Admissions
How To Apply
Organizations
Individuals
At The Center we build environments where serious learners thrive. Every detail is curated to support one thing: learning that sticks, scales, and transforms. That is why we admit selectively, teach intentionally, and reflect systemically. This is not teaching-first. It is learning-by-design.
Dear Applicant
The Center seeks to enroll in its courses and programs professionals who 1) are passionate about learning, 2) believe executive education, professional development, and lifelong learning are essential for personal and professional growth, and 3) want to leverage learning to advance in their careers and in their ability to contribute to their organizations and society.
The purpose of the admissions process is to select qualified individuals who are sincerely committed to creating value for themselves and their classmates throughout the learning process.
→ For each Section of a Cohort of the Strategy Course, we admit up to 36 qualified applicants through two application rounds subject to the policies described below and on a space-available basis.
→ For each Section of a Cohort of the Entrepreneurship Course, we admit up to 45 qualified applicants through two application rounds subject to the policies described below and on a space-available basis.
Our Admissions are selective and criteria-driven; specifically, we consider
- how well an applicant matches the description of their target cohort;
- willingness to commit to the System for Learning and Development (L&D) Excellence;
- willingness to invest significant amounts of time in reading and cracking case studies and in working with a Learning Team to complete case analyses and team reflections;
- motivation to experience an MBA-level course designed to global standards of learning excellence;
- professional and educational achievement;
- and English language proficiency.
Application Process for Individuals
STEP 01. Choose a Course.
Currently we offer the Strategy Course in the Fall Term and the Entrepreneurship Course in the Spring Term.
STEP 02. Choose a Cohort (= “Find Your Tribe!”).
Currently,
- the Strategy Course has two cohorts: Young Professionals Cohort (YPC) for early career stage professionals, and Experienced Managers Cohort (EMC) for professionals with ten or more years of relevant professional experience.
- the Entrepreneurship Course has two cohorts: Aspiring Entrepreneurs Cohort (AEC) for professionals who want to start a business someday and want to use the course to learn about the process, and Entrepreneurs Cohort for Entrepreneurs, Innovation Managers, and Family Business Successors who have recently launched a business and would like to use the course to help bring order to their process.
STEP 03. Complete and Submit the Online Application
We estimate the time required to complete the application is between 30 minutes and one hour.
The application form asks you to answer questions and provide demographic information, information about your Cohort and Section preferences, information about your academic history, and information about your work experience. There are no essays for the application, although we do ask you to write a paragraph or two to describe your motivation for applying to the course. In some cases applicants may also be requested to complete an online interview as part of the application process.
You will need to provide your LinkedIn profile URL as part of the application; if you do not have a current, updated LinkedIn profile, we encourage you to create and/or update your LinkedIn profile before you begin the application.
Enrollment Process for Individuals who Receive an Offer of Admission
STEP 01. Review the Offer.
Offers of Admission to a Course are sent via email. If you receive an offer, please be certain to read the offer carefully, paying careful attention to the Cohort Name, Section Name, and other time sensitive details.
STEP 02. Accept or Decline the Offer.
Please accept or decline the Offer via email by the deadline indicated in the Offer.
STEP 03. Submit Your Payment
If you are offered admission, you will receive an electronic invoice via email from HACKETT LABS. To confirm your enrollment, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice.
Strategy Course
- Strategy Course Applicants admitted in Round 1 must complete payment by June 30 to secure their seat and receive the Early Bird Discount.
- Strategy Course Applicants admitted in Round 2 must complete payment by August 31.
Entrepreneurship Course
- Entrepreneurship Course Applicants admitted in Round 1 must complete payment by November 30 to secure their seat and receive the Early Bird Discount.
- Strategy Course Applicants admitted in Round 2 must complete payment by January 31.
Early payment is strongly encouraged to secure your place in the course, as enrollment is limited and there may be others on the waiting list hoping for an open seat.
STEP 04. Begin the Onboarding Process When Notified to Do So
The onboarding process begins in mid-September for the Strategy Course and mid-March for the Entrepreneurship Course. You will receive an email detailing how to start the onboarding process. The Enrollment Process is not complete until you have purchased your coursepack. (A coursepack is a group of course materials that are carefully selected for the Course in which you are enrolled. Information about how to purchase your coursepack is provided during the onboarding process). Learners who do not purchase the designated coursepack will not be able to proceed in the course.
FAQs
Q1. What are the technical and equipment requirements for participating in a Course?
Learners will need a PC (the display on a smartphone will be too small), an internet connection and the latest version of their preferred browser to access the learning management system. In addition, the ability to open and view Microsoft Office files and a PDF viewer are required to access and view documents.
Q2. How much time is required each week to produce successful learning outcomes?
