Mbamission Berkeley Haas Insiders Guide 2023-2024

mbaMission’s Insider’s Guide
Haas School
of Business
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
2023–2024
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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Haas School of Business · 2023–2024 4

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Table of Contents
9 Haas School of Business

9 Summary
10 Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger
12 Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core
15 Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method
17 Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers
20 Professional Specializations
20 Consulting
21 Entrepreneurship, Private Equity, and Venture Capital
23 Finance
24 Health Care and Biotechnology
26 International Business
27 Marketing
28 Nonprofit/Social Entrepreneurship
30 Real Estate
32 Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town
34 Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience
35 Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage
37 Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?
40 The Dean: Ann Harrison
41 Notable Professors and Unsung Heroes
42 Social/Community Life
43 Academic Summary
45 Admissions Basics
48 UC Berkeley Haas Essay Tips, 2023–2024
54 Appendix: Haas Facts and Figures

54 Basics
54 Class Profile (Class of 2024)
55 Employment Statistics (Class of 2022)
University of California, Berkeley
Haas School of Business
Summary
The school of business at UC Berkeley was originally founded in 1898 and is the oldest public business school in the
country. After receiving a 1989 gift to support the construction of the business school building, the school was named
after former Levi Strauss & Co. chairman Walter A. Haas (BS 1910). In doing research for this guide, we learned that the
environment at Haas is collaborative, rather than cutthroat, and that teamwork and group projects are emphasized. De-
spite its small size, the school has a diverse student body, with 35% to 45% of each incoming class typically made up of
international students (41% for the Class of 2024, 37% for the Class of 2023, and 35% for the Class of 2021—the Class of
2022 included 21% international students, but this lower percentage is likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Haas ap-
pears to benefit from its location in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area and its proximity to Silicon Valley. Innovation
and forward-thinking entrepreneurship are apparent throughout its curriculum.
The Applied Innovation requirement (discussed in more detail in the Curriculum section) is taken with a teamwork mod-
ule, ensuring that the students gain leadership skills while putting their skills to use in hands-on learning opportunities.
Experiential learning, which the school describes as “an integral part of the Haas MBA experience,” is integral to more
than half of the electives available. The innovative spirit of Haas ensures that students graduate with the skills they need
to solve real-world business problems.
The majority of the first year of the Haas MBA program focuses on core courses. The fall and spring semesters primarily
encompass four quarters of required classes—ranging from “Operations” to “Data and Decisions” to “Leading People”—
and form a general management foundation for the school’s first-year students. By the start of the Spring A quarter,
students may begin to take at least two elective classes in addition to their core coursework and the Applied Innovation
elective, and their second year is made up entirely of electives. One second-year student described the progression of
coursework to mbaMission by saying, “For me, the second year has been much more about specialization, while the first
year was about gaining a broad overview. The first year was about breadth, and the second year is about depth.”
A second year we interviewed called Haas “the West Coast MIT,” and the school’s director of admissions at the time
described the school in an online admissions chat as “collaborative, innovative, forward thinking and action oriented.”
Through its philosophy of leading through innovation, Haas works to develop graduates who are leaders capable of
challenging convention and of thinking innovatively across a variety of disciplines. Ideally, students in the program will,
through their coursework, gain a greater understanding of their own capabilities as leaders, as well as of how to manage
complex projects by viewing traditional problems with fresh eyes.
Innovation appears to be the underlying theme of all ventures at Haas. The school’s 2022–2026 strategic plan highlights
the following goal, characterized as “The Heart of What’s Next”: “Infuse innovation, sustainability, and inclusion into
teaching and research to ensure Haas graduates are prepared to tackle society’s most pressing challenges.”

The phrase “leading through innovation” is found repeatedly throughout Haas’s marketing materials. Rather than focus-
ing on producing graduates who are capable of succeeding only in specialized fields, such as finance or marketing, Haas
has developed a program to create leaders who are innovative and display what the school consistently emphasizes as
“confidence without attitude”—one of the school’s core values.
Year-Over-Year Class Class of Class of Class of Class of Class of Class of Class of Class of Class of Class of Class of
Profile Data: 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
UC Berkeley Haas
Number of Applicants NA NA NA NA 3,821 4,132 4,031 3,592 3,550 3,422 3,352
Number of Full-Time 247 291 331 283 291 282 252 246 241 252 240
Students
Average GMAT 729 726 727 725 726 725 717 715 717 714 715
GMAT Range (Middle 80%) 700–760 690–760 690–760 680–760 690–750 640–7801 680–750 680–760 680–750 680–750 679–760
Average GPA 3.64 3.67 3.65 3.67 3.66 3.71 3.64 3.66 3.62 3.61 3.61
GPA Range (Middle 80%) 3.34– 3.34– 3.40– 3.37– 3.41– 3.07– 3.34– 3.42– 3.36– 3.34– 3.30–
3.92 3.93 3.90 3.91 3.90 4.01 3.89 3.90 3.90 3.83 3.89
Average Years of Work 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.4 5 5 5 5 5 5

Experience 2
Median Age NA NA NA NA NA 28 28 28 28 28 28
U.S. Minority Students 45% 49% 39% 29% 38% 29% 32% 36% 41% 40% 34%
Women 46% 37% 39% 37% 43% 40% 38% 41% 43% 29% 33%
International 41% 37% 21% 35% 42% 39% 38% 40% 43% 37% 37%
1 Full range.
2 2019 and earlier, median rather than average.
Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger
One element that affects the character of a school’s MBA experience is class size. You might want to reflect on your high
school, college, and work environments to help you determine whether you would be more comfortable in a larger class
or a smaller one—or whether this is even a consideration for you at all.
Students at smaller schools (which we define as having approximately 350 students or fewer per class) tend to interact
with most of their peers and professors at some point during the typical two-year MBA period. Thus, the smaller schools
are generally considered more “knowable,” and their communities tend to be quite closely knit. Also, consider that as-
suming a leadership position is easier in a smaller environment, because, for example, the Finance Club may have only
one president at both a small school and a large school, but competition for such a position would obviously be greater
in the larger program.

Some individuals might prefer to be at a larger school where they can better maintain their anonymity
if they so choose. A student at a school with close to 900 people or more in each class will not likely
get to know each and every one of their classmates by the end of the program, and some people might Reflect on your past
prefer this. Further, advocates of larger classes tout the advantage of being able to interact with academic and work
more people during one’s MBA experience—and to thereby develop a broader and more robust net-
environments to
work of peers. Note that many schools divide students into smaller groups—called “sections,” “clus-
determine whether
ters,” “cohorts,” or even “oceans”—in which approximately 60–90 students take certain classes to-
gether, and this approach can help foster a stronger sense of community within the larger programs.
you would be more
comfortable in a larger
Haas is one of the smaller top-ranked U.S. business schools, with historically a typical class or smaller class—or
size of approximately 250, though this number has been larger in recent years; the Classes whether this is a
of 2021, 2022, and 2023 have seen class sizes of 283, 331, and 291 students, respectively; consideration for you
the Class of 2024 featured 247 students. Despite its relatively small size, Haas appears to at all.
offer a very diverse community. Roughly 40% of each incoming class is made up of inter-
national students, and each entering class as a whole reflects a wide array of interests and
professional backgrounds.
Beginning during Orientation Week (also called Week Zero), each of Haas’s in- Class Size
coming classes is divided into four cohorts of approximately 60 students each. 900 to 1,000 Harvard Business School
Named “Gold,” “Blue” (for Berkeley’s school colors), “Oski” (for the school mas-
800 to 900 UPenn Wharton
cot), and “Axe” (after the trophy awarded to the winner of the UC/Stanford foot-
700 to 800 Columbia Business School1
ball game), the four cohorts compete in the Cohort Olympics (with events such as
a cupcake-eating contest) as well as a mini case competition. Students remain in 500 to 600 Chicago Booth
their cohort, taking all core courses together, for the first semester. Noted a sec- 400 to 500 Northwestern Kellogg
ond-year student with whom we spoke, “With everyone trying to work out their MIT Sloan
identity at the start,” the cohort system “makes everything less overwhelming.” Duke Fuqua
Stanford GSB
Michigan Ross
Within the cohort, students are further divided into 12 study groups of approxi-
mately five people each. Study group members work together to prepare for 300 to 400 NYU Stern
presentations and exams in addition to studying cases, and these small groups UCLA Anderson
UVA Darden
help enhance the bond between classmates at the school. First-semester core
Yale SOM
classes are taken within the cohort and so have approximately 60 students in
each. Elective courses, which students can start taking in the spring of the first 200 to 300 Cornell Johnson
Dartmouth Tuck
year, are generally smaller. Still, a second year told mbaMission, “You generally
UC Berkeley Haas
get into what you want when you want.”
Classes are listed from largest to smallest within each category.
Throughout its materials and on its website, Haas emphasizes the collabora- 1
Includes J-Term students.
tive nature of its MBA program and community. The school’s study groups,
cohorts, and small classes contribute to this. Moreover, most Haas students live within a 15-minute walk to
campus, and this proximity, in addition to the school’s active clubs and social scene, helps give the program
more of a “collegial” atmosphere. Reportedly, this sense of community and teamwork is what leads many MBA
applicants to choose Haas.

Several students we interviewed felt that the small class size increases the opportunity for students to cre-
ate meaningful personal and networking relationships. “Collaboration comes from relationships,” a second
year explained to mbaMission, adding that the small class size intensifies those relationships. And one second
year who was initially concerned about the smaller class size told mbaMission, “I thought size was a negative,
but it turned into a positive.” Another second-year student we interviewed commented, “My classmates really
surprised and impressed me,” and a first year emphatically described her fellow students as “amazing people.”
When asked what he thought more people should know about the school, a student told us, “Haas is known for
its culture and small, tight-knit class. It does not disappoint on that front. A certain type of person self-selects
to this school, and admissions does a good job of making sure the unique culture is cultivated here.” Another
student we interviewed stated, “Everyone is super down to earth, no matter how accomplished they are. Chal-
lenging [the] status quo and being students always are also principles that can be commonly observed. The
MBA program office itself constantly strives to better the student experience by collecting feedback and act-
ing on it.”
Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core
Many business schools have a “core” curriculum—a standard series of courses that all students must
take. However, these core requirements can vary tremendously from one program to the next. For ex-
ample, one school may teach its required curriculum for the entire first year, meaning that students will
not take any elective courses until their second year, whereas another MBA program may stipulate only The rigidity or flexibility
one or two required courses. of a school’s first-year
curriculum affects
The rigidity or flexibility of a school’s required curriculum affects students’ education and socializa-
students’ education
tion. Regardless of their professional experience, students at a school with a rigid core curriculum
must all take the same classes. At some schools, for example, even CPAs must take the required foun-
and socialization.
dational accounting course, whereas at others, students can waive selected classes if they can prove
a certain level of proficiency. Again, both approaches have pros and cons, and what those are depends
on your perspective.
Proponents of a rigid core curriculum would argue that academics understand what skills students need to become true
managers and that when students “overspecialize” in one area, their overall business education can ultimately suffer. A
significant body of academic writing has been devoted to critiquing programs that give students a narrow view of business,
notably Henry Mintzberg’s Managers Not MBAs: A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development
(Berrett-Koehler, 2004) and Rakesh Khurana’s From Higher Aims to Hired Hands: The Social Transformation of American
Business Schools and the Unfulfilled Promise of Management as a Profession (Princeton University Press, 2007).
Advocates of the core curriculum approach would also argue that having all students take the same classes creates a com-
mon language and discussion among the classmates because of the shared experience. In addition, proponents contend
that a rigid core curriculum facilitates learning, because students who have applicable direct experience bring that knowl-
edge and insight into the classroom and can thereby help teach others. Finally, schools with mandatory cores generally

keep students together in their sections for several months, if not an entire academic year, and students who interact every
day in this way ultimately forge strong bonds. This sustained contact and connection can create a deep sense of commu-
nity among the students.
In contrast, those who would argue in favor of a more flexible curriculum feel that students benefit from the opportunity
to specialize immediately—that time is short, and students need power and choice in preparing for their desired careers.
So if, for example, a student intended to enter the world of finance, an advocate of flexibility would argue that the student
should be able to study finance in depth throughout the MBA program, possibly even from day one, so as to gain as much
experience as possible in this area—especially before interviewing for a summer internship. Furthermore, proponents for
flexible curricula caution that experienced students could end up “wasting” hours taking courses in subjects in which they
already have expertise. Finally, they would assert that a flexible schedule allows students the opportunity to meet a greater
number and wider variety of their classmates.
First-year students at Haas take 14 required core courses over two

semesters—fall and spring—which are further divided into four eight- Can Waive/ Cannot Waive/
Test Out of Classes Test Out of Classes
week quarters called Fall A, Fall B, Spring A, and Spring B. As mentioned
earlier in the Class Size section, in the first (Fall A) quarter of their first Chicago Booth Harvard Business School
year, students are divided into four groups of roughly 60 students each, Columbia Business School MIT Sloan
Cornell Johnson Stanford GSB
called cohorts; students take all fall semester core classes with their
Dartmouth Tuck UVA Darden
assigned cohort. The core constitutes approximately 40% of the course
Duke Fuqua Yale SOM
load for a Haas MBA and focuses on the fundamentals of business edu-
Michigan Ross
cation, with classes such as “Introduction to Finance,” “Marketing,” and Northwestern Kellogg
“Leadership Communication.” A first year with whom we spoke praised NYU Stern
this latter class in particular, saying it “has been the most useful, as it UC Berkeley Haas
forces all students to develop soft leadership skills that are absolutely UCLA Anderson
UPenn Wharton
necessary to succeed in your career regardless of role and function.”
These courses build on one another and are deliberately designed to
provide a basis for all students in the program for when they focus their
study individually in the second year.
Following a review of the core curriculum by a designated task force, the school added three new core courses
in 2021–2022. “We are rolling out innovative courses that will help prepare our students for what’s next, ad-
dressing a wide range of workplace challenges—from questioning the ethics of artificial intelligence to rec-
ognizing how unconscious bias impacts management decisions,” Dean Harrison said in the announcement of
the changes. The new courses are “Business Communication in Diverse Work Environments,” “Data Analytics,”
and “Data-Driven Presentations.”
First-Year Required Courses (14 courses):
• “Business Communication in Diverse Work Environments”

• “Data Analytics”
• “Data and Decisions”

