The Haas MBA is a two-year, 21-month full-time program. It begins with a required core curriculum in the first year and transitions into a flexible second year of electives.
In this in-depth analysis of the Berkeley Haas MBA Curriculum, we cover:
1. Haas MBA Curriculum: An Overview
2. Year One: Forging a Foundational Core
3. Year Two: Tailoring Your Academic Path
4. Experiential Learning: Applied Innovation in Practice
5. Concurrent Degree Programs
6. Global Opportunities
1. Haas MBA Curriculum: An Overview
The program's schedule builds a strong foundation in essential business disciplines before allowing students to customize their academic journey.
Uniqueness of Berkeley Haas MBA Curriculum
A unique feature of the curriculum is its emphasis on Applied Innovation, requiring students to complete at least one course that connects academic theory with real-world impact.
The program also offers various cross-functional registration, joint-degree, and global learning options to provide a well-rounded and flexible educational experience.
2. Year One: Forging a Foundational Core
The first year of the Haas MBA is designed to build foundational fluency in key business areas. It consists of 11 core courses, delivered in four seven-week modules.
The curriculum is sequential, with courses reinforcing each other to strengthen both analytical skills and business judgment.
A Modular Structure for Core Learning
The first-year core curriculum ensures that every student masters fundamental concepts in leadership, analytics, economics, accounting, finance, marketing, operations, ethics, and strategic decision-making. These courses are taken within a cohort-based structure.
Most students begin exploring electives during the spring semester of their first year while also working to fulfill the Applied Innovation requirement.
Haas core courses cover leadership, finance, macroeconomics, ethics, marketing, data, communication, and accounting themes.
Core | Courses | Berkeley Haas MBA |
| Leading People | Introduction to Finance | Macroeconomics in the Global Economy |
| Ethics and Responsibility in Business | Data and Decisions | Marketing |
| Operations | Strategic Leadership | Economics for Business Decision Making |
| Business Communication in Diverse Work Environments | Financial Accounting |
Download F1GMAT's Berkeley Haas MBA Essay Guide
Question 1: What makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why? (300 words maximum) (Video Essay)
Question 2: What are your short-term and long-term career goals, and how will an MBA from Haas help you achieve those goals? Short-term career goals should be achievable within 3-5 years post-MBA, whereas long-term goals may span a decade or more and encompass broader professional aspirations. (300 words max)
Question 3: Distance Traveled: At Berkeley Haas, we consider "distance traveled" as the contextual information that helps us understand the unique circumstances, challenges, or influences that have shaped your personal and professional journey.
We invite you to share aspects of your background, personal circumstances, or significant experiences that have meaningfully impacted who you are today and how you've reached this point. Please tell us how these experiences have influenced your perspectives, decisions, and aspirations, and how they contribute to the person you are becoming. (300 words max)
3. Year Two: Tailoring Your Academic Path
After completing the core curriculum, the second year is designed to be highly customizable. Students can shape their own academic path by selecting from a broad catalog of electives and by cross-registering at other UC Berkeley schools.
A Diverse Array of Electives: 13 Themes
Haas offers an extensive suite of electives, organized into 13 themes. This structure allows a student to create a focused academic plan that prepares them for specific industries or functions.
Industry and Functional Focus
The industry focus is around Finance, Energy, Healthcare, Real Estate, and Technology, while the functional focus reinforces the focus in core areas around marketing, strategy, and leadership with a unique course: Equity Fluent leadership -first of a kind in any top school where equitable and inclusive growth is prioritized as a business goal.
Social Sector leadership and Sustainable & IMPACT finance are two other niches that are atypical of Haas’ peers.
