The Harvard MBA is a two-year, full-time general management program at Harvard Business School in Boston. Year 1 is the Required Curriculum (RC) where students are required to take 13 mandatory courses, including the new Data Science & AI for Leaders (DSAIL), plus the FIELD Global Capstone immersion, with every student assigned to a section of 90 peers. Year 2 is the Elective Curriculum (EC), where students must earn 30 credits across 100+ electives in ten subject areas, with no formal majors or concentrations.
About 80% of HBS classes use the case method, the discussion-based teaching format the school pioneered in the 1920s.
TL;DR
- Harvard MBA Class of 2027 enrolled 943 students from 9,409 applications - the largest class size and enrolment for an M7 MBA
- GMAT 730, GPA 3.76, work experience 4.9 years. The GMAT median of the class is below Stanford (738) and Wharton (735)
- Women 44%, International 37% (second only to Stanford's 38%). Harvard's global brand absorbed the 2024-25 visa friction better than domestic-heavy peers.
- STEM majors are 43% of the class, the highest among Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton. Add 19% Economics and quantitatively trained students are nearly two-thirds of the entering cohort.
- 2026-27 cost of attendance for a single student is $130,318 for the year, $273,524 for the two-year package before scholarships.
- Tuition went up 7.7% to $84,760, the steepest single-year tuition jump in five years. Health insurance jumped another 15.0%.
- Need-based aid only. About half of each class gets a scholarship. The average award is $100,000 over two years. HBS gives no merit aid.
- Year 1 has no flexibility: 13 mandatory courses, including DSAIL plus FIELD. Year 2 has full flexibility: 30 elective credits across the catalog.
- Case method anchors 80% of teaching. A Harvard MBA reads and discusses 500 cases over the program.
- Class of 2025 placements: Technology 22%, Consulting 21%, Private Equity 14%. These three industries took 57% of the class.
- Investment Management and Hedge Funds posted the highest median total compensation at $232,500, despite hiring only 7% of the class.
- 150 graduates from the Class of 2025 launched new ventures. Another 80 joined startups. That is 230 entries into the early-stage ecosystem from one class.
Harvard MBA Class Profile
For the Class of 2025, the Harvard Full-time MBA program received 8,149 applications but admitted only 938 students – a 11.5% acceptance rate. The program has maintained a high barrier of entry academically, with the GMAT median for the class at 740 – a 10-point jump from the previous year. The average GPA has also increased to reach 3.73. Women’s representation, as in most top schools, has dipped for the class of 2025, while international students’ representation has increased correspondingly, reflecting a greater demand among male international applicants in M7 and T20 MBA programs.
| Harvard MBA Class Profile | Class of 2025 |
| Application Volume | 8149 |
| Admitted | 938 |
| Acceptance Rate | 11.5% |
| GPA | 3.73 |
| GMAT Median | 740 |
| International | 39% |
| Women | 45% |
Class Profile Comparison: Class of 2025 vs. 2024 vs. 2023 vs. 2022
Over four years, applications decreased by 12.4%, while the number of students admitted increased by 28%. The academic requirements of a GPA of 3.7 is slowly inching towards 3.8 while the GMAT score has reached 740 – a 10-point jump for the latest class. International representation rose to 39%, an increase of 6% over four years. Women’s representation fell by 1% for the class of 2025. Most M7 schools have reached a 45% threshold in women’s representation, although 50% is far from reach for US schools.
| Harvard MBA Class Profile | Class of 2025 | Class of 2024 | Class of 2023 | Class of 2022 |
| Application Volume | 8149 | 8264 | 9773 | 9304 |
| Admitted | 938 | 1015 | 1010 | 732 |
| Acceptance Rate | 11.5% | 12% | 10% | 8% |
| GPA | 3.73 | 3.7 | 3.69 | 3.7 |
| GMAT Median | 740 | 730 | 730 | 730 |
| International | 39% | 38% | 37% | 33% |
| Asian | -- | 13% | 13% | |
| European | -- | 8% | 9% | |
| Women | 45% | 46% | 41% | 44% |
| Underrepresented Minorities | -- | -- | 52% | - |
Pre-MBA Education
For three consecutive years, students with an Engineering background have the highest share in the Harvard MBA class, followed by Business/Commerce (a 1% decrease). 21% from an Economics background led the degree to become the fastest-growing educational group. The share of students from Social Sciences and Art/Humanities has stabilized at 26%.