• “Data-Driven Presentations”
• “Economics for Business Decision Making”
• “Ethics and Responsibility in Business”
• “Financial Accounting”
• “Introduction to Finance”
• “Leadership Communication”
• “Leading People”
• “Macroeconomics in the Global Economy”
• “Marketing”
• “Operations”
• “Strategic Leadership”
The fall semester is the most structured segment of the Haas curriculum, with the Fall A and Fall B quarters
each involving four courses. Students have the option of waiving all but five of the core courses via waiver
exams; these exams are given before the semester begins, and a passing grade exempts students from taking
the course. However, any course that is waived must be replaced with an elective.
A second-year student told mbaMission that career coaching starts as early as Orientation Week and that the
initial portions of the program’s first year involved “a lot more career stuff a lot earlier than I was expecting.”
Teamwork is reportedly a large part of the Haas MBA program, and first-year students are placed into four-
person study groups to prepare for classes, read cases, and study for exams. As one second-year student
stated in a Haas online admissions chat, the study groups are “a great chance to learn how to work in teams
and a chance to let people take risks.”
Beginning in Spring A of the first year, students may begin taking elective courses in addition to their core
work. Accounting for roughly 60% of the total Haas MBA course load, electives build on the core’s general man-
agement foundation. The Haas curriculum is designed to be flexible, with students using electives to either
focus on an area of concentration or to cover a wide array of topics. During their second year, students choose
all their courses from a continually evolving list of elective options. To take advantage of the resources of-
fered via the full UC Berkeley program, students are also permitted to take up to six electives offered through
the greater university.
A first year with whom we spoke said that what had surprised him most about his Haas MBA experience was
“how hard it is to choose between the various interesting electives the program has to offer.” He explained,
“You have to continually be ready to reevaluate your course selection based on the ton of new information
you receive while in an MBA program. This new information comes by way of talking with companies, hearing
high-level executives at speaker series, and networking with alumni and second-year students, just to name
a few sources.”
At Haas, students have a voice with regard to the curriculum and often speak up about possible curricular
changes. The school responds to student feedback by regularly changing elective offerings and even adjust-

ing core classes. In addition, student-initiated and -led courses are a tradition at Haas. These classes, offered
every semester and developed and run under the tutelage of a faculty member, tend to cover a diverse array
of topics. Examples have included “Wine Industry,” “Life as an Entrepreneur,” “Topics in Technology,” and “Im-
prov for Business Leadership.” Student-led courses often take the form of a speaker series; recent examples
include the “Real Estate Speaker Series,” the “Digital Media and Entertainment Speaker Series,” and the “In-
vestment Speaker Series.”
Although Haas does not offer majors, the school has developed 13 academic areas within which students can
now frame their studies, called Areas of Emphasis. These designated areas “provide direction in achieving
specific career goals,” explains the school’s website. Students are given suggestions from the school on the
coursework, internships, and extracurricular activities that will best prepare them to succeed in their chosen
study areas. The Areas of Emphasis are as follows:
• Corporate Social Responsibility

• Energy and Clean Technology
• Entrepreneurship
• Equity Fluent Leadership
• Finance
• Global Management
• Health Management
• Marketing
• Real Estate
• Social Sector Leadership
• Strategy and Consulting
• Sustainable and Impact Finance
• Technology
The three certificate programs available at Haas within the full-time MBA program are in real estate, business
analytics, and sustainable business.
Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method
Students will likely encounter multiple styles of learning while in business school—including participating in simulations,
listening to guest speakers, and partaking in hands-on projects—but the two most common MBA learning styles are case
method and lecture.
Pioneered by Harvard Business School, the case method, or case-based learning, requires students to read the story
(called a “case”) of either a hypothetical or a real protagonist who is facing a managerial dilemma. As the student reads,
the student explores the protagonist’s dilemma and has access to various quantitative and qualitative data points meant
to facilitate further analysis. (Cases can vary in length but are typically 10–20 pages long.) After reading and studying the
entire case, the student generally understands the profundity of the problem and is typically asked a simple question:

“What would you do?” In other words, how would the student act or react if they were in the protago-
nist’s place? What decision(s) would the student make?
Students will encounter

After completing their independent analysis of the case, the student typically meets with the mem- many different styles
bers of their study group or learning team (if the school in question assigns such teams) for further
of learning during
evaluation. Together, the group/team members explore and critique one another’s ideas and help
their time at business
those students who may have had difficulty understanding particular aspects of the issue or pro-
gressing as far on their own. Often, though not always, the team will establish a consensus regarding
school, but the two
the actions they would take in the protagonist’s place. Then, in class, the professor acts as facilita- most common are case
tor and manages a discussion of the case. Class discussions can often become quite lively, and the method and lecture.
professor will guide students toward resolving the dilemma. Sometimes, the professor will ultimately
reveal the protagonist’s decision and the subsequent results—or even bring the actual protagonist
into the classroom to share and discuss the case’s progression and outcomes in person.
In short, the case method focuses primarily on the analytical process and illustrates that the problems presented have no
clear-cut right or wrong responses. For a student to disagree with the protagonist’s chosen path—even after it has proved
to be successful—is not unusual. After all, another approach (or even inaction) may have produced an even better result.
Note that case-based learning is not specific to one academic discipline. Cases are available in finance, strategy, op-
erations, accounting, marketing, and still other areas. Further, many cases are interdisciplinary, meaning that they ad-
dress more than one area at a time, such as requiring students to think about how a financial decision might affect the
operations of a manufacturing company or the ways in which a marketing decision might involve significant financial
considerations. Importantly, students in case environments are often graded on their “contribution” to the class discus-
sion (measured by the level of one’s participation in discussions and analysis, not on the frequency with which one offers
“correct” answers), so the case method is not for those who are uncomfortable speaking in class. However, it can be
incredibly helpful for those who want or need to practice and build confidence speaking publicly.
Lecture is the method of learning that is familiar to most people—the professor stands in front of the class and explores
a theory or event, facilitating discussion and emphasizing and explaining key learning points. Often, students have read
chapters of a textbook beforehand and have come to class with a foundation in the specific area to be examined that day.
Although the case method gives students a context for a problem, those who favor lecture tend to believe that the case
method is too situation specific and therefore prefer a methodical exploration of theory that they feel can be broadly ap-
plied across situations. In lecture classes, the professor and their research or theory are technically paramount, though
students still participate, challenge ideas, and debate issues.
Note that at some schools, professors may alternate between cases and lectures within a single semester of classes.
The Haas MBA program features various teaching methods, ranging from case studies and lecture to experi-
ential learning. Professors can choose which method they prefer on a course-by-course basis, and while some
classes are 100% case based, others rely more heavily on lectures. Professors often switch between lecture
and case method within the framework of a given course, depending on the nature of the information for any
given class.

Experiential learning is at the core of the Haas experience. Students must pick at least one Applied Innovation
course from among the following options:
• “Cleantech to Market”
• “Corporate Launchpad”
• “Design, Evaluate and Scale Development Technologies”
• “Design Sprint for Corporate Innovation”
• “Equity Fluent Leadership: The Value of Inclusion and Diversity”
• “Food Innovation Studio”
• “Haas@Work”
• “The Haas Sustainable Investment Fund”
• “Hedge Fund Strategies”
• “Impact Investing Practicum”
• “International Business Development”
• “Lean Launchpad”
• “Lean Transfer”
• “Managing the New Product Development Process”
• “People Development”
• “Product Design”
• “Product Management”
• “Real Estate Investment Analysis”
• “Social Lean Launchpad”
• “Social Sector Solutions”
• “The Startup Lab”
• “Strategic and Sustainable Business Solutions”
Experiential opportunities include consulting for nonprofit organizations in “Social Sector Solutions,” devel-
oping a business model for a technology start-up in “Lean Launchpad,” and working with leading executives at
such firms as Virgin America, Disney, and Wells Fargo through “Haas@Work.” In addition, courses such as “In-
ternational Business Development” focus on applying knowledge to real-world scenarios. “The Haas Sustain-
able Investment Fund” class offers hands-on experience developing trading strategies for financial, social,
and environmental returns on a student-led fund valued at more than $4.5M.
Given Haas’s focus on a collaborative learning environment, teamwork and group activities can make up a
large portion of the class experience. At least a portion of the assignments for most courses is dedicated to
group activities, and students often voluntarily form groups to aid in studying.
Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers
Schools’ brands and reputations develop over time and tend to endure, even when the programs make efforts to change
them. For example, many applicants still feel that Kellogg is only a marketing school and that Chicago Booth is only for

people interested in finance, even though both programs boast strengths in many other areas. In-
deed, this is the exact reason mbaMission started producing these guides in 2008—we wanted appli-
cants to see beyond these superficial “market” perceptions. Make sure you are not merely accepting Do not merely accept
stereotypes but are truly considering the breadth and depth of resources available at each school. stereotypes but truly
consider the breadth
We have dedicated the majority of this guide to exploring the principal professional specializations
and depth of resources
for which resources are available at this particular school, and we encourage you to fully consider
whether the MBA program meets your personal academic needs by supplementing the information
available at each
here with additional context from the school’s career services office, by connecting with the heads of school.
relevant clubs on campus, and perhaps even by reaching out to alumni in your target industry.
Top Industries: 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
UC Berkeley Haas
Technology 32.9% 34.1% 32.4% 32.9% 31.7% 36.9% 38.8% 37.8% 43.4% 33.1% 31.0% 31.5% 30.9% 26.3%
Consulting 28.2% 28.4% 25.1% 25.1% 24.0% 26.2% 19.1% 25.0% 26.4% 23.5% 20.7% 27.1% 23.8% 26.3%
Financial Services 13.7% 12.3% 14.5% 15.0% 13.7% 11.8% 12.0% 15.0% 11.5% 15.4% 14.3% 15.8% 11.6% 14.5%
Consumer Packaged
5.1% 6.2% 5.3% 9.7% 8.2% 7.5% 11.5% 3.9% 3.8% 3.7% 9.4% 3.9% 5.0% 6.1%
Goods
Health Care 5.1% 6.6% 11.6% 6.8% 4.4% 8.0% 6.6% 6.6% 3.8% 6.6% 6.9% 7.4% 2.8% 9.5%
With a culture of leading through innovation, Haas is essentially a school focused on management fundamentals,
working to create innovative leaders across a broad spectrum of functions and industries rather than to carve
out a reputation for a specialization in a particular industry. Not surprisingly, perhaps, given the school’s close
ties to Silicon Valley, a large percentage of Haas graduates tend to enter the technology industry each year.
The Haas curriculum emphasizes leadership and innovative thinking, aiming to equip stu-
dents with the skills and knowledge required to navigate the rapidly changing and evolving
business world. Although Haas is well known for sending a notable portion of its graduates
to technology positions, the school takes pride in offering a robust, all-encompassing edu- My clients who have
cation for all students. A student we interviewed stated, “I think there can be a perception gone to Haas love the
that Haas is just a tech school. This is absolutely not the case, and many of my classmates
focus on tech careers
are looking at careers in finance, private equity, banking, energy, and the social sector.”
and have an abundance
Technology held the top position among the industries the Class of 2022 entered, with 32.9%
of opportunities to
of graduates accepting a job in this field (34.1% in 2021, 32.4% in 2020, and 32.9% in 2019). meet with top tech
Technology has been the leading industry for Haas’s emerging MBAs for more than a decade. companies on campus.
The list of the school’s employers of three or more students for 2022 appears to bear out ‫ ݥ‬Kate Richardson, mbaMission
these trends: Senior Consultant

• Adobe Systems Inc.
• Amazon.com, Inc.
• Bain & Company
• The Boston Consulting Group
• Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Cruise Automation
• Deloitte Consulting LLP
• EY-Parthenon
• Google
• McKinsey & Company
• Meta, Inc.
• Nike, Inc.
• PwC Strategy&
• ServiceNow
The school’s Career Management Group serves as a valuable tool for Haas’s aspiring MBAs and the school’s
alumni alike. “The staff at our career services office is incredible,” said a second year in a Haas online admis-
Most Common Pre-MBA Industry (Class of 2024) Top Industry for Class of 2022 Graduates
Chicago Booth Consulting 23% Chicago Booth Consulting 35.5%
Columbia Business School Financial Services 29% Columbia Business School Financial Services 36.9%
Cornell Johnson NA NA Cornell Johnson Financial Services 39.0%
Dartmouth Tuck Financial Services 24% Dartmouth Tuck Consulting 47.0%
Duke Fuqua Financial Services 18% Duke Fuqua Consulting 36.0%
Harvard Business School Consulting 16% Harvard Business School Financial Services 34.0%
Michigan Ross Consulting 19% Michigan Ross Consulting 42.2%
MIT Sloan Consulting and Financial 23% MIT Sloan Consulting 31.2%
Services (Tied)
Northwestern Kellogg Consulting 37.9%
Northwestern Kellogg Consulting 24%
NYU Stern Consulting 31.2%
NYU Stern Financial Services 24%
Stanford GSB Finance 33.0%
Stanford GSB Consulting and Investment 20%
UC Berkeley Haas Technology 32.9%
Management (Tied)
UCLA Anderson Technology 34.1%
UC Berkeley Haas Consulting 23%
UPenn Wharton Financial Services 38.6%
UCLA Anderson High Tech 26%
UVA Darden Consulting 43.5%
UPenn Wharton Consulting 27%
Yale SOM Consulting 46.0%
UVA Darden Financial Services 21%
Yale SOM Financial Services 20%

sions chat. “They know us by name, by face, by background, and by our career goals. Whether you are still
trying to figure [out] what industry you want to pursue to networking and interviewing with your target com-
panies, they will sit down with you to practice interviewing, polish your resume, and just talk with you to help
you form your plan to get the job or internship that is right for you.”
With the mean base salary for recent graduates rising quite steadily for recent classes—from $137,819 for
2019’s graduates to $139,122 in 2020, $143,696 in 2021, and $152,831 in 2022—the work of the career services
personnel may be the reason Haas graduates have been able to weather economic downturn so well.
Professional Specializations
Consulting
In 2022, 28.2% of Haas’s graduates entered positions in the consulting industry (28.4% in 2021, and 25.1% in 2020 and
2019), which was the second most popular area that year, after technology. Many students come to Haas with a consult-
ing background, and such first-year core classes as “Operations” and “Strategic Leadership” help provide students with a
foundation upon which to build a consulting emphasis. Given that consultants should possess good communication skills,
“Leadership Communication” is another core course that is key for students interested in pursuing a role in this field.
With respect to electives, Haas offers roughly 20 in this study area. Classes such as “Designing Financial Models That
Work,” “Marketing Research: Tools and Technologies for Data Collection and Analysis,” “Managerial Accounting,” “Corpo-
rate Finance,” and “Financial Information Analysis” could all benefit aspiring consultants. In addition, strategy courses
such as “Strategic Brand Management” and “Strategic Leadership” are recommended for those interested in consulting.
Many classes and resources at Haas are designed to allow students to fully examine the consulting industry. In the Inter-
national Business Development program (discussed more fully in the International Business section), for example, stu-
dents spend a semester working in teams to assist an international client with projects such as market studies or busi-
ness plans and then travel to the client’s home location to complete their work. In the “Social Sector Solutions” course,
groups of students team with McKinsey consultants to support Bay Area nonprofit clients; the course is co-taught by a
senior partner emeritus at McKinsey & Company. In addition, the student-run club Berkeley Innovative Solutions (BIS) af-
fords Haas’s aspiring MBAs “real-world” consulting experience. BIS members provide services such as strategy recom-
mendations, feasibility studies, and market research for both for- and nonprofit clients.
In the experiential learning program Haas@Work, which one second-year student described to mbaMission as “awe-
some, really great, a really cool experience,” students work in teams of 10–15 with executives at national and interna-
tional corporations on a problem of the client’s choosing. Participating students offer recommendations for the target
problem, and once the company chooses its preferred recommendation, the students work to implement their plan over
the subsequent four months. Organizations participating in past Haas@Work projects include Safeway’s IT Innovation
Group, SAP’s Global Business Incubator, Abbott Diabetes Care, U.S. Bank, PayPal, Dow Corporate Ventures, Gracenote,
Del Monte, the Walt Disney Company, Panasonic Corporation, Clorox, Wells Fargo Bank, Visa, and Cisco Systems.

