Global Fact Sheet An Overview of Global Activities at Harvard Business School

Global at a Glance

  • Throughout its history, Harvard Business School has been a leader in developing practice-oriented research for management education. Applying the case method of teaching, the School has educated tens of thousands of leaders in business, government, and academia around the world. HBS also has helped guide the establishment of leading business schools in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia.
  • The School has adhered to a carefully crafted strategy: enrich the entire portfolio of activities by focusing on building and leveraging the faculty's research. Extending the School's global reach remains a top priority for both HBS and Dean Nitin Nohria.
  • Established in 1996, the Global Initiative builds on the School's legacy of global engagement by supporting the HBS community of faculty, students, and alumni in their work, encouraging a global perspective in research, study, and practice.

Global Research & Teaching

  • To facilitate faculty research and case development on an international scale, Harvard Business School furthered its impact by establishing seven Global Centers in key regions around the world: Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo), Europe, India, Latin America, and California.
  • The Global Centers strengthen faculty connections with businesses, people, and ideas beyond our borders. This far-reaching network not only is unprecedented in higher education, but also is a vital element in the creation of the School's intellectual capital.
  • At any given time HBS researchers are active in more than 40 countries.

Global Curriculum

  • 41% of all research produced by HBS faculty in fiscal 2011 was global in scope
  • A wide variety of courses and cases in the MBA program address global business issues. 28% of cases taught in the Required Curriculum are global and 38% of Elective Curriculum courses are globally-oriented.
  • Here is a sampling of recently published international cases:

Students and the MBA Program

  • International students from almost 70 countries comprise over one-third of the MBA student body. Such diversity is an important part of the MBA learning experience and greatly enriches the participant-centered approach to learning by bringing contrasting viewpoints to daily class discussions.
  • The second year of the MBA program offers students 96 courses in 10 subject areas, nearly all of which utilize a significant number of international cases. Courses with an explicitly international or global focus are listed below:

Faculty Interest

  • Approximately half of the HBS faculty currently conduct research internationally.
  • Over 130 faculty members identify topics such as globalization, cross-cultural issues, emerging markets and international among their primary or secondary areas of interest.
  • HBS faculty members develop 80 percent of cases used at business schools worldwide.
  • Faculty members frequently collaborate across the School's Global Research Centers and disciplines
  • The School invests generously in faculty research - US$97 million in fiscal 2011 - freeing scholars from the distraction of fundraising and the constraints of third-party grants or sponsorship.

Global Alumni Network

  • Harvard Business School's unparalleled alumni network extends throughout the world, with 71,000 alumni living in 150 countries.
  • The School has more than 103 alumni clubs and associations in 40 countries.
  • Alumni groups provide a wide range of professional, educational, and social programs within their communities reinforcing the HBS mission "to educate leaders who make a difference in the world."