Harvard Business School facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Harvard Business School

Coat of arms
Type	Private graduate business school
Established	1908
Parent institution	Harvard University
Accreditation	AACSB International
Endowment	US$3.8 billion (2020)
Dean	Srikant Datar
Academic staff	244 (2020)
Administrative staff	1,989 (2020)
Students	865 (732 MBA)
Location	Allston , Massachusetts , United States 42°22′02″N 71°07′21″W / 42.36722°N 71.12250°W / 42.36722; -71.12250
Campus	Urban

Harvard Business School (HBS) is a special school at Harvard University where people go to learn about business after they finish college. It's a private school and part of the famous Ivy League universities. HBS is located in Allston, Massachusetts.

This school also owns Harvard Business Publishing, which creates books, articles, and special learning materials called case studies for business leaders. They also publish Harvard Business Review, a popular magazine about business. HBS is also home to the Baker Library/Bloomberg Center, which is its main library. It is one of six business schools in the Ivy League.

The Story of Harvard Business School

The Baker Library/Bloomberg Center at Harvard Business School.

Harvard Business School started in 1908. At first, it was part of the humanities department at Harvard. But by 1910, it became its own independent school. By 1913, it was a separate part of the university. The first leader of the school was a historian named Edwin Francis Gay.

The idea for the school was to train people for careers in business. Just like Harvard had schools for doctors and lawyers, they wanted a school for business leaders. They wanted to teach specific business topics like banking and railroads. The goal was to prepare young people for important jobs in the business world.

How Students Learn at HBS

Harvard Business School was one of the first to use a special way of teaching called the case method. This method is like how law students learn at Harvard. In the case method, students read about real-life problems that businesses have faced. These stories are written by the school's teachers. Students then pretend they are managers and work to analyze these problems. They have to come up with ideas and solutions.

From the very beginning, the school worked closely with real companies. Many students who graduated from HBS became important business leaders. These leaders often hired other HBS graduates to work in their companies.

Welcoming Women to HBS

When HBS first started, only male students were accepted. However, in 1937, a program for women called the Training Course in Personnel Administration began at Radcliffe College. Harvard Business School took over this program in 1954.

By 1959, women who had completed this one-year program could apply to join the second year of the HBS MBA program. Then, in December 1962, the school decided to allow women to apply directly to the MBA program. The first women to apply directly started their studies in September 1963.

HBS Around the World

Harvard Business School also helped start the first business schools in the United Kingdom. They offered special courses there in the 1960s. They also invited professors from new British business schools to visit Harvard. This helped them see how teaching was done at HBS.

In 2012 and 2013, HBS made new plans to make the experience better for female students. They also worked to hire more female professors.

Global Research Centers

HBS has opened several research centers and offices around the world. These are in places like Asia Pacific (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore), Europe (Paris), South Asia (India), the Middle East and North Africa (Dubai, Istanbul, Tel Aviv), Japan, and Latin America (Montevideo, Mexico City, São Paulo). These centers help HBS do research and connect with businesses globally.

HBS Rankings

As of 2022, Harvard Business School was ranked among the top business schools. It was ranked fifth in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. Globally, it was ranked third by the Financial Times and second by QS World University Rankings.

What Students Study

Most students at HBS work towards a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. There are also programs for students who want to earn a doctorate degree. HBS also offers special courses for business executives and online courses.

Students who achieve top academic honors in the MBA program are called Baker Scholars. These are the students in the top 5% of their class.

Student Life at HBS

Students at Harvard Business School can join more than 95 different clubs and groups on campus. The Student Association (SA) is the main group that connects MBA students with the teachers and administration. Students also have a voice at the university level through the Harvard Graduate Council.

Programs for Business Leaders

Harvard Business School offers many programs for people who are already working as business leaders. These are called executive education programs. In 2015, these programs brought in a lot of money for HBS. Some of these programs include:

• The Advanced Management Program: A seven-week program for senior leaders to help them prepare for top leadership roles.
• The General Management Program: A four-month program for senior managers.
• The Program for Leadership Development: A seven-month program to help high-potential leaders grow their careers.
• The Owner/President Management Program: This program is for business owners and entrepreneurs. It has three parts spread over two years.
• Harvard Business School Online: Started in 2014, this offers online courses taught by HBS teachers.
• The Summer Venture in Management Program: A one-week program for college students. It helps increase diversity in business education.

Academic Departments

The teachers at HBS are organized into 10 different academic departments. These include: Accounting and Management; Business, Government and the International Economy; Entrepreneurial Management; Finance; General Management; Marketing; Negotiation, Organizations and Markets; Organizational Behavior; Strategy; and Technology and Operations Management.

Buildings on Campus

The HBS campus has many important buildings. Some older buildings include Morgan Hall, built in 1927, and Loeb House, built in 1940. Burden Hall, built in 1971, has a large auditorium with 900 seats.

In 2010, companies and charities related to the Tata Group donated $50 million to build a new executive center. This center was named Tata Hall, after Ratan Tata, who was the chairman of Tata Sons and an HBS alumnus. Tata Hall is a large, seven-story building with many bedrooms for students in executive education programs, along with classrooms.

Kresge Way is named after Sebastian S. Kresge. In 2014, a new hall replaced Kresge Hall. This new building was funded by a $30 million donation from the family of Ruth Mulan Chu Chao. Her four daughters all attended Harvard Business School. The Executive Education area includes several residence halls and classroom buildings.

Many of the HBS buildings are connected by a system of color-coded tunnels underground. These tunnels are open for people to walk through. Other tunnels are only for maintenance workers and carry steam pipes.

Weeks Footbridge crossing the Charles River at sunset with Harvard Business School on the left and Harvard Kennedy School on the right

Famous People Who Went to HBS

Many successful people have studied at Harvard Business School. Here are some of them:

MBA Graduates

Bill Ackman

Mike Bloomberg

Jamie Dimon

Jane Fraser

DBA Graduates

• Jay Lorsch, DBA, 1964 – a professor at HBS and author.
• George Schussel, DBA, 1966 – founder of Digital Consulting Institute.

Executive Education Graduates

Advanced Management Program (AMP)

• Gabi Ashkenazi, AMP, 2004 – former Chief of the General Staff of Israel Defense Forces.
• Jaime Zobel de Ayala, 1963 – a Filipino businessman.
• Julie Bishop, AMP, 1996 – former Australian deputy Prime Minister.
• Alden W. Clausen, 1966 – former President of the World Bank.
• Christine M. Day, 2002 – former CEO of Lululemon.
• Y. C. Deveshwar – chairman and CEO of ITC Limited.
• Muhammad bin Ibrahim, 2010 – former Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia.
• Antony Leung, 1999 – former financial secretary of Hong Kong.
• William Lewis, 2009 – a British media executive.
• Minoru Makihara, 1977 – former Chairman of Mitsubishi Corporation.
• Michael Mullen, 1991 – former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the U.S. armed forces.
• Ajay Piramal, 1992 – chairman of Piramal Group.
• Ratan Tata, 1975 – chairman and CEO of Tata Sons.
• Jim Lovell, 1971 – an astronaut from Apollo 13.

Other Executive Education

• Paolo Rocca, 1985 – CEO of Techint.
• Ciara – a famous singer.
• Vicente Fox – 55th President of Mexico.
• Daniel Vasella, PMD, 1989 – president of Novartis AG.

See also

In Spanish: Escuela de Negocios Harvard para niños

• Category:Harvard Business School alumni
• List of Harvard University people
• List of Ivy League business schools
• Spangler Center