The mission of the Haas Consulting Club (HCC), according to the organization’s site, is to help students gain exposure to
the field and assist them in finding a suitable position in the industry. The HCC provides its members resources neces-
sary for successful networking and recruiting. For example, first years can take advantage of the club’s firm case prep
workshops, which take place a number of times during the academic year; this two-hour workshops’ timing is intended
to help prepare students for their summer internship searches by allowing them to practice consulting cases before they
must begin interviewing with firms. Such companies as EY-Parthenon, McKinsey & Company, and PricewaterhouseCoo-
pers participated in case prep workshops in recent years.
In addition, the HCC hosts a Firm Night each fall at which graduating students can network with industry professionals
and learn more about how specific companies work. Past Firm Nights featured representatives from such companies
and organizations as L.E.K. Consulting, The Bridgespan Group, Glenbrook Partners, and Strategy&. The HCC’s case in-
terview preparation assistance is likely an invaluable resource for members as well, considering that experience in the
case method is key for those students pursing positions in this industry.
Major consulting firms regularly recruit at Haas. The school’s list of top hirers for the Class of 2022 includes Bain & Com-
pany, EY-Parthenon, PwC Strategy&, McKinsey & Company, and Deloitte. Other firms in this field that have recruited at
the school in recent years include L.E.K. Consulting, Accenture, Kearney, Infosys Consulting, and ZS Associates.
Entrepreneurship, Private Equity, and Venture Capital
The innovative environment of the San Francisco Bay Area and the school’s proximity to Silicon Val-
ley make Haas a good fit for students interested in entrepreneurship. And as a second year pursuing Having helped teach
entrepreneurship told mbaMission, Haas is a “great place to meet others who want to start a company a class in Haas's part-
right out of school.” The school’s website notes that “the San Francisco Bay Area has long been a
time MBA program,
hotbed for new business creation,” and as a result, Haas “remains one of the world’s leading centers
I think one of Haas's
for the study and practice of entrepreneurship.” The emphasis on entrepreneurship is evident in the
plethora of elective courses that concentrate on this area, as well as in the multiple speaker series
key principles is
that discuss relevant topics, including the “Life as an Entrepreneur” series. "confidence without
attitude." Besides
In addition to courses such as “The Lean Launchpad,” “New Venture Finance,” and “Bay Area Innova- getting access to
tion and Entrepreneurship,” the entrepreneurship curriculum includes the class “Opportunity Recog- entrepreneurship,
nition: Technology and Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley,” which is described on the school’s site as social impact, and
being “intended to provide the core skills needed for the identification of opportunities that can lead
Silicon Valley, Haas
to successful business strategies and outcomes, both in entrepreneurial settings and at established
students get to attend
firms.” Entrepreneurship is one of the school’s 13 Areas of Emphasis—incorporating both experiential
learning and traditional coursework, the Area of Emphasis in Entrepreneurship is designed to pro-
school with students
vide students with the skills necessary to launch their own business or start a career in the venture who are grounded and
capital industry. humble.
The Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Program (formerly known as the Lester Center for Entrepre- ‫ ݥ‬Katharine Lewis, mbaMission
neurship) is the school’s home for entrepreneurial studies. Founded in 1991 through a gift from the Executive Director
late W. Howard Lester, former chairman of Williams-Sonoma and Haas Emeritus Advisory Board

member, the program combines experiential and traditional academic learning through coursework, competitions, and
entrepreneurial forums. The Entrepreneurship Program lays out a plethora of courses for those interested in entrepre-
neurship that leads students through the process of preparing to launch a new venture. Students can schedule 20-min-
ute mentoring sessions with more than 50 available Bay Area entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and attorneys.
The Haas Venture Fellows Program is also available through the Entrepreneurship Program and offers students the
opportunity to perform actual project work for local venture capital firms for academic credit. Students in this highly
selective program have completed projects with such firms as Bessemer Venture Partners, Morgenthaler, Trinity Ven-
tures, and Sequoia Capital. Venture Fellows also participate in the program’s VC Connect pitch event, in which budding
entrepreneurs from within the UC Berkeley community can practice their pitches and receive feedback and advice. In
addition, the program organizes events to facilitate networking between its fellows and practicing venture capitalists
in the area.
Students interested in starting their own business can apply to participate in the Berkeley SkyDeck
start-up accelerator. SkyDeck is a joint venture between Haas, the university’s College of Engineer-
ing, and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. The Haas portion of SkyDeck, according to I have been impressed
a second year we interviewed, occupies “the entire penthouse of the tallest office building in down- by how many hands-on
town Berkeley.” SkyDeck offers 10,000 square feet of space, including offices, a reception area, and
opportunities there
conference and meeting spaces, and at its inception housed nine ventures. More than 800 compa-
are at Haas—one of
nies have launched since its inception. Students involved in entrepreneurial pursuits at SkyDeck also
have access to telecommunication services such as flat-panel monitors, wireless Internet, white-
my former clients is
boards, podiums, and conference areas. actually developing a
product with some of
Aspiring MBAs who would like to serve as mentors to other future business leaders may be interested her Haas classmates.
in the offerings of Boost@BerkeleyHaas. The Boost program pairs MBA students (and UC Berkeley
undergrads) with students in the Bay Area in grades 9 through 12, whose skills and confidence are ‫ ݥ‬Kate Richardson, mbaMission
bolstered through the mentors’ support. Since the late eighties, Boost has worked to both foster the Senior Consultant
entrepreneurial spirit of these local youth and provide a campus experience for kids who may not
otherwise consider attending college or pursuing a career in business. The program so far has paired
more than 1,800 volunteers with roughly 2,000 students.
The Berkeley Entrepreneurs Association (formerly the Haas Entrepreneurs Association) describes itself on its site as
“[the] one-stop-shop for entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley.” With more than 250 members, the group is one of the largest
student organizations on campus, hosting regular roundtables and tours of local businesses.
Students at Haas can select from a handful of courses that focus specifically on venture capital or private equity, such as
the aptly named “Venture Capital and Private Equity.” Moreover, noting that both venture capital and private equity have
foundations in investment banking, the school directs students with an interest in either area to certain electives related
to the latter field, including “Mergers and Acquisitions: A Focus on Creating Value,” “Corporate Finance,” and “Negotia-
tions and Conflict Resolution.”

The annual UC Berkeley Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) is described on the school’s site as a “reverse
business plan competition,” meaning that rather than playing the role of innovator and submitting a plan for a new busi-
ness idea, students act as venture capitalists and compete by judging new ventures and deciding which potential invest-
ments to “fund.” Actual, real-world investment opportunities are scrutinized, and seasoned venture capitalists judge the
competing students on their decision making. Open to all graduate students—who participate in groups of five—the com-
petition typically draws more than 150 entrants, though only six teams are selected to compete. Winners at Haas proceed
to the regional finals at the University of Southern California and if successful there, then advance to the international
competition at the University of North Carolina in the spring.
The school’s teams have won first place in the regional round of the VCIC seven times in the past ten years (most recently
in 2022), thereby qualifying them to compete at the international finals hosted by the University of North Carolina. The
2022 Haas team came in third place in the global finals.
Approximately 20 faculty members teach entrepreneurship-related courses as well as those pertaining to private equity
and venture capital. Despite the school’s offerings in these latter areas, however, Haas students do not appear to enter
these fields in large numbers immediately after graduating. In fact, no hiring percentages specifically for private equity
or venture capital have been presented in the school’s employment reports for the past 11 graduating classes.
Sixteen members, or 5.0%, of the Haas Class of 2022 started their own companies. Haas alumni have started such ven-
tures as IndieGoGo, BARE Magazine, Google Earth, Revolution Foods, Aurora Biofuels, and Acumen Medical.
Finance
In 2022, 13.7% of Haas students entered the financial services industry after graduation (12.3% in 2021, 14.5% in 2020,
and 15.0% in 2019). We believe this area continues to be a robust element of the Haas program, which prepares students
for careers in investment banking, investment management, hedge funds, and economic development, as well as ven-
ture capital and private equity.
As we have noted, Haas does not have majors, but Finance is one of 13 Areas of Emphasis offered within the school’s cur-
riculum of general management fundamentals. Students interested in this industry can focus their studies on key areas,
such as corporate finance, asset management, financial institutions and markets, financial economics, and investment
strategy. After completing the finance-related courses in Haas’s required core, including “Introduction to Finance” and
“Financial Accounting,” students may choose from nearly 50 electives in this study area, including “Corporate Finance,”
“Designing Financial Models that Work,” and “Financial Information Analysis.” The “Behavioral Finance” course examines
market anomalies as well as the “winner’s curse” and certain investor characteristics, such as overconfidence.
The Haas Finance Club has many offerings to round out a concentration in the field. For example, the club hosts recruit-
ing trips to Wall Street, happy hour functions with alumni, Friday visits to local firms, and informational sessions on spe-
cific careers and companies. Club events in 2022–2023 included a private equity/venture capital recruiting workshop, a
chat with a search fund investor, and an alumni chat with the chief financial officer of Nike.

In 2021–2022, events included an investment banking and behavioral finance chat with a representative from Fuller &
Thaler Asset Management, a finance teach-in with the theme “Perspective and Advice from a Fortune 100 CEO,” and an
“all-star” investor panel.
The Investment Club at Haas is reportedly very active, holding stock pitch sessions, assisting students with interview
skills, and offering members the opportunity to practice their pitches. Club events offered during recent academic years
included a discounted cash flow modeling session, a stock pitch competition, a presentation by the chairman and head of
the emerging markets equity strategy at Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co., bi-weekly market recap sessions, and treks
to Wetherby Asset Management and Franklin Templeton Investments. The club also coordinates an annual career trek to
Los Angeles, enabling members to visit firms there such as Capital Group, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Oaktree Capital
Management, Canyon Capital Advisors, and PIMCO.
Other Investment Club events in recent years have included a finance/fixed income teach-in with an alumna; a trek to
Franklin Templeton Investments in San Mateo, California; a practitioner teach-in with the founder/chairman of Libertad
Bank and a partner/director of research at Palo Alto Investors, LLC; and a presentation titled “From Potential to Action:
Bringing Social Impact Bonds to the US” by the CEO of The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund.
The Haas website lists 36 faculty members in the school’s finance department. In the past, such companies as Gold-
man Sachs, PayPal, Citibank, Visa, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, and UBS have
recruited the school’s graduates.
Health Care and Biotechnology
The Health Policy and Management Program at UC Berkeley dates back to 1948, when the school formed a graduate pro-
gram in hospital administration. Berkeley’s School of Public Health was the first such program west of the Mississippi.
Responding to changes in the health care field and in hospital administration, in 1982, the School of Public Health at UC
Berkeley joined with Haas to offer a dual MBA/Master’s of Public Health (MPH) degree. The MBA/MPH is a highly selective
2.5-year program, during which students take courses at both schools and typically complete two summer internships
in the health care field before graduation. Haas states on its website that the school’s health care offerings connect
students “to specialized coursework, experiential learning, and myriad professional development opportunities in ev-
erything from biotech to big data, and from delivery to digital therapeutics.”
Haas students not interested in the MBA/MPH path but who still wish to pursue a career in this field can focus instead on
the school’s Area of Emphasis in Health Management. Suggested electives in this study area include “Healthcare in the
21st Century,” “Innovations in Healthcare,” and “Trends in Biotech and Pharma.” In “Innovations in Healthcare,” students
act as health care venture capitalists. Entrepreneurs in health care present to the students the latest innovations in
information technology, the delivery of health care services, and medical devices. After these pitches, the class decides
whether to “buy” or “sell” the idea presented, explained a second year we interviewed, with students viewing the field in
terms of new innovations on the horizon as well as from the perspective of investment in health care and biotechnology.
Regarding the MBA program’s health care resources, a second year told us, “While academics are great, the majority of
the benefit is through the clubs.” The Haas Healthcare Association is a student-run organization that organizes career

treks to firms such as Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield of California, Gilead Sciences, Genentech, and Castlight Health.
It also offers small group dinners, Lunch and Learn events, and Firm Nights, at which members can learn more about
different career options within the biobusiness and health care fields by meeting firsthand with participating recruiters
from some of the country’s major firms. Corporate participants have included representatives from such health care–
related organizations as McKesson, Gilead Sciences, Kaiser Permanente, Deloitte, Genentech, Castlight Health, FSG,
Abbott Laboratories, Amgen, Life Technologies, Oynx Pharmaceuticals, and Stanford Hospital.
A second year serving as co-president of the Haas Healthcare Association told mbaMission that she chose the school for
her MBA in large part because of its “strong health care program” and remarked, “It has fulfilled my expectations. Haas
is preparing me well.” She added that the Haas Healthcare Association in particular was a core part of her development,
calling it “an excellent leadership development opportunity.”
Since 2006, the Haas Healthcare Association has sponsored the annual Healthcare Conference. The March 2023 confer-
ence carried the theme “A New Foundation: Building the Future of Health Care.” The keynote speeches were given by the
former director/CEO of the All of Us Research Program and by the CEO and co-founder of Brightside Health. The two-day
event’s six panel discussion topics included “The Future of Pharma,” “Rebuilding Community Trust,” and “Precision Medi-
cine.” The conference also offered fireside chats, interactive sessions, and a start-up pitch competition.
The 2022 conference was themed “Meeting This Moment in Health Care” and welcomed the CEO and co-founder of Solv
and the global chief medical officer and vice president of health care at Microsoft as the keynote speakers. The two fire-
side chats were held with representatives from such companies as Management Sciences for Health and PATH, and the
seven panel discussions concentrated on such topics as “Provider Burnout and Future of the Clinician Workforce,” “The
Women’s Health Wave: Why It’s an Everyone Issue,” and “Innovation for All: Moving the Needle on Health Equity.”
In 2021, the conference was held virtually over two days with the theme “Finding New Breath: Emerging Stronger through
Health Crises.” The event’s keynote speakers were the vice president of experience engineering at KP Digital, the chief
medical officer of Covered California, and the managing director of health and life sciences strategy at Gates Ventures.
Panel discussions included such topics as “The Journey to a New Normal,” “COVID-19 Private, Public, and University Per-
spectives,” and “Health Equity and COVID.” Participants were also invited to attend fireside chats, small group discus-
sions, and digital networking sessions.
Past conferences have carried such themes as “Breaking Down Silos,” “Innovation at Scale,” and “Building Bridges to
Shape the Future of Health Care,” with keynote speakers representing such companies as Codon Capital, Solv, and Sut-
ter Health.
A second-year student with whom mbaMission spoke felt that Haas’s health care program prepared him well for a career
in this dynamic industry, noting that classes often start with “what’s in the news that day.” He added that with many in-
dustry professionals serving as adjunct professors and teaching electives in the MBA program, Haas students get both
real-world and academic perspectives on issues in the field.

