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Top 7 MBA Programs - California

The networking equipment, the personal computers, the microchips, and the new media explosion would not have happened if Stanford University were not financially struggling in 1950. It was not until Hewlett-Packard (HP) made the Stanford Industrial Park its headquarters in 1956 that competitors and prospective employees started taking the San Francisco and the San Jose area seriously.

Read: Top MBA in California



California switched hands between the Spanish, the Mexicans (from 1821 to 1848), and finally stood on their own as a state in 1850, following the 1846-48 Mexican–American War.

The networking equipment, the personal computers, the microchips, and the new media explosion would not have happened if Stanford University were not financially struggling in 1950. To bring in predictive revenue, the management's initial plan was to lease out the 8,800 acres under Stanford’s land holding for residential development, shopping centers, and campus infrastructure, but when Al Brandin, the Vice President of Business Affairs, visited Denver, Colorado, he noticed the residential development in a park-like setting. The idea was adapted for Businesses, and the Stanford Industrial Park was formed, leading to the rise of ‘Silicon Valley.' It was not until Hewlett-Packard (HP) made the Stanford Industrial Park its headquarters in 1956 that competitors and prospective employees started taking the San Francisco and the San Jose area seriously.

Intel continues to be in the top 10 Technology companies in the world with a market capitalization of 143 billion (2016). The generational shift in technology is evident in the companies that have taken over the top five spots.

California Tech Companies market Cap 2017

Top 7 MBA Programs in California

1) Stanford Graduate School of Business


Stanford Full-time MBA is a 24-month program with the 2018 class taking in a record 417 students. With the acceptance rate in the 6-8% range, the selected students are encouraged to take the risk, and see inaction as the biggest risk.

Find out about Stanford MBA Class Profile, Curriculum Structure, Cost and Post-MBA Salary

2) Haas School of Business


The Berkeley MBA Program at Haas School of Business is a 24-month General Management program with options to specialize in a job function and gain skills to work in start-ups, multinational companies or non-profits.

Find out about Haas MBA Class Profile, Curriculum Structure, Cost and Post-MBA Salary

3) UCLA Anderson School of Management


UCLA MBA program at Anderson School of Management is a 24-month program with a strong emphasis on field study. With an emphasis on collaboration, impact, and rigorous use of analytics, students develop the skills required to excel at the highest level.


Find out about UCLA MBA Class Profile, Curriculum Structure, Cost and Post-MBA Salary

4) USC Marshall School of Business


USC Marshall Full-time MBA program is a 20-month program offered with the goal of building the foundational management skills in the first year, followed by the option to choose four paths: multidisciplinary electives, specialization, study project, or concurrent degree from other USC graduate schools.

Find out about USC Marshall MBA Class Profile, Curriculum Structure, Cost and Post-MBA Salary

5) UC Davis Graduate School of Business

UC Davis Full-time MBA program is a 21-month program with a small class size (48 students), designed to develop the candidate’s leadership and management skills. A balance of case studies, lectures, discussions, team projects, and speaker series give students a well-rounded learning experience.

Find out about UC Davis MBA Class Profile, Curriculum Structure, Cost and Post-MBA Salary

6) Paul Merage School of Business

The Merage MBA is a 24-month full-time MBA program designed with strategic innovation, technology, and analytical decision making as the foundation. With just 75 students in the full-time class, the approach is to build a tight knit small Business environment where the professors, faculty, and students work towards the post-MBA goals while meeting all the learning objectives for the program.

Find out about Merage MBA Class Profile, Curriculum Structure, Cost and Post-MBA Salary

7) University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - The Rady School of Management

The Rady Full-time MBA program makes the immersive study a unique selling point by emphasizing on entrepreneurship, technology, and decision science. Although the soft skill development is integrated throughout the curriculum in top MBA programs, the electives in the program offer students a broad and unique list of courses.


Find out about UCSD MBA Class Profile, Curriculum Structure, Cost and Post-MBA Salary

About the Author 

Atul Jose - Founding Consultant F1GMAT

I am Atul Jose - the Founding Consultant at F1GMAT.

Over the past 15 years, I have helped MBA applicants gain admissions to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, Columbia, Haas, Yale, NYU Stern, Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, IE, IESE, HEC Paris, McCombs, Tepper, and schools in the top 30 global MBA ranking. 

I offer end-to-end Admissions Consulting and editing services – Career Planning, Application Essay Editing & Review, Recommendation Letter Editing, Interview Prep, assistance in finding funds and Scholarship Essay & Cover letter editing. See my Full Bio.

Contact me for support in school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative advice, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing and guiding supervisors with recommendation letter guideline documents

I am also the Author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, covering 16+ top MBA programs with 240+ Sample Essays that I have updated every year since 2013 (11+ years. Phew!!)

I am an Admissions consultant who writes and edits Essays every year. And it is not easy to write good essays. 

Contact me for any questions about MBA or Master's application. I would be happy to answer them all