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Energy & Clean Technology
• Entrepreneurship
• Equity Fluent Leadership
• Finance
• Global Management
• Health Management
• Marketing
• Real Estate
• Social Sector Leadership
• Sustainable & Impact Finance
• Strategy & Consulting
• Technology
Name of the Opportunity | Relevant Industry/Functions | Key Offerings |
| International Business Development (IBD) | Consulting, Global Management, Technology, Healthcare | A semester-long, team-based consulting project for a real client located outside the United States, culminating in a three-week on-site engagement. |
| Haas@Work | Corporate Innovation, Strategy, Product Management | Student teams work directly with executives from partner companies to solve pressing business challenges. |
| Social Sector Solutions | Social Impact, Nonprofit Management, Public Policy | Strategy consulting for nonprofit organizations, public institutions, or social enterprises. |
| Cleantech to Market (C2M) | Energy, Clean Technology, Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital | Students assess the commercial viability of early-stage clean technologies and develop actionable business plans. |
| Lean Launchpad | Entrepreneurship, Startups | A hands-on course where students test and refine business models for a high-technology startup based on real customer feedback. |
| Haas Sustainable Investment Fund | Finance, Sustainable Investing, Asset Management | Students manage a live, student-run portfolio of over $4.5 million, applying sustainable investing principles to live investment decisions. |
| Product Management | Product Management, Technology | A project-based course where students work through the full product development lifecycle, from concept to launch, in a semester-long project. |
| Corporate Launchpad | Corporate Innovation, Strategy | Students are embedded within a company’s innovation team to assess market dynamics, translate ideas into viable business actions, and execute initiatives. |
F1GMAT Premium - Berkeley Haas MBA Curriculum
For a comprehensive list of all elective courses and detailed descriptions for each area of emphasis, subscribe to F1GMAT Premium. In addition to the curriculum analysis, learn about M7 and Top 20 MBA:
• Salary Trends
• Industry Trends (placements - by industry, function and region) + quarterly break down of PE, VC, IB, Technology, Healthcare and Consulting industries
• Curriculum Analysis
• Cost Trends
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4. Experiential Learning: Applied Innovation in Practice
Haas’s curriculum is distinguished by its strong emphasis on experiential learning, which goes beyond case studies to provide hands-on, real-world experience.
Over half of all elective courses involve direct engagement with companies, organizations, or tackling an industry challenge. This approach ensures students apply business theory to authentic situations, refining their skills in practical, project-based settings.
A central requirement for all students is to complete at least one Applied Innovation course.
The following table provides a brief overview of some of the key experiential learning opportunities available at Haas:
F1GMAT Premium - Berkeley Haas MBA Curriculum (In-Depth Analysis)
For a comprehensive list of all Applied Innovation courses and experiential learning opportunities, including those in Finance and Entrepreneurship, subscribe to F1GMAT Premium
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5. Concurrent Degree Programs
The Berkeley Haas MBA program provides multiple platforms for students to engage in international business. These initiatives are designed to help students work with organizations, institutions, and markets outside the United States, building practical experience and adaptability in diverse cultural and regulatory environments.
International Engagement Through Master's in Engineering, Public Health, Law and Climate Solutions
Berkeley Haas offers structured opportunities that integrate international experience directly into the curriculum, ranging from semester-long projects to a global academic network.
Program Name | Partner School | Core Focus | Program Duration |
| MBA/Master of Climate Solutions | Rausser College of Natural Resources | Combines business leadership with deep expertise in climate data science, carbon accounting, and technological solutions. | 2 years |
| MBA/MPH | School of Public Health | Integrates business training with health policy and management for leadership roles in the healthcare industry. | 30 months |
| MBA/MEng | College of Engineering | Bridges advanced engineering expertise with business strategy to lead technological innovation in new and established firms. | 4 semesters |
| JD/MBA | Berkeley Law or UC Law San Francisco | Equips graduates to navigate the complex intersections of legal frameworks and business strategy. | 4 years |
6. Global Opportunities
The school provides a range of formal opportunities, from short-term global collaborations to multi-year dual-degree programs, which allow students to tailor their education to their specific career goals.
Program | Core Focus | Key Offerings |
| International Business Development (IBD) | Global Consulting | A semester-long, team-based consulting project for a client based outside the U.S., culminating in a three-week on-site engagement. Since its inception, IBD has conducted projects in over 89 countries. |
| Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM) | Cross-Cultural Collaboration | Provides access to a consortium of over 30 top-tier business schools for short, intensive in-person modules and virtual courses. |
| Exchange Program | Regional Immersion | A one-semester program in the second year, allowing students to study at one of four partner institutions, including London Business School and Columbia Business School, to gain exposure to a distinct regional market. |
A Deeper Look
