The year-long immersive experience is designed with small teams as the principal participants. The immersive onsite experience reflects in the title of the experiential learning program - Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development (FIELD).
In this analysis of Harvard MBA FIELD Courses, we cover:
• History of Harvard MBA - FIELD
• HBS MBA FIELD Foundation
• HBS MBA FIELD Global Capstone (Spring - First Year)
• HBS MBA FIELD 2 - Global Immersion (Elective - January Term, Second Year)
• HBS MBA FIELD Global Immersion Locations
History of Harvard MBA - FIELD
In 2011, Dean Nitin Nohria, in consultation with the HBS faculty, announced the team-based experiential learning course - FIELD. The required nature of the experiential learning program allowed the faculty to redesign the second year into four half-terms – offering students even more flexibility in choosing their niches.
Harvard’s FIELD courses have adopted a more globally inclusive focus for students to navigate diverse cultures and business contexts through experiential learning.
The class of 2022 had a slightly different curriculum with FIELD experiences in the first and second years of the MBA program.
The class of 2023 has field courses within the existing subject areas of Technology, Operations, and Management (TOM), Marketing, General Management, and Finance, with the most field courses offered in Entrepreneurial Management.
Since 2024, the program has evolved, with the core first-year experience now centered on FIELD Foundations in the fall and the FIELD Global Capstone in the spring, where students tackle real-world challenges with global partner companies. This is complemented by elective Immersive Field Courses (IFCs) available primarily to second-year students during the January term.
HBS MBA FIELD Foundation
One criticism Harvard Business School faced was its over-reliance on the case study method, which is often curated and organized in ways that simplify complexity or present all the data in a clear, structured format.
With customer interaction days and workshops honing interpersonal skills, students face the uncertainty of market dynamics, changing client requirements, and the complexity of decoding customer and stakeholder motivations.
One learning milestone case study cannot provide is a framework for communicating and understanding the customer. The initial interaction with customers gives students their first impression and helps them tailor their communication style to break down customer requirements and stakeholder motivations. An in-depth study of one's leadership styles is essential for the 8-day immersion program in 10-15 cities.
Students frequently cite the self-awareness exercises as the most illuminating since they allow them to compare their perceptions of themselves to the perceptions of their section mates.
Related: Harvard MBA Curriculum Breakdown
HBS MBA FIELD Global Capstone (Spring - First Year)
The FIELD Global Capstone is a required spring semester course for first-year MBA students. It integrates learnings from across the Required Curriculum through experiential, project-based work. Student teams of six are paired with a Global Partner company facing a real product or service challenge.
Students need to approach the challenges using creative thinking, storytelling, contextual intelligence, emotional intelligence, negotiating, leadership, and adaptability.
Examples of recent and ongoing FIELD-aligned elective courses include:
• Business of the Arts
• Entrepreneurship through Acquisition
• Field X
• Field Y: Projects in Business Management
• Go to Market Sales Playbook Field Study
• Investing for Impact
• Scaling Minority Businesses
• Startup Operations
• Venture Capital Journey
• Private Equity Projects and Ecosystems
• Projects in Investing
• Value Creation in Small and Medium Enterprises
• Innovating in Health Care
• Transforming Health Care Delivery
Related: Experiential Learning in Top MBA Programs
HBS MBA FIELD 2 - Global Immersion (Elective - Primarily January Term, Second Year)
Students rank 13-14 Global Immersion locations throughout the autumn semester, with the criterion that the locations be relevant for their post-MBA career and not be a place where they have worked extensively or grown up.
Team of Six
An algorithm assigns teams of six depending on location preference and diversity.
Once the site and clients have been assigned, students engage in ideation, intensive interviews, and prototyping, as well as receiving input from advisers and client representatives to fine-tune their solutions.
For the most recent cycles (including immersions completed in 2025 for relevant classes), HBS partnered with companies across approximately 14-15 cities worldwide, spanning 14-15 countries.
Students receive an in-depth grasp of emerging market cultures and how to manage market unpredictability while developing a clear strategy to combat all outcomes.
Two years back, Harvard mapped the strength of the city-state-country to offer HBS MBA the right experience
• Italy; Capitalism - Past, Present, and Future
• India; Development While Decarbonizing: India’s Path to Net Zero
• Israel; Startups and Venture Capital
• London; Entrepreneurship in the UK and Europe
• Silicon Valley; Decoding "Growth" in Silicon Valley
• Ghana; Doing Business Across Africa
• Japan; Rising Sun Ventures: Exploring Entrepreneurship in Japan (also listed under Strategy)
• Denmark and Netherlands; Decarbonization and Sustainable Production
Related: Harvard MBA Essay Tips and Strategies
HBS MBA FIELD Global Immersion Locations
For the January 2025 Immersions, HBS Academic team tuned the curriculum to address emerging challenges in each country with global themes in decarbonization, innovation, sustainability, AI, entrepreneurship and venture capital, but continued with the city or region's historical strengths and challenges in South Africa, Japan, and Italy.
For example:
- India: Development While Decarbonizing: India’s Path to Net Zero (led by Senior Lecturer Vikram Gandhi, with site visits in Mumbai and Bangalore to explore net-zero pathways, green hydrogen, EVs, steel production, and sustainable development)
- Singapore: Shaping a Global Innovation Hub (explores government, finance, technology, and biotech ecosystems)
- Silicon Valley: Disrupting Silicon Valley with AI (or similar variations like Decoding "Growth" in Silicon Valley in prior years with innovation, technology disruption, AI ecosystems, venture capital, startups, and growth strategies in the tech hub as themes. Mark Roberge, faculty at HBS and the Founding Chief Revenue Officer at HubSpot, led this leg of the experience.
- Ghana: Doing Business Across Africa - The challenges of operating in an unpredictable market-policy environment with Entrepreneurship as a MOAT to circumvent the structural challenges is the intention behind the FIELD course, although the school has branded it as navigating African business environments.
- Saudi Arabia: A Nation and its Oil Economy Reimagined (or Vision 2030 and economic transformation themes). Explores Saudi Arabia's diversification beyond oil, reforms, investment opportunities, and national reimagining in energy, innovation, and global business
- Japan: Exploring Japan's Innovation Ecosystem (also listed under Strategy; previously Rising Sun Ventures: Exploring Entrepreneurship in Japan). Covers entrepreneurship, ventures, innovation, corporate strategies, and Japan's unique business culture and ecosystem
- Belgium: European Theme is broadly around sustainability. This focus can lead to Belgium, The Netherlands and Denmark, sharing the same theme or related themes. HBS MBAs are advised to explore other cities/country if sustainability is not a theme you want to explore.
- The Netherlands/Denmark: Decarbonization and Sustainable Production (or similar sustainability-focused immersions) with themes in green innovation, sustainable manufacturing/production, decarbonization strategies, and circular economy practices in Northern Europe.
- Italy: Capitalism - Past, Present, and Future (with themes in on European capitalism, history, family businesses, and contemporary dynamics)
- Cape Town/Africa Rising (or Africa: Building Cities/urbanization themes in sub-Saharan Africa) with themes in economic growth, urbanization, infrastructure, finance, public-private partnerships, and "Africa Rising" narratives, with site visits in Cape Town and surrounding areas exploring development challenges and opportunities
Related: Harvard MBA Cost and Funding Options
Faculty-driven portfolios (their expertise and network) often drive the specifics of the experience.
From 2012-2025, students visited 29 countries through this program, tackling 158 field-based projects annually.
Recent partnerships show 13-15 cities each year, with 170 global partners annually supporting diverse, multinational team experiences.
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