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The First-Year Experience

The First-Year Experience

An inside look at student life as it unfolds for RCs.

An inside look at student life as it unfolds for RCs.

View The Second-Year Experience
Aug

START

With a mix of academic and social activities, START gets RCs (first-year students) oriented over two jam-packed days.

 
Welcome Class of 2020
 
Section Reveal
 
First Day of Class
  • Video  25 AUG 2014
    Welcome Class of 2018: You Are HBS
  • Video  25 AUG 2014
    Section Reveal
  • Video  28 AUG 2014
    First Day of Class

You Might Want to Read

8 Reasons the Section Experience is the Best Part About HBS →

Sep

MBA Student Club Fair

From rugby and hospitality, to aerospace and negotiation, there's a club for that. Hundreds of RCs explore all that student clubs have to offer.

You Might Want to Read

Recap of the 4th Annual Women in Investing Summit →

Sep

MBA Fall Family Fling

Balloons! Cookies! Jungle gyms! What more could a kid (or adult) want? The Fall Family Fling has it all for student families.

You Might Want to Read

Moving to the U.S. with a Family →

Oct

National Coming Out Day

The HBS LGBT Student Association celebrates National Coming Out Day with activities across campus to share LGBT perspectives and increase the community’s visibility.

Joining the LGBT Community at HBS (video)
7 Coming Out Stories from HBS PRIDE Club
  • 07 Oct 2020

7 Coming Out Stories from the HBS PRIDE Club

PRIDEAuthorHBS Community
tag LGBTQ+
Some students come out before business school, and some students wait until they arrive on campus. Many who participate in events choose to keep their LGBTQ+ status private. We accept everyone in any stage of their coming out process and hope that you will be inspired by the stories of these students as they continue to grapple with a world that is not always accepting of who they are. Now, during this period of wild uncertainty – and, for many, anxiety and loneliness – our visibility and representation matter more than ever. [...]
→Read more
Oct

FIELD Global Immersion Locations Revealed

As the capstone to their Required Curriculum (RC), more than 900 first-year MBA students will travel to emerging markets to develop a new product or service for global partner organizations. Find out where in the world they’re headed!

925

 First-year students

155

  Global partners

12

  Countries

 
Where are students going for FIELD Global Immersion? (video)
 
Oct

Customer Interaction Days

First-year students reflect on their experiences during Customer Interaction Days as part of FIELD Global Immersion. In preparation for their overseas assignment, students participate in a challenging, local team-based exercise. By practicing Design Thinking, a structured approach to meeting unmet customer needs, students develop a product or service for the US market similar to what their Global Partner will require come May.

 
Watch Video
Nov

Veterans Day

Reflections on Services-Armed Forces Alumni Association Student Profiles

Reflections on Services-Armed Foreces Alumni Association Student Profiles

AFAAAuthorMilitary Students
tag Military
The HBS students featured represent a small portion of the many veterans who live and learn in our community. They are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, spouses and parents, each of whom served voluntarily in their nation’s armed forces. Many served in combat. They are proud to share this deeply personal aspect of their lives with you. [...]
→Read more
Jan

LET IT SNOW!

Winter can transform our campus into a snow-lovers' paradise, recently with a record-breaking 110 inches, and RCs soaked up every moment of it!

 
Watch Video
Jan

Short Intensive Programs (SIPs)

SIPS are no-fee, no-credit elective courses for RCs and ECs that offer the opportunity to think about career choices, gain practical skills, and explore topics you might otherwise never get to study. Startup Bootcamp, launched originally for RCs, is still one of the most popular SIPs.

Startup Bootcamp (video)
 
Apr

NEW VENTURE COMPETITION

The student New Venture Competition is a year-long entrepreneurial journey to launch new business and social impact ventures while at HBS. The program culminates with a capstone event in which all participants, including teams comprised of first- and second-year students, present live to top investors and entrepreneurs!

 
Hour 72+ Wins 2018 New Venture Competition Business Track (video)
 
$300,000

 Cash plus in-kind prizes

May

FIELD GLOBAL IMMERSION

As a complement to the case-study method that encourages students to think like leaders, Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development (FIELD) gives students opportunities to translate their ideas into practice. Having worked in small teams and applied the tools of design thinking – customer observation, brainstorming, and prototyping – to develop new products and services during Customer Interaction Days, students travel to global markets and work with their Global Partner. They interview potential customers, refine their ideas, and present their conclusions to their Global Partner.

 
Watch Video
 
 
929

 First-year students

157

  Global Partners

13

  Countries

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