Blac Chyna's interest in attending a Harvard Business School Online course was hatched by a PR firm that offered to do all the work and even take a pic of her wearing a Harvard hoodie ... for a price.

TMZ broke the story ... Chyna has been accepted to take a Harvard Online course called Business Analytics, teaching students how to interpret data and make savvy business decisions.

We found out Chyna got wind of the course through an email sent to her team by Christian Emiliano, who refers to himself as Social Media Renaissance Man.

Christian's email pitch ... for $3,250, "Our team will complete all the course work for you, all you have to do is take one test (we will provide you the study guide) and then take credit for the program." Once completed, Chyna could add the Harvard education to her resume and improve her brand.