Five faculty members are listed as part of Haas’s health management offerings and 5.1% of Haas’s 2022 graduates en-
tered the health care industry (6.6% in 2021, 11.6% in 2020, and 6.8% in 2019—the 2020 through 2022 figures include
products and services, and 2019 includes biotech/pharma).
Health care and biotechnology firms that have recruited Haas students in recent years include Oak Street Health; the
Boston Medical Center Health System; 1Life Healthcare; Abbott Laboratories; the USCF Medical Center; Genentech, Inc.;
Kaiser Permanente; Medtronic; Stanford Health Care; Sutter Health; and Onyx Pharmaceuticals.
International Business
For a school at which international students typically make up 35%–45% of the student body (41% in the Class of 2024,
37% in the Class of 2023, and 21% in the Class of 2022 [this lower figure is likely due to the novel coronavirus crisis]), Haas
not surprisingly has many options for students interested in international business. Core and elective courses, study
abroad opportunities, international study/travel during breaks, globally focused student clubs, and an international
teaching faculty all support Haas’s commitment to a global education.
Haas also offers a Global Management Area of Emphasis. After completing a core course in Macroeconomics, students can
choose from a number of electives that focus on international business, such as “International Business Development.”
Second-year students interested in studying abroad can choose to participate in one of Haas’s many exchange programs
with top business schools around the world, including the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the London
Business School, and IESE Business School in Spain.
A key component of Haas’s global curriculum is the International Business Development (IBD) program, a global manage-
ment consulting program in which students are assigned to real-world business projects with companies around the
globe. Students work in teams on their assigned project at Haas from January to May, then travel to the location of their
project to finalize their work on-site. The program offers students the opportunity to learn about a new culture and “[pro-
vides] students with hands-on experience in international management consulting,” says its website.
A second-year student with whom we spoke noted that the IBD program is very competitive to get into, which can some-
times be “frustrating.” However, because of its popularity, the program has reportedly been expanding. Since the pro-
gram’s inception, more than 1,800 students have taken part in over 500 projects in nearly 90 countries. IBD projects in
2023 included such destinations as Cambodia and Finland.
Projects in past years took students to such countries as New Zealand, where they worked on a SaaS platform solution
for sports teams; Finland, where they created a global go-to-market strategy for an aerosol spray manufacturer; Ja-
pan, where students created a sustainable business strategy for a video game and arcade company; Brazil, where they
worked with a marketing automation firm; and Cambodia, where they developed a marketing expansion strategy for a
premium rum distillery.
The program has sent MBA students to such countries as Bulgaria, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Laos,
South Korea, Zambia, Mongolia, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Honduras, Haiti, and Mexico.

We noted that one of the more unusual IBD destinations in past years was the remote Falkland Islands, where a team
of students assessed the potential for a sustainable tourism industry. A team member on the trip said in a post on the
school’s Haas in the World blog, “Working with scientists in Argentina, academics in Chile, military in the Falklands, and
fundraisers from New York City demonstrated how challenging global projects can be. More importantly, it taught me
how an effective small team can lead much larger institutions to tackle daunting challenges.”
Outside the classroom, Haas’s global emphasis is evidenced by several internationally focused clubs, research centers,
competitions, and conferences. Regional student clubs at the school include the Asia Business Club, Haas Africa Busi-
ness Club, the European Business Club, and the Latin American and Hispanic Business Association (LAHBA). In addi-
tion to hosting a Chinese New Year celebration, the Asia Business Club organizes alumni networking and several social
events, as well as job treks to Hong Kong and China. The European Business Club serves as a resource for incoming Euro-
pean students and offers such events as a Haas Oktoberfest and an annual European Consumption Function.
LAHBA’s mission is to “create a sense of community among Latino and Hispanic students,” declares the group’s website.
With more than 150 members, the club is reportedly one of the largest at Haas and organizes lectures and social events,
such as mojito parties and salsa nights.
The Global Social Venture Competition at Haas “empowers the next generation of social entrepreneurs by providing them
with mentoring, exposure, and over $50,000 in prizes to transform their ideas into ventures that address the world’s most
pressing challenges,” declares the competition’s site. This event, for which Haas has partnered with several regional and
international organizations since 1999, focuses on the creation of sustainable, socially conscious new businesses.
The event was not hosted in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, and has not yet resumed. The 2019 competi-
tion attracted 692 applicants from 67 countries, with 21 teams advancing to the finals. Key2Enable, which is developing
autonomy technologies for people with disabilities, won the first prize of $40,000. The second prize of $25,000 went
to rePurpose Global, which employs algorithms to reduce plastic use. Neurobots, a treatment for stroke rehabilitation,
came in third and received $10,000.
Past first-prize winners include FabricAID, which has created a model for optimizing fabric waste; Kheyti, which offers
affordable farming technologies to low-income farmers in India; and BLITAB Technology, which develops Braille-based
computer tablets and electronic readers.
Of the Haas Class of 2022, 4.0% accepted jobs outside the United States, and international companies listed as having
recruited at Haas in recent years include Credit Suisse Group, Novo Nordisk, Royal Dutch Shell, Falabella, I-DEV Interna-
tional, BT (British Telecommunications), Infosys Consulting, Honeywell International Inc., and Innova-Mex Capital.
Marketing
The marketing function drew the fifth-largest concentration of Haas graduates in 2022, with 7.8% of students accepting
positions of this type (10.9% in 2021, 14.5% in 2020, and 19.8% in 2019—these earlier numbers were reported under “Mar-
keting/Sales,” rather than, as in 2022, under “Marketing”). The marketing program at Haas starts with the core course
“Marketing Management,” which introduces students to the basic concepts of marketing strategy, helping form a founda-

tion of information that the students’ subsequent electives can then build on. Haas offers an Area of Emphasis in Market-
ing for those interested in specializing in this study area.
Electives in marketing at Haas are characterized by three main focuses: strategic, quantitative, and innovative. Stu-
dents can choose from courses such as “Marketing Strategy,” “Customer Insights,” “Marketing Research: Tools and Tech-
niques for Data Collection and Analysis,” and “Social Impact Marketing.”
The elective “Marketing Research: Tools and Techniques for Data Collection and Analysis” has been called a “must-take”
course, and not just for those MBA students specializing in marketing. The class is designed to assist students as they
conduct research and use their findings to make effective business decisions. “Customer Insights” focuses on “under-
standing why consumers behave in certain ways and how this understanding can be applied to develop more effective
marketing campaigns and public policies,” according to the school’s website.
On Tuesday afternoons throughout the academic year, the Shansby Marketing Seminar Series brings speakers to Haas’s
campus to discuss various trends and issues in the industry. The series welcomed speakers during the 2022–2023 aca-
demic year from such schools as the University of Texas, Austin; the National University of Singapore; and University
College London. Seminar topics in recent years have included “A Rational Account of the Repulsion Effect,” “On the De-
sign of Referral Programmes,” “Valuable Mistakes,” and “When Shrouding Prices Signals Transparency: A Preference for
Costly Disclosures.”
The Marketing Club at Haas states on its site that it is “dedicated to educating, preparing, and connecting members of
the Berkeley-Haas community who are pursuing careers in marketing across industries.” In addition to providing faculty
and guest lectures on marketing topics, the club clarifies for students the various careers available in marketing, helps
prepare them for job searches, and facilitates networking with alumni.
The Marketing Club also hosts interview prep sessions and organizes treks to firms such as Google, Airbnb, Clif Bar &
Company, the Clorox Company, and Del Monte Foods. A first-year student shared with us that the club had been very in-
strumental in his preparation for a career in the industry, saying, “[It] is particularly fun and rewarding for me as a career
switcher. It has been a great supplement to the core curriculum to prepare me for a career in brand management.” For
the past roughly 20 years, the Marketing Club has also hosted a Super Bowl Commercial Review Party at which members
gather to enjoy the game and discuss the effectiveness of various Super Bowl commercials.
The Haas website lists 17 faculty members in the school’s marketing department. Companies known to hire for market-
ing positions and that were listed as hirers of Haas graduates in 2021–2022 include Amazon, Autodesk, Levi Strauss &
Co, Samsung, The Clorox Company, Target, Visa, and Walmart. Other firms in this area that have recruited at the school
in recent years include General Mills, The Kraft Heinz Company, Zynga, Epic Games, General Electric, Coach, Del Monte
Foods, Johnson & Johnson, Toyota, the Walt Disney Company, and eBay.
Nonprofit/Social Entrepreneurship
Social Sector Leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Energy and Clean Technology are three Areas of Empha-
sis offered at Haas. Haas has a number of academic offerings for students interested in pursuing careers with nonprofits

or companies committed to socially responsible business. In addition, since at least 2011, U.S. News & World Report has
consistently ranked Haas among the top five schools in the country for nonprofit.
Haas’s Center for Social Sector Leadership (formerly the Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership) was formed to
“[define] the next generation of leaders that understands and values the crucial roles that social impact plays in the
world’s increasingly interconnected and collaborative economy,” explains its site. The center offers courses in social
entrepreneurship and social impact, board governance and leadership, organizational strategy, and financial manage-
ment. These electives include “Social Impact Metrics,” “Social Impact Strategy and Leadership,” and “Nonprofit Boards.”
Much of the coursework within nonprofit and public leadership and in corporate and social responsibility is experiential.
For example, the Center for Nonprofit Leadership offers such hands-on opportunities as the “Social Sector Solutions”
course and the Bears on Boards (formerly the Berkeley Board Fellows) program, which we describe more fully in the fol-
lowing paragraphs.
“Social Sector Solutions,” or S 3, is an experiential course, in which MBA and undergraduate students work in teams to
consult to nonprofit organizations on the verge of launching new ventures. For the past eight academic years, this course
has been planned in partnership with McKinsey & Company. The academic portions of both the fall and spring courses are
co-taught by the center’s Faculty Director Nora Silver and representatives from the respective partnering organizations.
During recent academic years, S 3 projects have included developing a sales strategy for Kradle2 Inc., building a new
venture business plan for Meals on Wheels Sacramento, creating a feasibility study for All Stars Helping Kids, creating a
feasibility study for the Urban Ed Academy, developing a business plan for CommonSpirit Health, and creating a market-
ing plan for California ChangeLawyers.
Formed in 2003 by Haas students, the Bears on Boards (formerly the Berkeley Board Fellows) program places MBA and UC
Berkeley public policy/public health graduate students as fellows on the boards of local nonprofits each year. While par-
ticipating in the program, students spend seven months as board members of such organizations as the Berkeley Sym-
phony, the Children’s Council of San Francisco, and the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California. Each year,
more than 90 students work as Bears on Boards with roughly 50 different participating nonprofit boards. Participating
nonprofits in recent years include the Destiny Arts Center, Safe Passages, The Richmond Promise, and the WriterCoach
Connection. Since the program’s inception, 1,088 students have been placed on nonprofit boards and have completed
approximately 63,672 hours of service.
Haas’s Center for Responsible Business was also formed in 2003 and now oversees the Peterson Series as well as the
Haas Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Fund and the Peterson Speaker Series, which has featured speakers such as
the whistleblower from Enron, the CEO of Whole Foods, and the chief administrative officer of Walmart. Speaker events in
recent years have included such topics as “Leading in Times of Crisis,” “Feeding the World in Need,” “Sustainable Innova-
tion” by representatives from Google and IDEO, and “Dean’s Speaker Series: Does Enlightened Capitalism Have a Future?”
The Haas SRI Fund launched in 2007 and was the first student-administrated fund to use corporate and social responsi-
bility as a screen for its portfolio. The Haas SRI fund soon saw a more than 50% return on its initial investment of $1.1M,
and by 2022, the fund had exceeded $4.5M.

Students interested in energy and clean technology can select from an array of electives in their chosen specialty at
Haas. “Energy is really good here,” a second-year student told mbaMission. Sample electives in this study area are “En-
ergy and Environmental Markets” and “Cleantech to Market,” in which teams of students from across several disciplines
work with former scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to perform market research on a scientific
invention. The Energy Institute at Haas maintains a partnership between the business school and works to bring to-
gether economic and scientific research with the goals of commercializing energy technologies and basing energy and
scientific policy on sound economic principles.
The Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative (BERC) is a student-run organization that “connects, educates and
motivates students, alumni, faculty and industry professionals to address the world’s energy and resource challenges,”
explains its website. With reportedly more than 1,000 members, including students, faculty, and alumni, “BERC has a
huge following,” noted a second-year student we interviewed.
In 2022–2023, the Center for Social Sector Leadership hosted such events as a lunch presentation titled “Careers in So-
cial Impact” by a founding partner of At One Ventures and a panel with the theme “Blue Economy.” Speakers in 2021–2022
included the president and CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation and the cofounder of the Institute for Globally Transfor-
mative Technologies.
In 2015, the school launched a new initiative titled Philanthropy University, a set of online courses concentrating the
social sector. The six courses, developed in partnership with online training program Philanthropy U, include such titles
as “Introduction to Fundraising,” “Human Capital Strategies,” “Essentials of Nonprofit Strategy,” and “Fundraising: Con-
necting with Donors.”
Haas has 14 faculty members in the Center for Social Sector Leadership, and 26 are listed as part of the Center for Re-
sponsible Business. Of the Class of 2022, 1.6% accepted positions in the nonprofit/public sector (1.4% in 2021, and 1.9%
in 2020 and 2019). Organizations that have recruited Haas graduates in these areas in recent years include Business for
Social Responsibility; Education Pioneers, Inc.; SolarCity; and Endeavor Global, Inc.
Real Estate
Real Estate is one of the three certificate programs offered at Haas and is available through the Fisher Center for Real
Estate and Urban Economics (FCREUE). In 2022, 2.4% of Haas’s graduates accepted positions in the real estate industry
(1.9% in 2021, 2.4% in 2020, and 1.4% in 2019). Given the school’s dedicated interdisciplinary focus and the aforemen-
tioned Fisher Center, real estate appears to have a fairly high profile at Haas despite the relatively low percentages of
graduates who immediately enter this field. In fact, one second-year student we interviewed claimed, “It may be the top
real estate program in the country.”
In addition, one of the classes students may choose to fulfill the school’s experiential learning requirement is “Real Estate
Investment Analysis,” an introductory course in which student teams work on real cases to develop analyses and strate-
gies that will be assessed by actual stakeholders. In 2022–2023, the elective offerings also included such courses as “Real
Estate Development,” “Real Estate Investment Analysis and Sustainability,” and “Real Estate Finance and Securitization.”

Classes are offered through case study, lecture, and team and individual projects and focus on four areas—financial analy-
sis, real estate finance and securitization, project development, and e-commerce strategies—within the program.
FCREUE’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Real Estate program is designed so that students can show potential
employers that they are well versed in “real estate investment, real estate law, and the role of real estate development in
the built environment,” explains the program’s website. In addition to taking three electives specific to real estate, cer-
tificate seekers must take at least two courses at the College of Environmental Design or at Berkeley Law.
Chaired by Professor Emeritus Kenneth Rosen, who presented his policy proposals at the 2010 Financial Crisis Inquiry
Commission’s first public hearing in Washington, DC, FCREUE is the home of the real estate program at Haas. More than
just an academic center, FCREUE serves as a career resource, a liaison with industry professionals, and a provider of
research resources. FCREUE places a heavy emphasis on research of real estate markets, financial institutions, and the
economy of the state of California.
In addition, the center sponsors an annual, one-day Real Estate and Economics Symposium that was first established
in 1977 and typically draws more than 500 attendees. The 2023 symposium took place in February with Professor Rosen
delivering an economic forecast and with panel discussions exploring such topics as alternative housing solutions, in-
novative housing disruptions, the post-pandemic state of real estate, how capital markets and real estate lending are
changing, and the state of the workplace.
The 2022 symposium was hosted as a three-day virtual series in February with the theme “Charting 2022: Temporary
Disruption or Permanent Transformation?” Discussion topics during the event included “Futurist View of Real Estate,
the Workplace and Urban Form,” “The Economy: What to Expect in 2022 and Beyond,” and “Shocks and Transformations:
Real Estate in Year Three of the Pandemic.”
In past years, panel topics have included “Saving the City: Remaking the American Metropolis,” “Bay Area Professional
Sports Franchises Turned Real Estate Developers,” and “Real Estate Financing and Investing in a Tumultuous Environment.”
Haas students interested in pursuing a career in real estate can also attend site treks sponsored by the Berkeley Real
Estate Club, at which the aspiring MBAs and other Haas students visit industry construction sites in Los Angeles and San
Francisco. A second year we interviewed spoke highly of the club, explaining that the organization “offers opportunities
to volunteer for seminars and engage with professionals in the area.” In addition, students may choose to participate in
the aforementioned Fisher Center Real Estate Conference or compete in regional and national real estate competitions,
such as the University of Texas at Austin National Real Estate Challenge and the NAIOP Real Estate Challenge.
With respect to job searching, students pursuing positions in real estate can take advantage of the Accelerating Careers
in Real Estate (ACRE) program. ACRE exposes students to local real estate professionals so that they may better learn
the intricacies of this industry, from lending to urban development. Through ACRE, students can connect with industry
professionals for one-day visits in their specific area of interest.
In recent years, Haas students have been recruited for positions in this field by such firms as CIM Group; Tishman Speyer;
and Starwood Capital Group, LLC.

Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town
Pursuing an MBA can be quite intense, and the environment and community surrounding the campus
can profoundly affect and even shape your MBA experience. For example, imagine stepping out of a
class at New York University’s (NYU’s) Stern School of Business and into the energetic bustle of New The environment
York City’s West Village. Now imagine walking outside after a course at the Tuck School of Business and community
at Dartmouth and being surrounded by the tranquility and natural beauty of New Hampshire’s Upper
surrounding your
Valley. Neither scenario is necessarily “better” than the other, but one might appeal to you more.
chosen school can
An urban campus can undoubtedly offer social and cultural opportunities that a college town simply
profoundly affect
cannot match. This is not to suggest, however, that college towns are devoid of culture—indeed, in- and shape your MBA
tense intellectual and cultural programs exist in college towns precisely because the academic insti- experience.
tution is at the core of the community.
While schools in college towns tout their close-knit atmosphere and the tight bonds classmates form in such a setting,
this environment can be welcoming for some students and overwhelming for others. In contrast, urban campuses are
more decentralized, with students often living in various parts of a city and even in the surrounding suburbs. Someone
who has a greater need for privacy or personal space might therefore prefer an urban environment. In addition, in major
urban centers, some students—particularly those who lived in the city before enrolling in business school—may already
have well-developed social groups, and this scenario may again be better for those who find an academically and socially
all-encompassing environment less attractive.
One aspect of the MBA experience that candidates often fail to consider when evaluating their school options is weather.
Although factoring climate into your school choice may initially seem superficial, if you know you cannot comfortably
manage frigid conditions or soaring temperatures, certain programs should be stricken from your list. We encounter
many applicants each year who wisely stave off a potentially miserable experience by choosing to not apply to certain
schools in locations they just do not feel are “livable” for them.
In addition, housing costs are one expense that many applicants do not stop to consider before choosing a school to
target. By researching real estate prices at the top programs, we found that the cost differential between renting a
one-bedroom apartment in a Midwestern college town and renting one in New York City, for example, can be quite sig-
nificant—adding up to tens of thousands of dollars on a cumulative basis across two years. This is an important factor to
include as you weigh your options and calculate your projected budget.
In summary, a college town can be appealing for some candidates because its smaller size tends to create strong bonds
within the business school’s community, though for others, the lack of privacy could be undesired or overwhelming. Fur-
thermore, some find a slower pace of life calming and comfortable, whereas others crave the energy and bustle of a city.
If you strongly prefer one or the other, you should be able to quickly eliminate certain schools from your list.
Part of the University of California (UC) system, the Haas School of Business is located on the campus of UC
Berkeley, just 14 miles northeast of San Francisco, on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay. Often foggy,
with cool summers and wet winters, Berkeley enjoys the temperate climate of Northern California.

Both on- and off-campus housing are Urban Campus Schools Urban/College Hybrid Schools College Town Schools
available, but most Haas students live Chicago Booth Northwestern Kellogg Cornell Johnson
off campus, approximately 15–25 min- Columbia Business School Stanford GSB Dartmouth Tuck
utes away. Many live in the neighbor- Harvard Business School UC Berkeley Haas Duke Fuqua
MIT Sloan UCLA Anderson Michigan Ross
hoods surrounding Berkeley and walk
NYU Stern Yale SOM UVA Darden
or bike to school, though some students
UPenn Wharton
(mostly second years) do commute from
San Francisco (approximately a
half-hour drive with no traffic). Median Monthly Rent for a One-Bedroom Apartment
Berkeley is easily accessible via NYU Stern New York, NY $4,400 within .20 mile radius of campus
San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid
MIT Sloan Cambridge, MA $3,798 within .50 mile radius of campus
Transit system, called the BART,
Harvard Business School Cambridge, MA $3,300 within .75 mile radius of campus
and the Berkeley BART Station is a
15-minute walk from Haas (campus Stanford GSB Stanford, CA $2,795 within 2.00 mile radius of campus
shuttles are also available with- UCLA Anderson Los Angeles, CA $2,697 within 1.00 mile radius of campus
out cost for students). Parking on
UC Berkeley Haas Berkeley, CA $2,573 within .50 mile radius of campus
campus can be scarce. Students
Columbia Business School New York, NY $2,400 within .50 mile radius of campus
who drive to school can end up
with as much as a ten-minute walk UPenn Wharton Philadelphia, PA $1,990 within .75 mile radius of campus
to reach campus, but given Berke- Northwestern Kellogg Evanston, IL $1,925 within 1.50 mile radius of campus
ley’s temperate climate, this does
Yale SOM New Haven, CT $1,795 within .50 mile radius of campus
not likely pose much of a problem
Duke Fuqua Durham, NC $1,599 within 1.00 mile radius of campus
for most.
Chicago Booth Chicago, IL $1,532 within 1.00 mile radius of campus
Finding housing “is not the easi- Michigan Ross Ann Arbor, MI $1,500 within 0.75 mile radius of campus
est task,” a second-year student
UVA Darden Charlottesville, VA $1,424 within 2.00 mile radius of campus
admitted to mbaMission. The uni-
versity’s Cal Rentals housing ser- Dartmouth Tuck Hanover, NH $1,338 within 3.0 mile radius of campus
vice offers assistance with both Cornell Johnson Ithaca, NY $1,270 within .75 mile radius of campus
on- and off-campus housing; how-
ever, we learned that most stu- According to Rentometer.com, accessed June 2023.
dents typically find their housing

through such websites as Craigslist. According to the university’s website, the average rent in off-campus
housing in the area was from approximately $1,920 to $2,500 a month for a studio, $1,970 to $2,140 for a one-
bedroom, and upwards of $2,450 for a two-bedroom apartment. As one second-year student noted, “It’s high
for most of the country, but nothing compared to Manhattan.”
On campus, the Manville Apartments, Ida Jackson House, and the new Intersection Apartments are desig-
nated for single graduate students, while married students—with or without families—can choose between
East and West Village within University Village (Albany). A second year told mbaMission that some MBA stu-
dents move to San Francisco in their second year but that those students tend to be somewhat removed from
campus life as a result.

Haas’s location in the Bay Area, nestled in the Berkeley Hills, affords the school’s students many opportunities
to enjoy life outside the classroom. Known for its natural beauty, the area encompassing the upper hills that
surround Berkeley is a nature preserve and offers views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the city of San Francisco,
and the Pacific Ocean. Berkeley itself, which has a cosmopolitan community and a reputation for being one of
the most liberal cities in the country, is a quintessential college town of just over 122,000 residents. There is,
in the neighborhood of North Berkeley, an area known as North Shattuck, where food shops and restaurants
abound, including the well-known Chez Panisse. South Berkeley’s Durant Square offers restaurant options for
every price point.
Students reportedly take full advantage of all that San Francisco, which is just a 15-minute BART ride from
campus, has to offer, with its world-famous restaurants, professional football and baseball teams, diverse
culture, and active night life. In a survey on student life on the Haas website, respondents recommended
“must-do” activities such as visiting Big Sur, exploring the wine county, biking or walking across the Golden
Gate Bridge, and hiking the Grizzly Peak. A second-year student told mbaMission, “There’s a lot to do here, and
everybody takes advantage of the surrounding environment.”
Considering that Napa Valley, Big Sur, Carmel by the Sea, Yosemite National Park, and Lake Tahoe are just a
day’s travel from the Haas campus, we were not surprised that students we interviewed list “location” as one
of the primary reasons they chose the school. A second-year student with whom mbaMission spoke noted,
“You can go snowboarding one weekend and surfing the next. It’s hard to beat.”
Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience
When contemplating an MBA program, do not overlook the school’s facilities. Renovations, upgrades,
and new construction are all regular occurrences on school campuses these days, as some programs
increase their square footage while others unify disparate areas or refresh existing spaces. Some If a school has not
schools boast on-campus housing or elite athletic facilities, others have established new green updated its facilities in
spaces and meeting rooms, and still others have refurbished or added classrooms, theaters, librar-
recent years, perhaps
ies, and other such resources.
none were needed or
Keep in mind, though, that just because a school has not updated or added to its facilities in recent
the school has invested
years, this does not mean that its offerings are outdated or subpar; the lack of updates may simply in other aspects of its
be because no updates have been needed or the school has invested in other aspects of its program program instead.
instead. A campus visit is always the best way to evaluate firsthand what a school has to offer, but we
nonetheless dedicate this space to a discussion of the facilities available at this particular program.
The 200,000-square-foot Haas School of Business building was designed by renowned architect and former
chair of UC Berkeley’s department of architecture Charles Moore. Intended to reflect the Haas program’s sense
of community and collaborative spirit, the building is a mini campus comprising three connected wings that
surround a central courtyard.

In addition to classrooms, laptop docking sites, video conference stations, and a career center, the Haas
building houses a computer center, the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics and the Institute
for Business Innovation. The 50,000-square-foot Thomas J. Long Business Library encompasses two floors
of one wing of the building.
One enters the Haas minicampus through the Gothic-inspired Cronk Gate, which leads to the central court-
yard, the location of many of the school’s social activities. Students can grab lunch at the Café Think or at the
Bank of America Forum and, thanks to the area’s temperate climate, can often enjoy their meal in the sunshine.
Consumption Functions (monthly Friday-night gatherings; see the Social/Community Life section for details)
and tailgating for UC football games also take place in the courtyard.
In 2010, then Dean Lyons unveiled the Haas School of Business Strategic Plan. Among the plan’s three areas of
strategic focus were “Transform Our Haas Campus.” The master plan to physically make over the campus—as
part of the Campaign for Haas, a $227M capital plan which was officially completed in 2013—was intended to
increase the focus on teamwork and innovation.
One of the elements of the transformation is the Koret Interactive Learning Center, a 70-seat tiered classroom
with two breakout rooms that includes state-of-the-art teaching technology, such as a high-tech lectern,
white boards, and video conferencing capabilities. In addition, renovations to the Thomas J. Long Business
Library intended to facilitate group interactions—such as the installation of glass partitions to create new
conference space and group study rooms—took place in 2010.
In 2013, the school opened its renovated courtyard, which encompasses a more flexible outdoor area and in-
cludes several landscaping and outdoor seating improvements adding 16 tables and 64 chairs. The school’s
website describes this courtyard and adjoining library space as a “super-collider” to facilitate social interac-
tion and learning.
A new facility, the North Academic Building, was announced in 2014. After a $15M donation pledge (with a po-
tential step-up of an additional $10M) from alumnus and Kabam CEO and founder Kevin Chou and his wife, Dr.
Connie Chen, the building was renamed the Connie and Kevin Chou Hall in 2017. The building, which was also
funded by additional private donations, opened in September 2017, featuring six stories and encompassing
nearly 80,000 square feet, including four experimental learning areas, eight lecture rooms, a 300-seat event
area, and 28 study rooms.
Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage
The size and depth of a school’s alumni base may be important to you as you seek to break into a specific field or region/
country. Some MBA programs have had large classes for many years and can therefore boast sizeable alumni networks,
whereas other schools may have pockets of strength in particular parts of the world or in certain industries—or can
claim a smaller but tighter-knit and more dedicated alumni network overall. For example, Dartmouth Tuck has a smaller

absolute number of alumni than most top U.S. schools but has repeatedly been touted as having the
highest rate of annual alumni giving, thanks to its very dedicated graduates.
Some schools boast

Although acquiring detailed breakdowns of a school’s alumni base is sometimes difficult, you may sizeable alumni
want to consider whether the school you are targeting has alumni clubs in your chosen professional
networks, while others
area (i.e., some schools have industry-specific alumni groups) or preferred post-MBA location. Fur-
have pockets of
thermore, if you are determined to live in a particular city/country/region after graduating, then earn-
ing your MBA in or near that area, if possible, may be a good idea, so that you can more easily connect
strength in particular
with local alumni while you are in school—particularly if you want to pursue a niche professional area regions or industries.
and do not expect to participate in on-grounds recruiting. Of course, technological developments
have greatly facilitated outreach, meaning that alumni are no longer a flight or long drive away, but
are now just a phone call, email, text, or even Skype session away.
Numbering approximately 41,000, Haas alumni can be found in all 50 U.S. states and more than 80 countries
around the globe. The Haas Alumni Network (“HAN”) was founded in 1954 and serves students and alumni
through a variety of resources, such as networking events, career guidance, and online offerings. Alumni stay
connected through 40 regional chapters in the United States and approximately 90 regional chapters through-
out the world. In addition, more than 30 affinity groups—ranging from Private Equity to Energy to Diversity at
Berkeley Haas—are available online.
Social networking has proved to be a boon to alumni interaction, with Haas alumni connecting through Linke-
dIn and Facebook. HAN also offers alumni access to @cal, a password-protected, online social and profes-
sional networking site where alumni can create blogs, send group emails, and create group event calendars.
Alumni Base
Schools are listed in order from largest alumni base to smallest within each category.
NYU Stern, UPenn Wharton, Harvard Business School 75,000 to 110,000
Northwestern Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Michigan Ross, Columbia 50,000 to 74,000
UCLA Anderson, UC Berkeley Haas, Stanford GSB, Duke Fuqua 25,000 to 49,000
MIT Sloan, UVA Darden

Cornell Johnson, 10,000 to 24,000
Yale SOM, Dartmouth Tuck
0 25,000 50,000 75,000 100,000 125,000
Note: Some schools include MBA program graduates only in their alumni total; other schools may also include alumni from their part-time, executive, doctoral, and/or other programs,
so totals may not be directly comparable.

