John Hanke, MBA 96

John Hanke, MBA 96,
(pictured above) product director of Google Earth, put satellite imagery of the world at the fingertips of anyone with access to the Internet.

Successful Startups

Full-time MBA Program

Degree Requirements

The MBA program requires satisfactory completion of 51 semester units of coursework consisting of 21 units of core courses and 30 units of elective courses. You must register and pay fees for both fall and spring semesters in each academic year (a total of four 15-week semesters). There are no courses offered during the summer. Credit may not be transferred from other graduate or undergraduate courses.

Core Requirements

The core consists of twelve courses. All must be taken in the first year to provide the foundation for the second year's advanced work.

Elective Requirements

Students may select from hundreds of elective courses, both within and outside of the business school, to fulfill the 30 unit requirement. At least 25 of the 30 elective course units must be taken in graduate business classes. The remaining units may be taken as either graduate or upper-division undergraduate courses in other departments on campus. With the permission of the MBA program director, students may take two lower-division undergraduate language courses and apply 60 percent of the credits earned toward the 30 unit elective requirement.

Waiver Examinations

Students may substitute elective courses for certain required courses if they demonstrate sufficient mastery of the subject by passing a waiver examination, which approximates the course final examination. These exams are available for six of the twelve required core courses, and are given during the week before classes begin in August and January. Short study guides are available for each course.

For complete course descriptions, please go to http://www.berkeley.edu/catalog/.

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