| Harvard Pre-MBA Education | Undergraduate Degree (2025) | Undergraduate Degree (2024) | Undergraduate Degree (Class of 2023) |
| Engineering | 25% | 28% | 27% |
| Economics | 21% | 19% | 20% |
| Business/Commerce | 22% | 24% | 21% |
| Social Sciences | 12% | 10% | 13% |
| Math/Physical Sciences | 17% | 14% | 15% |
| Arts/Humanities | 4% | 5% | 4% |
Pre-MBA Industry
At 17%, the highest pre-MBA industry representation is a tie between Venture Capital/Private Equity and Consulting, while Technology was 2nd at 13%. Traditional Finance role was 3rd – tied with Consumer Products/Retail at 10% of the class, taking the total percentage of the class with Pre-MBA experience in Finance to 27% - a representation much higher than Consulting (17%) and High-Tech (13%).
Healthcare has stabilized at 7% while Manufacturing has dropped below double-digit representation.
| Harvard Pre-MBA Industry | Class of 2025 | Class of 2024 | Class of 2023 | |
| Consulting | 17% | 16% | 17% | |
| Consumer Products / Retail / E-Commerce | 10% | 9% | 9% | |
| Financial Services | 10% | 10% | 12% | |
| Healthcare/Biotech | 7% | 8% | 7% | |
| Manufacturing/Industrial/Energy | 9% | 9% | 11% | |
| Venture Capital/Private Equity | 17% | 16% | 15% | |
| Technology | 13% | 14% | 11% | |
| Military | -- | 5% | ||
| Non-Profit / Government / Education | 6% | 6% | 8% |
Harvard MBA – Total Cost
The total cost for 1-year includes the Student Health Insurance plan ($4120), Harvard University Health Services Fee ($1408), Harvard University Student Health Program for children and dependents (average $4200 per dependent person), Course Materials ($2600), Housing ($16200 per 9 months), Living Expense ($16,400 for 9 months) taking the total cost of a Harvard MBA program to $115,638 for a single person, $139,340 for a married person, $154,868 for a Married person with a child and Spouse, and $161,502 for a Married Person with 2 children and Spouse.
Since approximately only 30% of the Harvard MBA class is married or married with Children, we are summarizing the Harvard MBA Cost for a Single Person.
| Harvard MBA | Cost for Single Students (2023-24) |
| Tuition | $74,910 |
| Health Fee | $1,408 |
| Insurance Plan | $4,120 |
| For Dependents (Student's Spouses) | $0 |
| Course and program Materials Fee | $2,600 |
| Housing (9 Months) | $16,200* |
| Food (9 Months) | $6,030 |
| Transportation (9 months) | $2,240 |
| Other Living Expenses (9 months) | $8,130 |
| Total | $115,638 |
Harvard MBA Cost: 2023 VS 2024
Tuition fees for the Harvard MBA program saw a hike of 2%, whereas the total fee saw a hike of 3.6%, which was contributed from an increase in expenses in Housing, Food, Course Materials, Health Fees, and Insurance Plan.
| Harvard MBA Expenses | Single (2023-24) | Single (2022-23) |
| Tuition | $74,910 | $73440 |
| Health Fee | $1,408 | $1242 |
| Insurance Plan | $4,120 | $4040 |
| Course and program Materials Fee | $2,600 | $2550 |
| Housing (9 Months) | $16,200* | $14,340 |
| Living Expenses (9 Months) | $16,400 | $16,540 |
| Total | $115,638 | $111,542 |
Related Service: F1GMAT's Harvard MBA Application Essay Editing Service
Related Book: F1GMAT’s Harvard MBA Essay Guide
Reference
Harvard MBA Analysis
- Harvard MBA - Curriculum Analysis (Part 2)
- Harvard MBA - Scholarships, Loans and Financial Aid (Part 3)
- Harvard MBA - Salary Trends (Part 4)
