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Academics

Courses

First-Year Required Curriculum (RC)

During the first year at Harvard Business School, all students pursue the same course of study: the Required Curriculum. By studying under a common curriculum, students build a solid, broad foundation of general management concepts and skills across key disciplines. The Required Curriculum incorporates social enterprise cases and topics in several courses ranging from finance to entrepreneurship. As a result, all students learn about social enterprise related topics and considerations from various functional perspectives.

Leadership & Corporate Accountability (LCA)

In this course, students learn about the complex responsibilities facing business leaders today. Through cases about difficult managerial decisions, the course examines the legal, ethical, and economic responsibilities of corporate leaders. It also teaches students about management and governance systems leaders can use to promote responsible conduct by companies and their employees, and shows how personal values can play a critical role in effective leadership.

Social Purpose of the Firm (SPF)

SPF is a short module designed to explore how, and under what circumstances, private firms can help address some of society’s greatest challenges. Each of the five cases describes a set of leaders trying to “make a difference in the world” – that is, to harness the resources of the firm to tackle massive problems such as climate change, poverty, or economic development. Together, the cases are thus designed to help students think about what it actually means to make a difference, and what it takes. How do would-be leaders identify the problems or challenges they wish to tackle? What enables them to craft solutions that other individuals or organizations have missed? Under what circumstances are private firms a reasonable solution to society’s problems? And when should they cede this role to other players instead?

Second-Year Elective Curriculum (EC)

In their second (EC) year, students choose from a range of Social Enterprise elective courses, enabling the integration of the frameworks and functional skills learned in the first year into an understanding of the organization as a total enterprise. In order to design a tailored curriculum to meet their academic goals students may take any combination of courses; pursue field-based independent projects; integrate social enterprise topics through required papers or projects in other courses; and cross-register for courses in other select graduate programs.

Central Focus on Social Enterprise, 2023-24

Business at the Base of the Pyramid

(Spring Term) Senior Lecturer Michael Chu

Data for Impact: Impact Measurement from Startup to Fortune 500 C-Suite

(Spring Term) Assistant Professor Benjamin N. Roth; Assistant Professor Natalia Rigol

Field Course: Investing for Impact

(Fall Term) Senior Lecturer Archie L. Jones; Senior Lecturer Emily R. McComb; Senior Lecturer Brian Trelstad

Power and Influence for Positive Impact

(Fall Term) Professor Julie Battilana

Public Entrepreneurship

(Fall Term) Professor Mitchell Weiss

Social Entrepreneurship and Systems Change

(Fall Term) Senior Lecturer Brian Trelstad

Solving Society’s Complex Challenges Using a Systems Approach

(Spring Term) Lecturer Gerald Chertavian; Professor Kash Rangan

Sustainable Investing

(Spring Term) Professor Shawn A. Cole; Senior Lecturer Vikram S. Gandhi

Transforming Education through Social Entrepreneurship

(Fall Term) Senior Lecturer John J-H Kim

Related Courses, 2023-24

Cities, Structures, and Climate Shocks

Senior Lecturer John Macomber

Field Course: Business of the Arts

Professor Rohit Deshpande; Senior Lecturer Henry W. McGee

Field Course: Scaling Minority Businesses

Senior Lecturer Archie Jones; Senior Lecturer Jeffrey Bussgang; Senior Lecturer Henry McGee

Global Climate Change

Professor Gunnar Trumbull

Managing the Future of Work

Associate Professor Christopher Stanton

Reimagining Capitalism: Business and Big Problems

Assistant Professor Ethan Rouen

The Role of Government in Market Economies

Professor Matthew Weinzierl

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Courses with central/related focus