Alumni relations events are both social and professional in nature. Each semester, the Haas Alumni Relations
Office hosts a networking event designed to bring together the school’s MBA students and graduates in the
Bay Area. Mixers, picnics, reunions, and sporting events, as well as webinars, seminars, and speaker series,
can all be found on HAN’s alumni calendar.
The AlumniJobs weekly e-newsletter communicates job postings and career programs to interested, sub-
scribed alumni around the world. Regularly hosted webinars, seminars, and workshops also provide gradu-
ates with career development guidance throughout the year. Moreover, alumni have lifetime access to Haas’s
Thomas J. Long Business Library and are allowed to audit one course per academic year for free.
Although the school’s small class size makes for a comparatively smaller than average alumni base, a second-
year student reported to mbaMission that this does not pose any problems. Networking opportunities still
abound in this tight-knit community.
Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?
MBA rankings should always be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism, given that they can fluctu-
ate dramatically from year to year and from publication to publication. For example, if you had relied
on the U.S. News & World Report rankings to choose the NYU Stern School of Business as your busi- The various surveys
ness school in 2016 because of the program’s position at number 11, you probably would have been should and will provide
disappointed to see the school then slide down to 20th place just one year later. Similarly, if you had
some context for your
selected UC Berkeley Haas in 2014, when it was number 19 in Bloomberg Businessweek’s ranking, you
decision, but resist the
would have been delighted to see the program rise to number six in 2018.
temptation to choose
Can an MBA program—which is made up of so many moving parts—really change so much in just one a school based on
or two years? And how can one reconcile that, in the most recent rankings, UPenn Wharton is ranked rankings alone.
first by Poets&Quants but seventh by Bloomberg Businessweek (not to mention that, due to insufficient
alumni survey respondents, the school was not included on the Financial Times list, where it is usually
ranked in the top three)? Or that Cornell Johnson is ranked fifth by the Financial Times but 15th by U.S. News & World Re-
port? Or that Columbia Business School is ranked first by the Financial Times but 11th by U.S. News & World Report?
Of course, the various surveys should and likely will provide some context for your decision, but resist the temptation to
choose a school based on rankings alone, because rankings may ultimately betray you—possibly even before you graduate.
One thing to keep in mind, particularly for international students, is that a school’s reputation domestically can be quite
different from its reputation abroad. Years ago, mbaMission worked with an international candidate who was accepted
into the MBA programs at Cornell Johnson and Dartmouth Tuck. When this individual shared the good news with his man-
ager, his manager said, “I thought you would have gone to an Ivy League school like Princeton!” Of course, Dartmouth and
Cornell are in fact Ivy League institutions, and Princeton does not even have an MBA program—the manager’s reaction
illustrates how misconceptions can arise. So, after considering an MBA program’s strengths, you might factor in that

some schools have greater brand power in certain parts of the world, especially if you plan to live and work abroad after
you complete your studies.
We advise you to consider your MBA a long-term investment that will pay dividends throughout your life, and such an in-
vestment should be based on more than a one-time ranking. In fact, most MBAs who are five to ten years out of school are
not even aware of what their school is now ranked. Perhaps more importantly, if you were to ask one whether the school’s
position in the rankings has any effect on their career, the response would certainly be an impassioned “No!”
U.S. Ranking: 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
UC Berkeley Haas
Poets&Quants NA NA NA NA 8 8 8 9 8 8 10 10 9 9 9
U.S. News & World Report 11 8 7 7 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Bloomberg Businessweek1 NA NA NA NA NA 2 8 6 11 10 9 19 [14] 14 [8] 8
Financial Times NA 4 9 NA 2 8 7 7 8 5 7 8 7 7 13 12
1
Until 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek released rankings every two years (in November), so numbers in brackets represent carryover from the previous year's ranking.
2
Financial Times and Bloomberg Businessweek did not include Haas in these rankings for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Typically, Haas places in the top ten in popular business school rankings. Haas rose five spots domestical-
ly and seven spots internationally in the 2023 Financial Times survey to fourth and seventh, respectively.
Poets&Quants, in its 2022 ranking of U.S.-based MBA programs, ranked Haas tenth, down one spot from the
previous year. In the 2022 Bloomberg Businessweek domestic ranking, the school was ranked 14th, down seven
spots from the previous ranking.
Haas stood in 11th place—tied with Columbia Business School and Duke Fuqua—in U.S. News & World Report’s
2024 United States rankings, down three spots from the previous year. In addition, the school appears in the
following 2024 U.S. News specialty rankings: nonprofit (4); real estate (4); entrepreneurship (5); business ana-
lytics (6); finance (8); executive MBA (9); management (9, tied with two other schools); marketing (9); interna-
tional (10); information systems (14, tied with UT Dallas Jindal); production/operations (18); supply chain/lo-
gistics (20, tied with four other schools); and accounting (22, tied with three other schools). In addition, in the
Princeton Review’s 2023 evaluation of 243 U.S. MBA programs, Haas was rated fourth for Toughest to Get Into.
A second-year student with whom mbaMission spoke noted Haas’s gradual rise in the rankings in recent years,
saying, “Rankings certainly matter and are one aspect of consideration while choosing schools to apply to.
We … care about rankings and feel a sense of pride when we know that the school is climbing the ranks. I think
everyone wants to be associated with a better program, and if the reputation of the school improves, it will
hopefully benefit everyone in the long run in their careers.” Offering a slightly different perspective, a first
year we interviewed remarked, “Haas is a top ten program in most rankings. There have been some fluctua-
tions on certain publications, but I do not feel that the current students and alumni I have interacted with share
the sentiments of the publication.”

Poets&Quants (2022) U.S. News & World Report Bloomberg Businessweek Financial Times (2023) 1
(2024) (2022)
1 UPenn Wharton 1 Columbia Business School
1 Chicago Booth 1 Stanford GSB
2 Chicago Booth 2 Harvard Business School
2 Northwestern Kellogg 2 Chicago Booth
3 Stanford GSB 2 Stanford GSB
3 UPenn Wharton 2 Harvard Business School
4 Northwestern Kellogg 4 UC Berkeley Haas
4 MIT Sloan 4 Northwestern Kellogg
5 Harvard Business School 5 Cornell Johnson
5 Harvard Business School 5 Dartmouth Tuck
6 MIT Sloan 6 Northwestern Kellogg
6 Dartmouth Tuck 6 MIT Sloan
7 Columbia Business School 7 Yale SOM
6 Stanford GSB 7 UPenn Wharton
8 Yale SOM 8 Duke Fuqua
8 Michigan Ross 8 Columbia Business School
9 Dartmouth Tuck 8 MIT Sloan
8 Yale SOM 9 UVA Darden
10 UC Berkeley Haas 8 Chicago Booth
10 NYU Stern 10 Yale SOM
11 Michigan Ross 11 UCLA Anderson
11 Columbia Business School 11 Cornell Johnson
12 Duke Fuqua 12 Dartmouth Tuck
11 Duke Fuqua 11 NYU Stern
13 Cornell Johnson 13 UVA Darden
11 UC Berkeley Haas 13 Duke Fuqua
14 UVA Darden 14 NYU Stern
14 UVA Darden 14 UC Berkeley Haas
15 NYU Stern 15 USC Marshall
15 Cornell Johnson 15 Michigan Ross
16 UCLA Anderson 16 Michigan Ross
15 USC Marshall 16 USC Marshall
17 USC Marshall 17 Rice Jones GSB
17 Emory Goizueta 17 Emory Goizueta
18 UT Austin McCombs 18 WU Olin
18 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 18 GIT Scheller
19 UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan- 19 Georgetown McDonough
Flagler 19 UCLA Anderson 19 UT Austin McCombs
19 Washington Foster
20 Washington Foster 20 UT Austin McCombs 20 UCLA Anderson
20 Washington Foster
1
This list reranks U.S. schools from international ranking. Financial Times ranks Haas seventh internationally.

The Dean: Ann Harrison
In August 2018, Haas announced that alumna Ann E. Harrison had been chosen as the next dean of the business school.
Richard “Rich” K. Lyons, who had served as the dean since 2008, had announced his plan to step down from the position
in June 2018. “To be asked to join the Berkeley faculty after earning my PhD was my first dream come true,” Lyons wrote
in a letter to the Haas community, titled “Dream of a Lifetime.” “Serving this remarkable institution as your dean has been
the second—it has been more fulfilling than any job I could imagine,” Lyons continued, assuring the community that he
would remain on the school’s faculty after stepping down as dean. “[Many] exciting initiatives are putting Berkeley Haas
in a good place for the next dean to carry our school forward. It’s exactly the right time for this transition.” The school
subsequently announced the formation of a dean search committee, consisting of faculty, staff, students, and Haas
board members.
Harrison, who stepped into the role of dean in January 2019, received her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley in 1982
and her PhD from Princeton University. She served as a professor of agricultural and resource economics at Haas from
2001 to 2011, before joining the faculty at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2012 as a professor of
business economics and public policy. Additionally, Harrison has held such positions as a research fellow at The Center
for Economic and Policy Research, the director of development policy at the World Bank, and a visiting professor at the
University of Paris.
The Haas website describes Harrison, who has published numerous articles and edited three books, as “one of the most
highly cited scholars globally on multinational firms and foreign investment.” And UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ is
cited in the school’s announcement of Harrison’s appointment as saying, “Professor Harrison is an accomplished admin-
istrator as well as a world-class economist who has dedicated her career to creating forward-looking policies in develop-
ment economics, international trade, and global labor markets. … It is a great honor to welcome her back to Berkeley to
become the dean of Haas, and I have no doubt that she will be a wonderful leader for the institution.”
In 2019, just a month after stepping into the dean’s position, Harrison discussed the challenges that lay ahead in a Dean’s
Speaker Series conversation with Haas Professor Laura Tyson, who served as interim dean during the search for the
new dean. Harrison mentioned the lack of diversity at the school as an issue, stating, “I was a little surprised at the lack
of diversity [at Haas], particularly among the faculty who I’ve been spending a lot of time with. So that is a challenge, and
there are other challenges associated with diversity and inclusion.” She noted that the school’s student-to-faculty ratio
has been at an imbalance for years, and cited hiring new faculty members—in particular in the areas of data analytics, en-
trepreneurship, and environment and business—as a priority. “I would really like to take advantage of being in the middle
of Berkeley and take advantage of all the other degree programs. Rich [Lyons] has done an amazing job in starting that
journey,” Harrison said. “He created, along with the rest of the faculty, some wonderful undergraduate programs—but at
the graduate level we have a lot that we can do. So, I want to work on that,” Harrison continued.
During her first years at dean, Harrison has placed a strong emphasis on the theme of sustainability—in January 2022,
she announced plans to make Haas the number-one business school for sustainability by adding new cases, class mate-
rials, and lectures relating to the topic. “We are doubling down on our investment in sustainability and preparing the next
generation of sustainability leaders,” Dean Harrison said in the announcement of the goal, which also includes the effort
to retool all Haas core courses to feature sustainability themes by the end of 2023.

Indeed, sustainability has been at the heart of Haas’s values for a long time. In a 2011 interview with Poets&Quants, Har-
rison’s predecessor Lyons explained, “At Haas, we want to tether our vision around sustainability because it feels like a
defining feature of our time.” In addition, between 2010 and 2013, Lyons oversaw the completion of a $277M fundraising
campaign called Campaign for Haas to accomplish three strategic goals: to refocus the school’s curriculum on “leader-
ship through innovation,” to transform campus facilities, and to expand the school’s research faculty.
Innovation is also among Harrison’s most important themes, as is evident in the construction of the new Entrepreneur-
ship and Innovation hub that the school launched on campus in spring 2022.
Notable Professors and Unsung Heroes
Cameron Anderson (https://haas.berkeley.edu/faculty/anderson-cameron/): Cameron Anderson, who received his PhD

from UC Berkeley in 2001, came to Haas from NYU’s Stern School of Business in 2005. His teaching awards include Pro-
fessor of the Year (at Stern) and the Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching at Haas. His “Power and Politics in
Organizations” course was described to mbaMission by a second year as “easily one of the most sought-after classes at
Haas.” According to the course abstract, Anderson shows students how to “diagnose the true distribution of power in
organizations.”
A second-year student we interviewed said the class “teaches students how to gain power and influence people without
formal authority” and added that Anderson “teaches applicable skills based on academic research and case studies of
great leaders from history. He uses assignments to force students to uncover their own tools of influence and develop
strategies for acquiring power in our immediate careers after Haas. I think his class is popular because it’s academic,
directly applicable, and introspective all at once.” In addition to teaching, Anderson serves as an associate editor for
the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and formerly served as an editorial board member of the Academy of
Management Journal.
Don A. Moore (https://haas.berkeley.edu/faculty/moore-don/): As the Lorraine Tyson Mitchell Chair in Leadership and
Communication and professor who teaches the core “Leading People” course, Don A. Moore is known for his work in the
field of organizational behavior. He has been featured by such major media outlets as the New York Times, the New Yorker,
the Financial Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio for his research expertise on grade
inflation, decision making, and the psychology of overconfidence. Moore currently also serves as an Associate Dean of
Academic Affairs and has formerly served as the faculty director of Xlab, the social science experiment investigation
laboratory at the university. Moore is evidently an outstanding educator as well; a first-year student told mbaMission
that Moore was among the professors at Haas with whom he had been most impressed, saying, “He is very engaging and
knowledgeable about various different aspects of leadership in organizations. He does an excellent job of showing how
these distinct topics are interrelated.”
Terry Taylor (https://haas.berkeley.edu/faculty/taylor-terry/): After stints at Columbia Business School and the Tuck
School of Business at Dartmouth, Terry Taylor came to Haas in 2007. Considering that Taylor, who has a PhD from Stan-
ford in management science and engineering, is often named in blogs and online chats as a favorite among students, it
is not surprising that he has won the Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching twice. In addition, Taylor has been

named the fifth most popular professor at a top U.S. business school in a Bloomberg Businessweek survey of full-time
MBA students, and has been featured among “The Best 40 B-School Profs Under the Age of 40” by Poets&Quants. Taylor
has served as the Barbara and Gerson Bakar Faculty Fellow—awarded in recognition of a record of accomplishments—
and is currently the Milton W. Terrill Chaired Professor of Business Administration.
Taylor’s academic interests include the economics of operations management and supply chain management. His “Op-
erations Management” course looks at operational issues confronted by manufacturing and service companies. In ad-
dition to reportedly having a well-organized curriculum and classes—which, according to a second-year student with
whom mbaMission spoke, have “no down time”—Taylor, who sometimes uses references to Seinfeld episodes to illuminate
concepts, can make technical subjects very interesting. A second year told mbaMission, “He’s pretty young and has a
style that mixes high energy with a dry sense of humor.”
Social/Community Life
Haascars: First held in 2016, the Haascars (a play on the Oscars) is an award show that takes place near the end of the
academic year, most recently held in 2019. The comedic ceremony is scripted, “making light of the students, professors,
and events that defined [the] Haas experience,” the 2019 event invitation reads. The most recent Haascars ceremony
featured a black tie optional dress code, hors d’oeuvres, and an open bar. For the 2018 event, participants were encour-
aged to dress up. “How dressy? Think Winter Formal,” the event description said, continuing, “This event is a Haas tradi-
tion in the making!” No awards are voted on, as they are merely used as a comedic vehicle.
Consumption Functions: Held in the business school’s courtyard, Consumption Functions take place multiple times a
semester and are sponsored by various student organizations in conjunction with Haas’s MBA Association. Clubs that
wish to host a Consumption Function provide music, food, and alcohol (the total cost of which is typically matched by the
MBA Association), as well as a crew for set up, clean up, and crowd control. Typically held on Friday evenings, Consump-
tion Functions typically have a theme, such as a chili cook-off or a celebration of the Chinese New Year, and are free and
open to all Haas students, faculty members, and their families (even dogs!).
Haas Partners Club: The Haas Partners Club caters to the needs of MBA students’ significant others and children and
is reportedly very active on campus. The club’s website states that more than 40% of students arrive on campus with a
partner and describes the club’s goal as “to make [partners’] transition to the Bay Area and the Haas community as easy
as possible.” Beginning when students are just new admits, the club helps answer questions on everything from housing
issues to community life—the club’s website offers information about life in Berkeley, ranging from shopping tips to how
to obtain health insurance for children—and throughout the academic year, the club organizes game nights, dinners,
happy hours, and other social events for the partners. Haas partners are also invited to attend all student social events
and club activities. Said one second-year student in a Haas online student chat, “Honestly, I think partners have the best
time in business school—they get all the fun without those pesky classes!”
UC Berkeley Football: Students at Haas take advantage of life as part of a large public university not only academically,
but athletically as well. On Saturdays when the UC Berkeley football team California Golden Bears has a home game,

