Through the Credential of Readiness (CORe) pathway, you may prepare for admission to the Finance Degree Program by earning the CORe credential from Harvard Business School Online and then completing one degree course at Harvard Extension School.
About CORe
CORe—designed and presented by Harvard Business School faculty—is a primer on the fundamentals of business thinking.
The fully online, asynchronous course covers business analytics, economics for managers, and accounting. The content was inspired by the curriculum offered to incoming Harvard Business School students preparing for the MBA classroom.
Admissions: Earn Your Way In
To begin the admission process, you register for CORe and then one graduate-level course with us:
- CORe (noncredit or credit). You apply for CORe directly with Harvard Business School Online.
- 1 economics course (microeconomics or managerial economics).
- Before registering for the economics course, you’ll need to pass our online test of critical reading and writing skills or earn a B or higher in EXPO 34 Business Rhetoric, which counts as an elective towards the program.
You need to earn a passing grade in CORe and a B or higher grade in the economics course, without letting your overall Harvard cumulative GPA dip below 3.0.
Eligibility: The CORe credential must be earned prior to enrolling in any degree-applicable courses at Harvard. Before enrolling in any degree-applicable courses, you need to possess a four-year, U.S. regionally accredited bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent. The CORe credential cannot be more than three years old at the time of application.
Applying To the Degree Program
During the semester that you are completing the economics course, submit the official application to the program.
Don’t delay! It is critical to prioritize the degree course for admission and apply before completing subsequent courses. By doing so, you’ll avoid the delayed application fee and the loss of degree credit for expired courses, and you’ll gain access to exclusive degree candidate privileges.
Eligible students who submit a complete and timely application will have 11 more courses after admission to earn the degree.
For more details about eligibility, the application process, and application fees, visit Admissions.
Visit the finance degree requirements page for information about on-campus requirements and completing the degree.