Experiential Learning

Haas School students have many opportunities to learn outside of the classroom, in real-world business settings. Here are some experiential learning programs that offer Haas students an opportunity to work with companies and organizations.

CorporateResponsibility@Work

Strategic CSR Consulting Projects provides MBA and undergraduate level students with a unique opportunity to engage with companies to develop CSR strategies that are aligned with business objectives and core competencies. These consulting projects are combined with classroom “best practice” lectures of companies who have attempted to implement socially responsible strategies while maintaining or maximizing financial returns.

Gap Inc. Scholars in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program is a unique fellowship opportunity that supports Haas MBA students who demonstrate a commitment to the field of corporate social responsibility in their professional and educational pursuits. The program provides two-year scholarships of $5,000 each year to three full-time incoming Haas MBAs. CSR Scholars are required to take a certain number of CSR-related courses and complete a research project for Gap Inc. during their time at Haas.

McDonald's Research Fellows in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program provides a team of second-year Haas MBA students with an opportunity to conduct a deep stakeholder engagement study on McDonald's CSR activities - giving the company a fresh perspective and new insights into its business. The corporate-sponsored program provides research fellowships to each student. The fellows work closely with a faculty director on the study and produce several key deliverables that may be used broadly and at the discretion of McDonald's.

Entrepreneurship@Work

Berkeley Solutions Group (BSG) is a Haas-student-run program that provides MBA student consultants to local new enterprises, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations at below-market rates. Student consultants typically focus on market research, feasibility studies, financial analysis, and human resource planning.

Management of Technology - Mayfield Fellows Program - is a paid summer internship program at venture capital-funded Silicon Valley high tech start-ups. These internships are made available to up to 10 graduate students at UC Berkeley.

PEL - Partners for Entrepreneurial Leadership is an innovative training program that provides MBA skills to young companies. PEL places its members with high-growth companies for summer internships, many of which continue into ongoing projects during the students' second year in the MBA program.

New Venture Fellows is a program that provides MBA students, interested in venture capital or entrepreneurship, with a hands-on opportunity to work with one or more VC affiliates on small projects throughout the semester. Fellows also manage and participate in the UC Berkeley pitch lab, which gives entrepreneurs from the UC Berkeley community an opportunity to practice their pitches and receive feedback on their ventures in a neutral environment.

Haas@Work

Haas@Work is a program that provides MBA students with an opportunity to engage with companies to address a current, high-level business challenge using innovation tools from the curriculum. A team of students will implement recommendations selected and approved by the senior executives of the client company. This group of students will enroll in the Seminar in Applied Innovation course (3 units). Read more about Haas@Work.

Peers@Haas is a year long program, designed to enable MBA candidates to elevate their leadership capabilities by providing the opportunity to achieve positive, long-term measurable change in one key leadership behavior. Participants will learn a set of tools and methods that have been successfully used by senior executives across the world to change behavior resulting in an overall improvement in leadership capacity.This program is a unique opportunity for students to build the leadership habits that will enable them to excel in their current work, after graduation and beyond.

For more information on either program contact Adam Berman.

International@Work

International Business Development (IBD) program is a global management consulting program operated by the Clausen Center. Extremely popular with both MBA students and organizations and companies around the world, IBD has been assigning teams of MBA consultants to projects for 16 years.

Seminars in International Business provides groups of students with an opportunity to investigate, first hand, the opportunities and challenges of doing business internationally. Five programs are offered each year. Seminars in International Business has been offered since 1999.

Management of Technology - International Research Program (Bridging the Divide) provides students with an opportunity to travel to Asia, Africa and Latin America to apply innovative technologies to the problems of developing countries.

Health Management International and Community-Based Internships provides two MBA/MPH students with up to $5000 in funding to work at a domestic or international not-for-profit, non-governmental organization or quasi-governmental organization with an established internship program and a history of no stipend (i.e., WHO, UNAIDS).

Non-Profit@Work

Haas Board Fellows is a volunteer program that places Haas MBA students and Goldman MPP students as Fellows on local non-profit boards of directors. Student Fellows work closely with executive directors and board members, serve on board committees, attend full board meetings, and participate in special events and projects. Essentially, they act as non-voting members of the board during their nine month term.

Social Sector Solutions or S-cubed
The purpose of this course is to provide students with academic frameworks and practical hands-on experience in management consulting and consulting with nonprofit organizations. The course focuses on consultation teams working with select nonprofit clients to succeed in entrepreneurial ventures. A partnership with a professional management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, the course involves Paul Jansen, McKinsey & Company Director of the Global Philanthropy Practice co-teaching the class, and experienced McKinsey consultants coaching each of the student teams. (Nora Silver and Paul Jansen).

[Back to top]