Haas’s courtyard becomes the site of a large tailgate party, complete with cookouts, music, and cheer competitions. A
second-year student told mbaMission, “The business school is the best place to tailgate on campus.”
Academic Summary
Areas of Emphasis: Haas does not offer majors but has developed 13 Areas of Emphasis in which students can con-
centrate their studies and customize their experience by choosing from an array of elective courses. These Areas of
Emphasis are as follows:
Corporate Social Responsibility

Energy and Clean Technology
Entrepreneurship
Equity Fluent Leadership
Finance
Global Management
Health Management
Marketing
Real Estate
Social Sector Leadership
Strategy/Consulting
Sustainable and Impact Finance
Technology
Curriculum: Students must take 21 units of core courses and 30 units of elective courses to graduate. At least 25 elective
courses must be taken within Haas; up to six units may be taken in other departments at UC Berkeley.
First-Year Required Courses:

“Business Communication in Diverse Work Environments”
“Data Analytics”
“Data and Decisions”
“Data-Driven Presentations”
“Economics for Business Decision Making”
“Ethics and Responsibility in Business”
“Financial Accounting”
“Introduction to Finance”
“Leadership Communication”
“Leading People”
“Macroeconomics in the Global Economy”
“Marketing”
“Operations”
“Strategic Leadership”

Experiential learning requirement options:
“Cleantech to Market”
“Corporate Launchpad”
“Design, Evaluate and Scale Development Technologies”
“Design Sprint for Corporate Innovation”
“Equity Fluent Leadership: The Value of Inclusion and Diversity”
“Food Innovation Studio”
“Haas@Work”
“The Haas Sustainable Investment Fund”
“Hedge Fund Strategies”
“Impact Investing Practicum”
“International Business Development”
“Lean Launchpad”
“Lean Transfer”
“Managing the New Product Development Process”
“People Development”
“Product Design”
“Product Management”
“Real Estate Investment Analysis”
“Social Lean Launchpad”
“Social Sector Solutions”
“The Startup Lab”
“Strategic and Sustainable Business Solutions”
Grade Nondisclosure Policy: Students at Haas have adopted a nondisclosure policy regarding grades. This is not an of-
ficial policy of the Haas School of Business but rather a student-led policy, voted on each year by the students.
Research Institutes and Centers:

Berkeley Center for Economics and Politics
Center for Financial Reporting and Management
Center for Social Sector Leadership
Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics
Institute for Business Innovation
• Berkeley Culture Initiative
• Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Program
• Center for Growth Markets
• Fisher Center for Business Analytics
• Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation
• Innovation, Creativity, and Design Practice
• Tusher Initiative for Management of Intellectual Capital

Institute for Business & Social Impact
• Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership
• Center for Responsible Business
Energy Institute at Haas
• Cleantech to Market
Teaching Method: Usually at the discretion of the professor, Haas uses a diverse set of teaching methods, including case
method, lecture, experiential learning, and small group projects.
Admissions Basics
Note: Any specifics discussed in this section related to application requirements were valid for the 2022–2023 admissions
season (unless otherwise noted). Be aware that requirements for any subsequent admissions cycles may differ. Always
check with the school directly to confirm all application details.
In addition to consulting the Haas admissions blog, which is updated regularly by members of the school’s admissions
team, candidates interested in applying to Haas can learn more about the MBA program and the application process
through a series of online chats (transcripts of which are posted on the admissions website) and podcasts. Haas Student
Ambassadors are another resource for interested candidates. These are students who have been selected to assist the
school’s Admissions Office by helping applicants understand Haas from a student’s perspective, including facilitating
campus visits by interested applicants.
The Application Process: Applicants to Haas should first register online on the admissions page on the school’s website.
By registering, applicants become able to receive emails and take part in upcoming events and information sessions,
have access to all application instructions, and can track their application. Applications for each round are viewed to-
gether in random order. All applications are read by at least two members of the admissions team. Trained representa-
tives of the Admissions Office, including alumni, perform interviews, which are scheduled four to six weeks after each
application deadline.
Admissions Rounds: Haas has three admissions rounds and candidates are encouraged to apply when their application
is the strongest. Although offers are made in each round, the final round typically involves the fewest offers, and schol-
arship opportunities may also be diminished. A second-year student recommended to mbaMission, “If you’re excited
about Haas and want to go there, be prepared to wait, and don’t worry until the deadline passes.”
Consortium: Haas is part of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management (www.cgsm.org). Consortium applicants
apply through the consortium and do not fill out a separate full-time MBA application. Candidates who are invited to in-
terview will be asked to complete a Haas interview as well as a consortium interview.
GMAT/GRE/GPA Cutoffs: Haas has no GMAT or GRE score cutoffs; however, 80% of the class entering in the fall of 2022
had a GMAT score between 700 and 760, a verbal GRE score between 153 and 167, and a quant GRE score between 155 and
169. The admissions committee is particularly interested in the quantitative portion of the GMAT as a means of measur-

ing mathematic proficiency. Applicants are required to report all scores, but the highest will be weighed most heavily.
Haas likewise does not have a minimum GPA, but a GPA of 3.0 or better will aid in serious consideration.
Test Scores and Waivers: Haas accepts the GMAT and the
Average GMAT of Incoming Average GPA of Incoming Students
GRE from applicants. Haas does not offer test score waiv-
Students (Class of 2024) (Class of 2024)
ers.
Chicago Booth 729 Chicago Booth 3.60
Word Limits: Haas’s admissions essays in the 2023–2024 Columbia Business School 729 Columbia Business School 3.60
admissions cycle had a word limit of 300 words maximum, Cornell Johnson1 710 Cornell Johnson1 3.30
although limits have ranged from 250 to 500 words in the
Dartmouth Tuck 726 Dartmouth Tuck 3.52
past. An admissions specialist stated in a past online ad-
Duke Fuqua NA Duke Fuqua NA
missions chat, “The word count limits for the essays are
established so we can see how well you can express your Harvard Business School1 730 Harvard Business School 3.70
thoughts, points, and ideas concisely and effectively. … It Michigan Ross 720 Michigan Ross 3.50
is acceptable for an essay to be a few words over the limit.
MIT Sloan1 730 MIT Sloan 3.62
However, if an essay goes substantially over the word lim-
Northwestern Kellogg 729 Northwestern Kellogg 3.70
it it could be detrimental to your application.”
NYU Stern 733 NYU Stern 3.62
International Quotas: Haas has no quotas for internation- Stanford GSB 737 Stanford GSB 3.76
al students, but typically, international students make up
UC Berkeley Haas 729 UC Berkeley Haas 3.64
35%–45% of each incoming class.
UCLA Anderson 711 UCLA Anderson NA
Younger Candidates: In response to a question in an on- UPenn Wharton 733 UPenn Wharton 3.60
line Haas admissions chat about older candidates, an as-
UVA Darden 720 UVA Darden 3.51
sociate director of admissions stated simply, “Age is in no
Yale SOM1 725 Yale SOM1 3.69
way a consideration in our admissions decisions.” Stu-
dents entering in the fall of 2022 had an average 5.6 years 1
Represents median rather than average. 1
Represents median rather than average.
of work experience; an average age was not reported.
Unemployment/Layoffs: Applicants who have been laid off and are currently unemployed—or who have a layoff on their
resume—will not be viewed negatively in the admissions process. In response to a question about unemployment in an
online admissions chat, an assistant director of admissions said, “We understand that each applicant has a unique situ-
ation both professionally and personally. Not being fully employed will NOT be a detriment to your application, but you’ll
want to be clear in your application of your recent job situation, i.e., your employer is reducing headcount.” In an online
admissions chat, an associate director of admissions at Haas noted that the school is interested in learning about what
the unemployed candidates have done or are doing with their downtime, saying, “We’d like to understand how you spent
the time while unemployed. … How did this time better prepare you for business school or your post MBA career?”
Recommendations: Haas requires two letters of recommendation. The admissions committee is clear that recommen-
dation letters should be professional in nature, rather than academic or personal. Although the committee prefers that
at least one of the letters come from a current employer, it understands that such letters can sometimes be difficult to

obtain. However, applicants who are not submitting letters from current supervisors should explain why. Letters should
reflect professional experiences through either direct supervision or client interaction.
Campus Visits: The admissions committee recommends that applicants visit Haas if at all possible; however, visits are
not required, and a candidate’s application is not viewed negatively if the applicant is unable to travel to the school. The
school’s Campus Visitation Program is coordinated by the Haas Student Ambassadors and offers applicants an oppor-
tunity to better understand student life at Haas. In addition to the Campus Visitation Program, both on- and off-campus
information sessions are held worldwide throughout the year.
A visit to Haas does not give applicants an official advantage in the admissions process. However, the admissions com-
mittee is looking to see that applicants have done an appropriate amount of research on the Haas program. This can
certainly be accomplished through a visit to campus, but many other venues are also available to gain an understanding
of the Haas MBA experience.
Interviews: Interviews are by invitation only, and no applicant is admitted without an in-person interview. Approximately
25%–30% of applicants are invited to interview, and if a candidate is unable to travel to campus for such a meeting, an
off-campus interview can be arranged. Trained interviewers are available in numerous cities throughout the world. Invi-
tations to interview are issued approximately four to six weeks after each admissions round’s deadline and continue to
be issued on a rolling basis until the deadline for notifications for that round. In an online admissions chat, an assistant
director of admissions noted that of those applicants interviewed, approximately 50% are ultimately admitted.
Financial Aid: As part of a public university, Haas has a tuition that is lower than that of most U.S. business schools, and
according to the Financial Aid section of the school’s admissions website, “approximately 70 percent of Berkeley-Haas
students receive some form of financial assistance, which can include federal and private loans, Haas scholarships, and
instructorships.” During the 2021–2022 academic year, the school awarded approximately $13M to entering MBA students.
Reapplicants: If a candidate is reapplying within two years of their first application, only portions of the application need
to be submitted. Details are outlined on the Reapplicants page of the Haas admissions website at https://mba.haas.
berkeley.edu/admissions/reapplying. The admissions committee strongly encourages reapplicants to provide a state-
ment demonstrating how their candidacy has improved since their previous application submission. Stated an associate
director of admissions in an online admissions chat, “We are looking for substantial change from when you first applied
to the MBA program. We ask that you include a reapplication statement which states your case for why you are a stronger
applicant than when you first applied. There are reapplicants who do get admitted to the program on the second try. The
key is showing this substantial change.” In addition, the school encourages that one or both letters of recommendation
should be resubmitted.
Students’ Advice for Applicants: To get additional input on admissions at Haas, we asked several students we inter-
viewed what advice and insights they would offer someone considering applying to the school. One first-year student
bluntly cautioned, “Be prepared for a lot of work,” and a second year advised applicants to “visit campus” and “meet lots of
people before deciding on a school.” She added, “I was surprised how much culture varied among schools, and given how
much time you will be spending with those people, it’s really important that it’s a good fit.” Similarly, another second year
with whom we spoke stressed the importance of knowing what one wants from a business school and fully researching

target programs, saying, “You absolutely have to do your soul searching to know where you would have the best experi-
ence. Physical visits to schools you are interested in [are] also a must. This may add some cost to the application pro-
cess, but it is irrelevant compared to the cost of making an incorrect decision.”
School (Class of 2024) Women International Minorities Most Common Undergraduate Major for Incoming Students
(Class of 2024)
Chicago Booth 40% 37% 47%
Chicago Booth Business 25%
Columbia Business 44% 51% 42%1
School Columbia Business School Business 33%
Cornell Johnson 39% 43% 16%4 Cornell Johnson NA NA

Dartmouth Tuck 45% 43%2,3 31%1
Dartmouth Tuck Arts / Humanities / Social 41%
Duke Fuqua 48% 39% 43% Sciences
Harvard Business 46% 52% 38%1,2 Duke Fuqua Engineering / Natural 33%
School Sciences
Michigan Ross 42% 36% 42%1,2 Harvard Business School Engineering 28%
MIT Sloan 46% 40% 32%4 Michigan Ross STEM 40%
Northwestern Kellogg 48% 38% 37%4 MIT Sloan Engineering 29%
NYU Stern 45% 44%2,3 21%4 Northwestern Kellogg Economics / Business 45%
Stanford GSB 44% 37%2,3 51% NYU Stern Business 27%

UC Berkeley Haas 46% 41% 45%
Stanford GSB Engineering 24%
UCLA Anderson 35% 47% 28%
UC Berkeley Haas Engineering 23%
UPenn Wharton 50% 35% 35% 1
UCLA Anderson Business 26%
UVA Darden 37% 43% 20% 1
UPenn Wharton Humanities and STEM (Tied) 34%

