- The Berkeley MBA Advantage

Curriculum

Your Haas education is anchored in the fundamentals of general management and the latest theories and best practices in business—from accounting and finance to marketing and strategy. You build a basic framework in qualitative, quantitative, analytical, strategic, and problem solving skills. And the faculty improves and updates the program regularly to reflect fast changes in the business world.

The rigorous curriculum is rooted in the scientific disciplines of the university—economics, mathematics, social sciences such as psychology and sociology, and other areas. Faculty members who are experts in these fields apply them toward increasing our knowledge of successful management, leadership, human behavior, organizational performance, and economic and market functions. As a result, you not only gain knowledge about best business practices, but also learn about the fundamental principles behind them—the "how" and the "why." The Berkeley MBA program is for individuals who like to think deeply and expand their understanding of the world.

Year One

The MBA Program is anchored by 11 required, rigorous and integrated courses that promote a general-management perspective and that provide a framework for the more function-specific courses that follow. The first year of the program is divided into four quarters. Both the fall and the spring semesters contain two separate groups of courses, A and B.

Pre-Term

Pre-enrollment Review Workshops: (optional/late summer)

Quantitative Methods Workshop: Two-week review of math, probability, statistics, accounting, and finance.
Communications Workshop: Two-week refresher of business communication, oral communication, and writing skills.

Orientation Week:
All students are welcomed to Haas during a required 5-day introduction to the program that includes curricular overviews, cohort activities, high-profile guest speakers, and an extensive introduction to leadership in the MBA curriculum.

Fall A & B

The Core
Required Core Courses A: Weeks 1-8

Data & Decisions
Economics for Business Decision Making (Microeconomics)
Leading People

Career Management Conference: Week 8

Two-day program of career planning workshops and exercises.

Required Core Courses B: Weeks 9-15

Financial Accounting
Introduction to Finance
Marketing Management
Leadership Communication

Winter Break

Global Study Opportunities
International experience is a key aspect of the Berkeley MBA program. There are several ways students can take advantage of The Haas School’s superb international offerings throughout the program, including the International Business Development program, study tours and treks, and study abroad programs.

Last winter, for example, a group of students traveled to China to visit Google’s operations, as well as LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy).

Spring A & B

The Core
Required Core Courses A: Weeks 1-8

Operational Leadership
Macroeconomics in the Global Economy

Required Core Courses B: Weeks 9-15

Ethics and Responsibility in Business
Strategic Leadership

Year Two

You have great flexibility in choosing from a wide variety of electives and dual-degree offerings—from within the Haas School and from the wider university—as well as designing courses of your own in conjunction with a faculty member. Electives, which are introduced rapidly and are updated regularly, reflect the newest ideas, trends, and thinking in business.

Summer Break

Summer Internships
Students are encouraged to work with Career Services to secure summer internships at top global firms.

Students may also participate in the International Business Development (IBD) program, which sends teams of students around the world each summer to work on various projects for foreign corporations, organizations, and governments. This past year, students visited a variety of countries, including Brazil, Laos, El Salvador, Ghana, Gabon, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Finland.

Fall

Electives
Some of the many electives typically offered in the fall semester of the second year include the following:

Investment Strategies and Styles
Negotiations and Conflict Resolution
Business Law
Real Estate Finance and Securitization
Marketing for High-Tech Entrepreneurs
The Business of Nanotechnology
Venture Capital and Private Equity
Advanced Healthcare Finance
Innovation in Services and Business Models
Global Financial Services

Winter Break

Global Study Opportunities
This past winter, groups of students traveled to cities such as New York, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv, and Beijing on global study treks. In Israel, for example, students communicated with original ICQ investor Yossi Vardi and learned about undercover life from former Mossad Chief Ephraim Halev.

Spring

Electives
Some of the many electives typically offered in the spring semester of the second year include the following:

Energy and Environmental Markets
Marketing Research
Real Estate Investment and Market Analysis
Managing Innovation and Change
Game Theory and Business Decisions

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New in the Berkeley MBA Curriculum

• The Berkeley MBA
  Leadership Development
  Series: A new series of skills
  workshops to develop your
  core leadership skills.
• Global Management:
  Increased global experience
  opportunities around the world.
• Culminating Project:
  A summing up of what you
  have learned through
  completion of a real-world
  project.

Haas and Columbia Exchange Program

The Haas School and Columbia Business School offer an exchange program for MBA students in the fall of their second year. Haas exchange students have the opportunity to take advantage of Columbia’s proximity to Wall Street and the media and entertainment industries in New York, while Columbia students who come to Haas gain exposure to Silicon Valley’s technology industry, as well as west coast finance firms and other industries such as biotech. Up to three students from each school may participate each year.