A lot… especially in the beginning! Learning is not only hard work, it is also one of the best investments you can make in yourself. The actual amount of time required will vary based on how quickly a learner can read in English and how effective their Learning Team is at collaboration and continuous improvement. Many past participants have noted that as their Learning Team became more effective, the amount of time required to produce high-quality deliverables went down.
Q3. What are the requirements to earn a Certificate of Completion?
In general, a learner who is enrolled in a course needs to attend 9 out of 13 sessions and earn 60% of the available points in the course to earn a Certificate of Completion.
Q4. How long will I have access to the learning materials?
Access to the Learning Management System and the contents within it is limited to Course Start Date and Course End dates.
- The Course Start Date is the first day that the onboarding process is open for the course in which a learner is enrolled.
- The Course End Date for the Strategy Course is March 31st.
- The Course End Date for the Entrepreneurship Course is August 31st.
Access to the Coursepack materials is governed by the publisher. In the Strategy course access to the Coursepack materials ends on March 14th. For the Entrepreneurship course access privileges will correspond to the Course Start and End dates.
Q5. Can I take a course with my team? / Can we apply as a team?
In principle, Learning Teams are formed through a facilitated selection process during Session 02 of the Course in which you are enrolled.
However, if you have already assembled a prospective Learning Team (e.g. six people who want to take the Strategy Course together and work on the same Learning Team, or five people who want to take the Entrepreneurship Course together and work on the same Learning Team), there is a place in the application form to indicate your desire to apply as a prospective pre-designated Learning Team. Please note that each prospective member of the prospective pre-designated Learning Team needs to submit his or her own application and receive an Offer of Admission in order to secure a place on the team.
To help ensure fairness in the Admissions Process, each application is evaluated independently of the others and the desire to be on a pre-designated Learning Team will be taken into consideration after the initial application screening process for the round in which the application is received is complete. If someone on the prospective Learning Team does not receive an Offer of Admission, the members who do receive an offer must be open to welcoming other admitted members of the section onto their Learning Team. Finally, given the limited number of seats in each Section of a Cohort, each prospective member of the pre-designated Learning Team should submit their applications as early in the Admissions cycle as possible.
Q6. How can I pay?
We prefer bank transfer. The bank details are provided in the invoice that is sent at the time the Offer of Admission is made.
Q7. Do you offer discounts or scholarships?
We offer early bird discounts to everyone who applies in Round 1 and receives an Offer of Admission and pays the invoice by the specified Early Bird Discount due date.
Q8. What is the Cancellation Policy?
Cancellations must be submitted in writing.
- Full Refund: Cancellations made more than 30 days before the course start date are eligible for a full refund of the tuition fee.
- Partial Refund: Cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days before the course start date are subject to a 50% cancellation fee.
- No Refund: Cancellations received within 14 days of the course start date are subject to full payment, and no refund will be issued.
Due to limited enrollment and the volume of pre-course preparation required, we are unable to offer exceptions beyond these timelines.
Q9. Can you sponsor a student visa?
No, this is beyond the scope of our activities.
Q10. Do I need to send you some kind of transcripts or test scores as part of the application process?
No. (This is Executive Education).
Q11. How will you verify my identity?
To ensure the integrity of our cohort-based admissions process, learners are kindly requested to bring a valid government-issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license, passport, or residence card) on the first day of class. This is for identity verification purposes only. No copies will be made, and your information will not be recorded or shared.
Q11. What is a Cohort? What is a Section? What is a Learning Team?
Cohorts, Sections, and Learning Teams are common features in full-time and executive MBA programs, and they are designed to foster collaboration, peer learning, and networking.
COHORTS.
The Strategy Course and the Entrepreneurship Course both organize learners into Cohorts. Each Cohort is a group of learners with a shared primary goal and other shared characteristics.
Cohort courses have fixed start and end dates and all members of a cohort are expected to learn at the same pace.
- The Course Start Date is the first day that the onboarding process is open for the course in which a learner is enrolled.
- The Course End Date for the Strategy Course is March 31st.
- The Course End Date for the Entrepreneurship Course is July 31st.
SECTIONS.
Cohorts with a larger than anticipated number of qualified applicants might be separated into multiple Sections (e.g. Section A, Section B, etc.). If this occurs, applicants will be informed of their assigned Section and the days on which it meets at the time the Offer of Admission is made.
→ The maximum number of learners in a Section of a Strategy Course Cohort is 36.
→ The maximum number of learners in a Section of an Entrepreneurship Course Cohort is 45.
Applicants who receive an Offer of Admission are offered admission into a specific Section of their Cohort.
LEARNING TEAMS.
Learning Teams are small groups of learners (approximately six per team in the Strategy Course; approximately five per team in the Entrepreneurship Course) who collaborate throughout the course to enhance the learning experience. Learning Teams serve as a platform for practicing key skills such as collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making—critical abilities for leaders. Each admitted learner joins a Learning Team in their Section of their Cohort and progresses through the course as a member of their Learning Team.