If I am an undergrad at Harvard, can I take MBA courses at HBS?
As with almost any academic question related to Harvard, the answer is “It depends.” In all cases, approval for a particular course is at the discretion of the cross-reg school and/or professor. It’s also important to note that, while not as logistically challenging as MIT, the HBS campus is not located across the street from Harvard Yard, so scheduling a Harvard FAS class immediately before or after an HBS class is generally not an option.
Regardless, no point thinking about it until one is actually admitted to Harvard.
@long2181998 A close friend who studied Econ at Harvard as an undergrad always said that it was quite difficult but not entirely impossible to enroll in an HBS class, and it largely depends on the class. I think being rather off-limits to undergrads is something HBS really cherishes as it creates a more exclusive atmosphere for its MBA and PhD students. The fact that HBS MBA’s don’t have to be around or take classes with undergrads is promoted as a major selling point over other MBA programs.
I’m too lazy to look it up, but I have in the back of my mind that there were a very small number of HBS classes that were relatively (strong emphasis on that “relatively”) easy for undergraduates to take. The one I remember was an introductory financial accounting course. It’s something that Harvard College does (did?) not offer as an undergraduate course, but that would be recognized as an appropriate undergraduate course almost everywhere. And also an HBS course that did not rely heavily on case method or students working together in teams outside class, so it was relatively (that word again!) easy to accommodate undergraduates.
But maybe I am remembering wrong.
I took a peek, and it looks like they have completely shut the door on cross-registration into regular MBA classes. They are offering a three-course online “Certificate of Readiness (CORe)” program that they are marketing to undergraduates (but not necessarily Harvard undergraduates), and they have a special summer program to match Harvard undergraduates who want to get involved in research with business school faculty who want warm bodies to help in their research.
These days, the Harvard students wanting a financial accounting course xreg for the MIT course. In general, no first year HBS classes are open for xreg.
The HBS online program does appear to be organized around a limited group of undergraduate institutions, including Harvard College:
Now HBS says it has reached agreements with five elite liberal arts colleges, including Hamilton College, Williams College, Wellesley College, Grinnell College and Carleton College. The business school had previously formed a partnership with Amherst College, and the online program is already available to Harvard undergraduates.
If you want to take HBS classes as an undergraduate, it has to be through CORe. Attending one of the partner colleges is win-win.
Note the list has expended since 2015.