprietary digital platforms, and it is increasingly integrating generative AI tools — custom GPTs for course feedback, AI-facilitated oral exams, and AI-generated avatars for asynchronous classrooms. HBS does not directly disclose revenue; income derives from MBA tuition (with need-based scholarships averaging $47,000 per year), executive education fees, online certificate pricing, Harvard Business Publishing's global licensing of cases and books, and endowment/alumni contributions. The institution supports an 86,000-member alumni network, 270+ full-time faculty, and 1,450+ staff, and is governed as part of Harvard University under the President and Fellows of Harvard College, with Srikant M. Datar serving as Dean since 2021.

Name

Harvard Business School

Legal name

President and Fellows of Harvard College

Website

https://hbs.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1908

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Harvard Business School educates business leaders through its two-year residential MBA, doctoral, executive education, and online certificate programs, serving approximately 53,000 annual learners globally using case-method pedagogy and a proprietary digital platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Business and Secretarial Schools (611410), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

MBA & Executive MBA Programs (EDAHAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Management Research Institutes & Doctoral (PhD/DBA) Programs (EDAHAHAO), Executive Education & Corporate Programs (Non-degree) (EDAHAHAN), Business & Management Research Universities (EDAHABAE), Online Professional Schools (MBA/MPA/MPH/Etc.) (EDAHALAE)

Keywords

• Business education
• MBA programs
• Executive education
• Management research
• Case method teaching

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. MBA Tuition: Two-year full-time residential MBA program with tuition and fees. Need-based scholarships available averaging $47,000 per year. Financial aid available for both domestic and international students.
2. Executive Education Programs: Programs for individuals and organizations designed to help experienced executives expand their global perspective and lead at a higher level. Both on-campus and virtual options available.
3. Online Certificate Courses: Harvard Business School Online offers certificate courses led by award-winning faculty for business professionals seeking to master essential business concepts.
4. Harvard Business Publishing: Wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University formed in 1993, publishing cases, books, articles and educational materials globally.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Harvard Business School delivers graduate business education, including the two-year residential MBA, doctoral (PhD/DBA) programs, non-degree Executive Education for individuals and organizations, and a portfolio of online certificate courses via Harvard Business School Online. The school is also a major producer of business research and the Harvard Business Review, and licenses its case collection worldwide through Harvard Business Publishing.

Product overview

Harvard Business School offers a portfolio of educational products and programs: the core MBA Program (two-year full-time residential), Doctoral Programs (seven PhD programs), Executive Education (for experienced executives), and Harvard Business School Online (certificate courses including CORe+ launched January 2026 and the Harvard Business Analytics Program). The school also produces numerous podcasts including Cold Call, IdeaCast, Managing the Future of Work, Deep Purpose, Founder Mindset, Dealcraft, The Parlor Room, Climate Rising, Skydeck, Think Big Buy Small, and Women at Work. These offerings are delivered through case-based pedagogy and structured interactive learning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MBA Program Two-year residential Master of Business Administration degree for early-career professionals, taught using the case method, with required first-year curriculum (RC, FIN, MOR, etc.) and second-year elective clusters.
• Doctoral Programs (PhD and DBA) PhD and Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) research degrees for scholars pursuing academic careers in management disciplines.
• Executive Education Non-degree programs for individual executives and custom programs for organizations, including the Owner/President Management (OPM) Program, Advanced Management Program, and bespoke company-specific programs.
• Harvard Business School Online Online certificate courses for individual learners and "Solutions for Organizations" for companies, including CORe, the Harvard Business Analytics Program, Sustainable Business Strategy, Leading with Finance, and other certificate tracks.
• Harvard Business Publishing Publishing division licensing the HBS Case Collection, Harvard Business Review, and business books to educators, students, and corporate training programs globally.

