The Berkeley MBA Program at Haas School of Business is a 24-month General Management program with Leadership as a foundational focus. Students develop the skills to think strategically and make decisions at operational and organization levels. Haas is among a very few top Business Schools that has clearly defined their guiding principle.
In fact, the school has four: Question the Status Quo, Confidence without Attitude, Students Always and Beyond Yourself, with an emphasis on thinking creatively – a skill, management professionals need to excel in the new economy.
BERKELEY MBA CURRICULUM
The curriculum is structured on building General Management skills in the core and the option to focus on functional skills in the electives.
Experiential Learning in International Business, Non-profit, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation will expose students to the challenges that come with solving a real Business problem. Electives support student's ambition to pursue multidisciplinary interests and leverage UC Berkeley's innovative culture.
Year One
The first year starts with a pre-term workshop on revising candidate's quantitative skills, followed by a 5-day introduction to the curriculum structure, student body activities, and a speaker series.
The core courses start with the theme of decision-making and leadership along with career planning workshops. Candidates are then introduced to Accounting, Finance, and Marketing.
During Winter Break, Global Study tours are organized. The spring of the first year is spent on Macroeconomics and Operations. During the same time, students can choose electives and take the Applied Innovation Courses.
Summer break of the year is allocated for consulting engagements (10-week internship) as part of the Applied Innovation Course with companies of all size (billion dollars to startup) and type (non-profits included) taking part in it.
Year Two
Students who have missed the opportunity to complete the Applied Innovation Course in the first year are again provided the option in 2nd year fall and spring semesters.
As with the first year, Global treks or the experiential learning parts of the course are organized for the winter break. The required electives for the specialization are offered throughout the winter and Spring Semesters.
The Second Year Electives are designed with the goal of helping candidates choose Finance, Marketing, Strategy/Consulting, Entrepreneurship, Global Management, Health Management, Non-profit, Real Estate or Technology, as a specialization.
Dual and Joint Degree Programs
The Haas School of Business in partnership with UC Berkley’s School of Law or UC Hastings College of the Law offers students with a JD/MBA program in Law where first two years is spent in law school, while the third year, in the Business School with the option to customize the electives from both the schools.
Students interested in Healthcare Management or working as a consultant for Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, and Insurance companies should consider the 2.5-year MBA/MPH program jointly offered by the Haas School of Business and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.
Although Global Management is one of the post-MBA specializations on offer as part of the electives, the three-year MBA/MBA program in Global Studies from courses assorted across departments in Schools at UC Berkeley prepares students to specialize in International Trade & Debt, Global Communications, Investment Strategy, Urban Development, and Environmental issues. With the program, students get exposure to issues facing China, Russia, Germany, Japan, and Brazil while also familiarizing themselves with broader problems facing the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Students looking to gain hands-on experience in Wall Street, Media, and Entertainment should consider the exchange program between The Haas School of Business and Columbia Business School (New York) during the fall of the 2nd year.
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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)
About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.
I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.
The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.
Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.