Yale SOM 43% 48% 2,3
54% 1
UVA Darden NA NA
Yale SOM STEM 38%

1
Specified as U.S. minorities.
2
Includes permanent U.S. residents.
3
Includes dual citizens.
4
Specified as underrepresented minorities.
UC Berkeley Haas Essay Tips, 2023–2024
For its first required application essay, the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, wants can-
didates to dig deep on a personal level and discuss something about which they are passionate, and for its second, ap-
plicants are asked to explain where they hope to go professionally after earning their MBA. The school’s third prompt
hearkens back to a question Haas last posed in 2010 and centers on the school’s four distinctive defining principles. This
time, however, candidates are asked to respond via a short video, rather than a traditional essay. Applicants must then

submit a brief essay on their firsthand experience with a diversity-related situation or issue. The Haas admissions com-
mittee takes a slightly different approach to the optional essay than most programs do, offering both a short, multipart
questionnaire (which is less complicated than it might seem at first glance) and a straightforward prompt that invites
applicants, if needed, to address any unclear or problem areas in their profile. Together, the essays should allow you to
offer insight into who you are as an individual and who you hope to be as a future business leader, to complement the
information presented in your resume, recommendations, and basic stats. Read on for our more detailed analysis of all
the school’s 2023–2024 prompts.
Required Essay #1: What makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why? (300 words maximum)
Perhaps you are familiar with the psychological concept of “flow,” which is a mental state people enter when they are
completely immersed in and focused on something they enjoy and are enthusiastic about—it is also described as being
“in the zone.” With this question, Berkeley Haas is basically asking you to discuss what puts you in the zone. If you are truly
excited about something—and, we would assume, therefore engage in it on a regular basis—writing about it should not
prove too challenging. Like all other application questions, this one has no “right” answer, so do not try to guess what you
think the school wants to hear. Authenticity is key to your success here. Note that the prompt includes the words “when
you are doing it,” so although you may feel strongly about certain causes or values, such as animal rights or environmen-
tal matters, for this essay, you will need to discuss an activity rather than an ideology.
The school does not stipulate that your topic needs to come from a specific area of your life (e.g., professional life, com-
munity service, personal life). We appreciate that you are likely passionate about your career, but this is not automatical-
ly your best choice for a topic here, especially given that the school’s second required essay offers a better opportunity
to discuss your professional side. What Berkeley Haas wants to learn from this essay is what gets your heart pumping
and mind revving. Enthusiasm and intensity can be very inspiring and energizing and can lead to big ideas and actions.
Sharing what incites such feelings in you gives the admissions committee an idea of where you might someday make an
impression on the world, how you might leave your mark—especially once you are equipped with all you will gain and learn
during your MBA experience.
That said, do not worry if the thing you feel so fervently about might initially seem commonplace to someone else. For
example, perhaps you feel passionate about basketball. Because this is an interest anyone could share and enjoy, you
might have concerns that it could sound pedestrian or unremarkable—and for many, this is a completely unremarkable
pastime and one they should not write about. If, however, you can show that you have engaged with basketball in a way
that takes the activity well beyond being a commonplace hobby and that it is something you connect with on a deep level
and in various ways (perhaps having played for many years, you now coach youth teams from underprivileged neighbor-
hoods in your community), then it most definitely becomes an acceptable discussion topic. In such a case, basketball
could be used to reveal intensity, dedication, commitment to yourself and others, growth, longevity, and/or resilience. Of
course, we are offering basketball here just for illustration purposes. We imagine you likely feel the flow when engaging
in a completely different activity or even in disparate activities that are unified by a single behavior, such as when you are
creating something or perhaps motivating others. The options are very much endless.
Once you have identified the passion you wish to discuss, avoid simply telling the admissions committee about it and in-
stead illustrate how it manifests in your life. For example, rather than starting your essay by stating, “I have been watch-

ing and playing basketball since I was a child,” you need to create a more vivid impression of your dedication and involve-
ment, such as “From playing with my brothers after school to varsity ball in college to now coaching a youth league in my
community, I can hardly remember a time when basketball wasn’t an integral part of my life.” Or consider a more narrative
approach, such as, “Dripping with sweat, I thrust my right arm up and knocked the basketball away, just as the buzzer
sounded.” Once you have set the scene and presented the object of your fervor, you must then explain why you connect
with it so strongly or so well. Perhaps it gives you a sense of peace or purpose, or it makes you feel connected with others
in a meaningful way, or it allows you to challenge yourself mentally or physically. A successful essay response will not only
paint a clear picture of your passion but also highlight the elements of your personality that make it significant to you.
Required Essay #2: How will an MBA help you achieve your short-term and long-term career goals? (300 words max)
With this rather no-nonsense query about your motivation to earn an MBA and expectations as to where you will go with
it professionally after graduation, Haas simply wants you to spell out what you have in mind as you approach this phase of
your life and career. With just 300 words, focus on presenting your answer as directly and thoroughly as possible. Keep in
mind that the rest of your application needs to provide evidence that your stated goals align with your existing skills and
interests, especially once they have been augmented by an MBA education. This will show that your professed objectives
are achievable and thereby lend credibility to your statement. Also take care to present your goals in such a way that the
transition from your short-term objective to your long-term aspiration makes sense. The school does not ask specifically
about past experiences or what about its program in particular makes it the best one for you, though a very brief mention
of either would be acceptable if particularly important to conveying your main points.
This straightforward question basically constitutes the core of a typical personal statement essay. And because per-
sonal statements are similar from one application to the next, we created our mbaMission Personal Statement Guide,
which helps applicants write this style of essay for any school. This publication is available free of charge and provides
both detailed guidance and illustrative sample essays. Be sure to download your copy today at http://info.mbamission.
com/MBA-Personal-Statement-Guide.
Required Essay #3: (Video) The Berkeley MBA program develops leaders who embody our four Defining Leadership
Principles (https://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/defining-principles). Briefly introduce yourself to the admissions com-
mittee, explain which leadership principle resonates most with you, and tell us how you have exemplified the principle
in your personal or professional life. (Not to exceed 2 minutes.)
Start by taking a deep breath. We understand that video essays can make you feel like you are being put on the spot, but
Haas is really not trying to stress you out. The admissions committee simply wants a more dynamic representation of
your personality than a written essay can provide. So just deliver your response honestly, as smoothly as you can (despite
any nervousness you might be feeling), and be yourself.
If you have not done so already, you should of course start by familiarizing yourself with the four Defining Leadership
Principles so you can determine which one you connect with most and should therefore speak on in your video: Question
the Status Quo, Confidence Without Attitude, Students Always, and Beyond Yourself. This question offers you incred-
ible flexibility and is essentially an opportunity for you to share a strong relevant story from your past—one that relates
directly to one of the four key principles. First you must “introduce yourself to the admissions committee,” and given that

this part is about a topic you know very well (you!), the only real challenge will be keeping this portion succinct. (Remem-
ber that your entire video can be no longer than two minutes!) After that, launch right into your story. Absolutely avoid
beginning your anecdote with a statement like “The key principle I have displayed is [fill in the blank].” Instead, let your
actions speak for themselves and naturally reveal the connection with one of Haas’s four key tenets. If that connection is
not clear on its own, you need to keep refining your story until it is. In a little under two minutes, you can absolutely convey
a clear narrative with a distinct beginning, middle, and end that shows the admissions committee your strengths, rather
than simply stating that you possess certain characteristics. Do not use any part of your video to pitch your candidacy,
detail your career goals, or express your admiration for the program.
Remember to bring energy and enthusiasm to your submission. You are trying to connect with the admissions committee
as well as communicate information, so a little charisma is welcome.
Required Essay #4 (Short Answer): Can you please describe any experience or exposure you have in the area of di-
versity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging whether through community organizations, personal, or in the work-
place? (150 words max)
Without question, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are on many people’s (and companies’) minds these days, and
Haas is certainly not the only top MBA program asking its applicants to discuss these topics. Some schools are asking
candidates to discuss a time when they cultivated a more diverse community or encountered a challenge related to DEI
or had their world view altered by a DEI-related experience, but Haas’s prompt leaves things a bit more open-ended: “any
experience or exposure” (emphasis ours). Given that this is a required essay—albeit a short one—this leeway will likely be
helpful to candidates who might have less exposure to such issues or environments.
You can draw from any area of your life (professional, personal, community/volunteer), so truly reflect on the entirety of
your background for possible stories for this essay. Consider your role in the different situations. Were you a leader of a
diverse team? A participant or member of a diverse group? An observer? The object of someone else’s focus? Next, con-
sider both your actions and the effect the experience had on you. Did you learn a valuable takeaway or change your mind
about an issue, person, or group? Did you change someone else’s perspective? Were you inspired to act in some way—or
to maybe cease acting in some way? Did you have to (or choose to) speak up or confront someone, and if so, why?
You do not need to have led a revolution or camped out for days in protest to craft a compelling, effective response to this
question (though such stories would understandably make an impression). Authenticity, honesty, and sincerity are all
key here. Speak genuinely and directly about your personal experience in the DEI/justice/belonging space and share its
import for you and the effect it has had on you, so the Haas admissions committee can understand your level of familiar-
ity and engagement with these meaningful issues.
Optional Essays: The admissions team takes a holistic approach to application review and seeks to understand all
aspects of a candidate’s character, qualifications, and experiences. We will consider achievements in the context of
the opportunities available to a candidate. Some applicants may have faced hardships or unusual life circumstances,
and we will consider the maturity, perseverance, and thoughtfulness with which they have responded to and/or over-
come them.

Optional Information #1: We invite you to help us better understand the context of your opportunities and achieve-
ments.
1. What is the highest level of education completed by your parent(s) or guardian(s)?

• Did not complete high school
• High school diploma or equivalency (GED), associate’s degree (junior college), or vocational degree/
license
• Bachelor’s degree (BA, BS)
• Master’s degree (MA, MS)
• Doctorate or professional degree (MD, JD, DDS)
2. What is the most recent occupation of your parent(s) or guardian(s)?

• Unemployed
• Homemaker
• Laborer
• Skilled worker
• Professional
3. If you were raised in one of the following household types, please indicate.
• Raised by a single parent
• Raised by an extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin)
• Raised in a multi-generational home
• Raised in foster care
4. What was the primary language spoken in your childhood home?
5. If you have ever been responsible for providing significant and continuing financial or supervisory support
for someone else, please indicate.
• Child
• Spouse
• Sibling
• Parent
• Extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin)
• Other
6. Please elaborate on any of your above responses. Alternatively, you may use this opportunity to expand on
other hardships or unusual life circumstances that may help us understand the context of your opportunities,
achievements, and impact. (300 words maximum)
Optional Information #2: This section should only be used to convey relevant information not addressed elsewhere
in your application. This may include explanation of employment gaps, academic aberrations, supplemental course-
work, etc. You are encouraged to use bullet points where appropriate.

Although Berkeley Haas’s first optional essay prompt is somewhat elaborate, it is not necessarily all that complicated,
and we imagine it will offer some applicants an easy way of highlighting particular elements of their background without
having to try to fit them into a different essay. The school clearly wants direct information and basic explanation(s) from
this option, so simply answer the questions and succinctly provide any necessary clarifications using the allocated word
count. The second optional essay prompt asks applicants to focus specifically on information they deem most “relevant,”
and the lack of a word limit means candidates can fully explain whatever they feel the admissions committee truly must
know to be able to evaluate them fully and fairly, though the note about using bullet points implies that succinctness
would be appreciated. This is not, however, a blank-slate invitation to dump every bit of remaining information about
yourself that you feel the school is lacking. Also, avoid the temptation to simply reuse a strong essay you wrote for an-
other program here or to offer a few anecdotes you were unable to incorporate into your other Berkeley Haas essays. Be
judicious in your use of this opportunity, and submit an optional essay only if you truly believe a key element of your story
or profile is needed for the school to have a complete and accurate understanding of you as a candidate.
Consider downloading your free copy of our mbaMission Optional Essays Guide (https://shop.mbamission.com/prod-
ucts/mbamission-optional-essays-guide), in which we offer detailed advice on when and how to take advantage of the
optional essay (including multiple sample essays) to help you mitigate any problem areas in your profile.
The Next Step: Mastering Your Berkeley Haas Interview
Many MBA candidates find admissions interviews stressful and intimidating, but mastering this important element of
the application process is definitely possible—the key is informed preparation. And to help you develop this high level of
preparation, we offer our free Interview Guides! Download your free copy of the Berkeley Haas School of Business Inter-
view Guide today at https://shop.mbamission.com/products/haas-school-of-business-interview-guide.

Appendix:
Haas Facts and Figures
Note: Facts and figures in this section are prone to change. Occasionally, conflicts may exist between the school’s publica-
tions and its web pages. Applicants are urged to recheck facts and figures for the most up-to-date information.
Basics
Year Established: 1898

Location: Berkeley, California
Dean: Ann E. Harrison (January 2019)
Executive Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions: Eric Askins (September 2020)
Programs:
Full-Time MBA
Evening and Weekend MBA
Master of Financial Engineering Program
MBA for Executives
PhD Program
Undergraduate
Joint Degrees:
JD/MBA
MBA/MA in Global Studies
MBA/MEng (Master of Engineering)
MBA/MPH (Master’s of Public Health)
Class Profile (Class of 2024)
Enrolled Students: 247

Average GMAT: 729
GMAT Range (Middle 80%): 700–760
Average GPA: 3.64
GPA Range (Middle 80%): 3.40–3.92
Average GRE Verbal: 161
Median GRE Verbal: 162
GRE Verbal Range (Middle 80%): 153–167
Average GRE Quant: 163
Median GRE Quant: 163
GRE Quant Range (Middle 80%): 155–169

Women: 46%
LGBTQ+: 16%
Veterans: 4%
U.S. Minority Students: 45%
Underrepresented Minorities: 17%
International Students (does not include U.S. permanent residents or dual citizens): 41%
Countries Represented: 45
Average Years of Work Experience: 5.6
Range of Years of Work Experience (Middle 80%): 3.2–8.2
First-Generation Students: 13%
Employment Statistics (Class of 2022)
Mean Base Salary: $152,831

Median Base Salary: $155,000
Mean Signing Bonus: $33,418
Graduates accepted positions in the following industries:

Technology: 32.9%
Consulting: 28.2%
Financial: 13.7%
Consumer Products: 5.1%
Health Care (Including Products and Services): 5.1%
Transportation/Logistics: 3.1%
Real Estate: 2.4%
Energy/Utilities: 2.0%
Manufacturing: 2.0%
Public Sector/Nonprofit: 1.6%
Other: 1.2%
Retail: 1.2%
Entertainment: 0.8%
Government: 0.4%
Hospitality: 0.4%
Graduates accepted positions in the following functions:

Consulting: 29.8%
Technical: 19.2%
Corporate: 15.3%
Finance: 13.3%
Marketing: 7.8%

Operations/Logistics: 5.5%
Other: 3.9%
Real Estate: 2.4%
Rotational Program: 2.4%
Human Resources: 0.4%
Graduates accepted positions in the following locations:

United States: 96.0%
• West: 80.2%
San Francisco/North Bay – CA: 52.2%
South Bay – CA: 23.2%
Seattle – WA: 7.9%
Greater Los Angeles – CA: 7.4%
East Bay – CA: 6.4%
Other: 3.0%
• Northeast: 7.1%
• Southwest: 4.3%
• Midwest: 2.4%
• Mid-Atlantic: 1.2%
• South: 0.8%
International: 4.0%
• Asia: 2.4%
• Latin America and the Caribbean: 1.2%
• Europe: 0.4%
Top Hiring Companies (hired three or more students):

Adobe Systems Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc.
Bain & Company
The Boston Consulting Group
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Cruise Automation
Deloitte Consulting LLP
EY-Parthenon
Google
McKinsey & Company
Meta, Inc.
Nike, Inc.
PwC Strategy&
ServiceNow

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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Haas School of Business · 2023–2024 4

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Haas School of Business · 2023–2024 5

Admissions Guides Insider’s Guides

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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Haas School of Business · 2023–2024 7

9 Haas School of Business

54 Appendix: Haas Facts and Figures

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Haas School of Business · 2023–2024 9

Number of Applicants NA NA NA NA 3,821 4,132 4,031 3,592 3,550 3,422 3,352

Average Years of Work 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.4 5 5 5 5 5 5

2 2019 and earlier, median rather than average.

Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger

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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Haas School of Business · 2023–2024 11

Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core

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First-year students at Haas take 14 required core courses over two

First-Year Required Courses (14 courses):

• “Business Communication in Diverse Work Environments”

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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Haas School of Business · 2023–2024 14

• Corporate Social Responsibility

Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Haas School of Business · 2023–2024 15

Students will encounter

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Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers

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these trends: Senior Consultant

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Haas School of Business · 2023–2024 18

Chicago Booth Consulting 23% Chicago Booth Consulting 35.5%

Cornell Johnson NA NA Cornell Johnson Financial Services 39.0%

Dartmouth Tuck Financial Services 24% Dartmouth Tuck Consulting 47.0%

Duke Fuqua Financial Services 18% Duke Fuqua Consulting 36.0%

Michigan Ross Consulting 19% Michigan Ross Consulting 42.2%

Yale SOM Financial Services 20%

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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Haas School of Business · 2023–2024 20

Entrepreneurship, Private Equity, and Venture Capital

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Health Care and Biotechnology

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dents typically find their housing

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Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience

Corporate Social Responsibility