Quantifiable outcome

• HBS MBA graduates earn median salaries over $245,000 three years after graduation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Northeastern UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2026Boston financial study partnered with Northeastern University and Harvard Business School, giving 15 young workers funds to invest in Roth IRAs to measure impact on financial behavior.
• Bank on BostonminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2026City-sponsored initiative leading a Boston financial study with HBS and Northeastern University, giving young workers funds to invest in Roth IRAs.
• Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Academics from BIMTECH published a Harvard Business Cases case study examining the unprecedented negative crude oil price event on April 20, 2020, focusing on MCX futures contract.
• IIM BangaloreminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Academics from IIM Bangalore collaborated on Harvard Business Cases case study examining negative crude oil price event on MCX futures contract.
• SELCO IndiaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2026HBS Immersive Field Course visited SELCO India in January 2026 to study how decentralized renewable energy addresses India's reliability gap while supporting decarbonization goals.
• Wharton SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2026Wharton's global partnership expansion mentioned alongside HBS Online CORe+ launch as leading business schools expanding executive education globally.
• MIT Sloan School of ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2026MIT Sloan highlighted for AI-powered personalized learning pathways alongside HBS as leading institutions transforming executive education.
• MITminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2026Boston Creator Accelerator provides mentorship access to institutions including MIT and Harvard Business School for Greater Boston entrepreneurs.
• Suffolk UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2026Boston Creator Accelerator co-founded by NBA players provides mentorship access to Suffolk University alongside HBS for Greater Boston entrepreneurs.
• Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Collaboration for Harvard Business Analytics Program - an online certificate program designed for business leaders including MBA graduates seeking to modernize analytics skills.
• Harvard Faculty of Arts and SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Joint collaboration for Harvard Business Analytics Program offering online certificate program for business leaders seeking analytics modernization.
• Rock Center for EntrepreneurshipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship supports HBS mission to educate leaders who make a difference through entrepreneurial perspective, supporting startup bootcamp and entrepreneurship programs.
• Harvard Business PublishingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University formed in 1993, serving as the world's leading case publishing house distributing HBS case studies globally.
• Boston Consulting GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2025P&G partnered with Harvard Business School and Boston Consulting Group for employee AI upskilling programs, and BCG co-authored research on AI productivity.
• Seef PropertiesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2025Seef Properties launched specialized training programs in partnership with Harvard Business School to develop Bahraini workforce in leadership and management skills.
• Various Fortune 500 CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 August 2025Companies using HBS research and case studies for market research applications of generative AI and LLMs as synthetic customer simulation tools.
• Harvard Business School OnlinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Online learning platform established in 2013 offering certificate courses led by award-winning faculty for business professionals seeking to master essential business concepts.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania): Wharton is HBS's closest direct peer — both are elite Ivy League business schools offering two-year residential MBAs, executive education, and online programs, and competing for the same applicant pool, faculty, and corporate recruiter relationships.
• Stanford Graduate School of Business: Stanford GSB is a direct competitor to HBS for top MBA applicants, offering a similar two-year residential general management program with comparable executive education and a strong alumni/VC ecosystem.
• MIT Sloan School of Management: MIT Sloan competes with HBS in MBA, executive education, and online certificate programs, with particular strength in analytics, technology, and AI — areas where HBS is now investing via the Harvard Business Analytics Program.
• Columbia Business School: Columbia Business School competes with HBS for MBA applicants, executive education participants, and Wall Street recruiting relationships, with a comparable two-year residential MBA and large executive education portfolio.
• Chicago Booth School of Business: Chicago Booth is a top-tier direct peer offering a two-year residential MBA with a flexible curriculum, executive education, and a strong research tradition — competing with HBS for faculty, students, and FT rankings position.
• Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern): Kellogg is a direct competitor in MBA, executive education, and online programs, with particularly strong positioning in marketing and management — categories HBS also competes in.
• INSEAD: INSEAD competes globally with HBS for international MBA applicants and executive education participants, with a one-year MBA format and campuses in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that overlap with HBS's global research footprint.
• London Business School: LBS is a leading global direct competitor to HBS in two-year MBA and executive education, with strong appeal to international applicants and a comparable global alumni footprint.
• Yale School of Management: Yale SOM competes with HBS for MBA applicants and executive education participants, with a smaller scale but a similar focus on general management and nonprofit/social enterprise leadership.
• Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley): Berkeley Haas competes with HBS in MBA, executive education, and online programs, with particular strength in technology and entrepreneurship — areas increasingly central to HBS's positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HarvardHBS
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/HarvardBSchool
• Facebookfacebook.com/HarvardBusinessSchool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harvard-business-school
• Instagraminstagram.com/harvardhbs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments12 records

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Frequently asked questions about Harvard Business School