FAQs

The main difference between the programs is the profile of the students. The full-time students generally have about 5 years of work experience, Evening & Weekend students generally have about 8 years of work experience, and Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA students generally have about 12 years of work experience. All programs are competitive.

Besides looking carefully over the website, we recommend visiting the campus. During your visit you can have lunch with a student, attend an information session, and attend a class.

We also participate in and periodically sponsor events for potential students in locations around the world.

The full-time Berkeley MBA program is a two year full-time degree program. The Berkeley MBA curriculum is anchored by twelve required core courses which students complete in the first year, including leadership, finance, accounting, operations, micro- and macro-economics, strategy, organizational behavior, data and decisions, leadership communication, marketing, and business ethics. The core courses, which make up about 40% of a typical student's course of study, are deliberately designed to build upon one another and provide a common foundation for all the students in the program. Elective courses comprise 60% of the Berkeley MBA curriculum, meaning that students begin to customize their own course of study very early in the program. Students take classes Monday through Thursday. Fridays are usually spent attending discussion sessions, career services workshops and other curricular and extra-curricular activities.For further details about the curriculum, please visit http://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/academics/curriculum.html.

Our goal is to enroll 240 students in the Berkeley MBA Program each August. Each entering class is divided into four groups of 60 students. In the first semester, all students in the cohort take the same core classes. The cohort system provides a support system for first-year entering students.

Yes. Please visit our Online Chats for more frequently asked questions and answers!

Almost 70% of Haas students receive some form of financial assistance, which can include federal and private loans, fellowships, instructorships, and assistantships.

The two largest scholarship programs are the Haas Merit Scholarship and Haas Achievement Award. Haas Merit Scholarships are awarded to the most outstanding applicants overall; all MBA applicants are routinely considered for these awards, and no special application is necessary. Haas Achievement Awards are awarded to applicants who have achieved success in spite of significant economic, educational, health-related or other obstacles. Haas Merit Scholarships and Haas Achievement Awards cover either 50% or 100% of tuition and required fees for both years of MBA study.

The most common form of financial assistance is student loans, largely from programs supported by the U.S. Federal Government. Further details about federal loan options are available on our website. International students are not eligible for this loan assistance, but may apply for limited loan support through our private loan programs. Haas does not fully fund any students, and we encourage all students to plan carefully to ensure adequate financing.

On our website you'll also find information about scholarships offered by the Haas School of Business as well as outside scholarship opportunities provided by a number of external organizations for which Berkeley MBA students are eligible.

Due to the rigorous nature of the MBA curriculum, students in the full-time MBA program are not able to work off-campus during their first year. In some cases, second-year students have worked up to 10 hours per week, usually by continuing to work for the company at which they held their summer internship. More common is the opportunity for second-year students to serve as graduate student instructors (GSIs). Nearly 30% of our full-time MBA students serve in this role, which partially reduces their rate of tuition and also provides them with a small monthly stipend.

Federal financial aid, in the form of loans, is available for MBA students who are either US citizens or US permanent residents. To apply, file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. You can complete the FAFSA any time after January 1st, and we encourage you to file it prior to being admitted to Haas to help eliminate any processing delays. The UC Berkeley federal school code is 001312. Berkeley has a priority filing deadline of March 1st. Please complete the FAFSA prior to this date.

International students are not eligible for federal loans. Private loan programs are available to international students, either with or without the use of a co-signer.

If you want to be considered for scholarship opportunities outside of the Haas Merit Scholarship and Haas Achievement Award, start researching now. Our list of outside scholarship opportunities provides information about scholarships offered by external organizations for which Berkeley MBA students are eligible.

The program receives approximately 3,700 applications in a typical year. In recent years, we have received as many as 4,500 applications and as few as 2,800 applications.

There are four Application Deadlinesfor fall 2009:

• Round 1: For applications that are complete and submitted by October 20, 2009, decisions will be sent on January 27, 2010
• Round 2: For applications that are complete and submitted by December 10, 2009 decisions will be sent on March 17, 2010
• Round 3: For applications that are complete and submitted by February 2, 2010, decisions will be sent on April 28, 2010.
• Round 4: For applications that are complete and submitted by March 10, 2010, decisions will be sent on May 19, 2010.

