New Harvard Business School Scholarship to Cover Full Tuition for 10% of MBA

Harvard Business School (HBS) will offer free MBA tuition for lower-income students, responding to burgeoning concerns in the US over higher education costs and the need for increased social mobility. HBS is rolling out a new scholarship program (need-based) that will encompass the cost of full tuition and fees for approximately 10% of its students. 

HBS will waive annual fees of $76,000 across the two years of its flagship MBA programme for about a 10th of the intake i.e., for about 200 students in the current cohort of 2,000. The scholarship, however, does not cover living expenses. Applicants would be required to cover living costs and insurance, estimated at about $35,000 a year.

Along with the roughly 50% of students who already receive scholarships, HBS will expand the amount of financial aid it provides to students from middle-class families.

“Harvard Business School should be a place where the most talented future leaders can come to realize their potential. We want to remove the financial barriers that stand in their way and alleviate the burden of debt so they can focus on becoming leaders who make a difference in the world”, said HBS Dean Srikant Datar.

According to HBS, approximately half of its students receive need-based financial aid, with yearly support averaging $42,000 ($84,000 over the course of the two years of the program).

Applicants would be evaluated based on their gross income from the prior three years, socioeconomic background, assets, and levels of undergraduate debt.