Note:
the GMAT and TOEFL must be taken on or before the designated deadline. Your complete online application must be submitted prior to 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time the evening of the deadline. In addition, all supplemental materials must be postmarked on or before the deadline date

Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible, provided that you do not sacrifice the quality of your application to do so. If you find that you need more time to revise your essays or to retake the GMAT, for example, you should definitely take the extra time to do so. Do note, however, that we make most of our offers of admission from Rounds 1, 2, and 3. Only a small number of Round 4 applicants are offered admission each year.

U.S. citizens or permanent residents who demonstrate financial need are eligible to request a waiver of the application fee. We do not process fee waiver applications through the MBA Admissions Office. To request a waiver, please complete the online form and submit it with the required supporting materials by February 6, 2009 to the Graduate Division Office.

Please let admissions know if you have applied for a fee waiver. We are unable to process your application until we receive notice from Graduate Division that your fee waiver has been approved.

We prefer that you upload copies of official transcripts or degree certificates with your online application; and submit your official letters of recommendation electronically with your online application. If you are invited to interview, you will be required to submit official transcripts and degree certificates by mail.

You may mail any supplemental materials to:
Full-Time MBA Admissions
Haas School of Business
University of California, Berkeley
430 Student Services Bldg #1902
Berkeley, CA 94720-1902

Transcripts & Degree Certificates: You may mail official copies or photocopies of official documents for review purposes. If you are invited to interview, you will be required to submit official copies by mail. We do not accept self-reported scores, only copies of official documents. Please do NOT email electronic versions of academic records to us. They will not be accepted. Furthermore, they contain confidential information and email is not secure and could expose you to risk. The Haas School of Business is not responsible for information including academic records that are emailed to us.

Letters of Recommendation: You may ask your recommender to complete the paper recommendation form to send directly to our office. We accept no more than two letters of recommendation with the letter writers’ signature across the seals of the envelope (unless submitted online by the recommenders).

Please refrain from contacting the admissions office to verify that we have received your official transcripts or test scores. You will receive an email once your application has been initially reviewed for completeness, approximately 3 - 6 weeks from the deadline for which you applied. If anything is missing, we will send you an email outlining the missing documents.

While we require official GMAT and/or TOEFL test scores, we initially review your application based on your self-reported score, which you indicate on your online application.

The admission committee reviews your entire academic record; however, the committee focuses more heavily on your first bachelor's degree.

We do not transfer MBA credit from other universities, so any work that you had completed at other institutions will not count toward a degree at UC Berkeley. You may waive out of core courses at the discretion of the faculty, but you must replace the waived course with another class.

Please see the reapplication instructions.

See the application instructions for more information. PDFs of academic records may be uploaded via the application for each educational institution you list in the education section. We only accept PDF format for upload and ask that you determine the document will be legible and can print on an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper. Please scan BOTH sides of your transcripts. You may withdraw and re-upload your documents as often as you like, but due to security concerns you will not be able to preview your uploaded document. Please do not contact the admissions office to confirm that the upload was successful. If your documents are not legible or there were any problems during the upload, we will contact you as we prepare and set up your file for review.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is administered in three formats, internet-based, paper and pencil, and computer-based. If you take the internet-based version, you must earn a score of at least 68. If you take the paper and pencil version, your score must be at least 570 out of 677. And if you take the computer-based test, you must earn a score of at least 230 out of 300. For detailed information about the TOEFL please visit the TOEFL web site at http://www.toefl.org/

While TOEFL is preferred, you can submit scores from the Academic Modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) designed by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate and administered by the British Council worldwide.

To register for the IELTS, consult the IELTS Web site or contact the office of the test center where you plan to take the test. You may also write the British Council, Bridgewater House, 58 Whitworth Street, Manchester, M1 6BB, U.K. or email the Council.

You are responsible for providing us with an official Test Report Form (TRF) of your IELTS. Remember to order the TRF when you register to take the test. Your most recent overall BAND score must be at least 7 on a 9-point scale.

We prefer that both letters come from a current or former employer. Select individuals with whom you have had considerable professional interaction such as your supervisor or a major client. The title or status of those you select is not important. What does matter is how closely your letter writers have worked with you and whether they can attest to your value as an employee, your professional accomplishments, and your personal qualities and interpersonal skills in an organizational context. For this reason, we discourage academic references. Letters of recommendation from co-workers, someone you have supervised, or personal and family friends are inappropriate and can be detrimental to the review of your application.

It is acceptable to obtain the recommendation in the native language of the author. The original letter and an English translation completed by a professional translator should be provided.

Interviews are conducted solely at the invitation of the admissions committee, and only after the initial review of your application. Therefore, we ask that you please refrain from contacting us to request an interview. Receiving an invitation should be taken as a sign of interest on the part of the admissions committee and few applicants will be admitted without an interview. Interviews are offered both with current students on campus and with alumni in cities around the world. If you are selected for an interview, you will be notified via email anywhere from 4 weeks after submitting your application up to the notification deadline.

Minimum academic requirements for international applicants are a 4-year bachelor's degree or a master's degree (2 years after your bachelor's degree). A Postgraduate Diploma (PGDM) awarded by the Indian Institutes of Management at Ahmedabad (IIM), Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore (IIMI), or Lucknow (2 years beyond bachelor's degree) is a recognized second degree. A PGDM in Industrial Engineering awarded by the National Productivity Council (2 years beyond bachelor's degree with first class) is also recognized as a second degree. A PGDM in Industrial Engineering awarded by the National Productivity Council (2 years beyond bachelor’s degree with first class) is also recognized as a second degree.

A Postgraduate Diploma in business technology awarded by the Centre for International Management (16 mos) is an unacceptable first degree. Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Associate of Institute of Cost Works Accountants, Associate of Business Management, and Associate of Institute of Engineers are NOT acceptable as substitutes for a four-year degree. You are ineligible to be admitted with only a 3-year bachelor's degree; therefore, you would need to complete a master's degree (2 years after your bachelor's degree) or other acceptable degree in order to apply.

If you are interested in applying to the Berkeley MBA program, we suggest that you complete an application. Eligibility with regard to the degrees equivalent to a US bachelor's degree cannot be determined in advance of filing an application. The Graduate Division reserves the right to review the official academic records of all applicants whose undergraduate degrees were earned outside the US to determine whether the academic credentials presented for a foreign institution are comparable to the US bachelor's degree.

You must have a Login Account to access the Online Application and you must have your internet browser set to accept cookies. To get a Login and Password you have two options:

Complete a "Request Program Guide" form. After creating your login account, return to the Online Application opening page and click on "Apply Online". You will be sent to a site that asks for your Login and Password. Click the "register here" link and you will be sent to a site that asks you to re-enter and confirm your name and date of birth. After you enter this information you will be given a username and a password. We will also send you an email with this information. You can change your password to something more easily remembered by clicking the Password link on the Admissions menu.

If you do not want to receive a copy of our paper Program Guide, click on Login/out on the Admissions menu. You will be sent to a site that asks you to enter and confirm your name and date of birth. Click the "register here" link. You will be asked to enter some basic information. After entering this information, you will be sent back to the site where you can re-enter and confirm your name and birth date. After you enter this information you will be given a username and password. We will also email you this information. You can change your password to something more easily remembered by clicking the "Password" link on the Admissions menu.

Please note that we cannot delete a recommendation that has already been submitted.

If you have not yet submitted your application, please phone the admissions office at (510) 642-1405, and we will delete your recommender for you. You may then add your new recommender information. If you have already submitted your online application, we will have to manually enter your new recommender information. Please phone the admissions office directly. The admissions office is open Monday - Friday from 9 am - 4 pm Pacific Time.
Please note that we cannot delete a recommendation that has already been submitted.

If your questions are not answered in our Program Guide or application, please feel free to contact us Monday through Friday at (510) 642-1405 between 9am - 4pm.