Healthcare

Developing Leaders to Innovate in Healthcare

With its concurrent MBA/MPH degree with the School of Public Health and abundant course and co-curricular offerings, Berkeley Haas is at the forefront of preparing leaders who are innovating and reinventing the healthcare sector.

Our opportunities in healthcare management and innovation (HMI) connect you to specialized coursework, experiential learning, and myriad professional development opportunities in everything from biotech to big data, and from delivery to digital therapeutics.

Berkeley Haas attracts a significant number of students pursuing a career in healthcare (approximately 11.6 percent for the class of 2020). Most of these students are part of the Haas Healthcare Association, which organizes an annual Business of Healthcare Conference. 

Video: Healthcare student perspectives

 

Sample Health Management Coursework

Healthcare in the 21st Century

Understand healthcare delivery challenges with a systematic overview of the U.S. healthcare system, from structure to financing. Dive into the key challenges and opportunities to disrupt this $3.3T industry.

Commercializing Biotech and Pharma

Explore some of the major launch and financing decisions facing biotech firms as they seek capital or access to emerging products/development platforms, including key issues relevant for larger, established firms as well as for life science start-ups.

Innovations in Healthcare

Gain insight into the latest innovations in healthcare service delivery, information technology, and medical devices, hearing from leading entrepreneurs and making investment decisions.

Students may also take courses at Berkeley Law, the School of Public Health, the Goldman School of Public Policy, and the School of Information.

Experiential Learning Opportunities in Healthcare

International Business Development  

International Business Development (IBD) explores the issues of conducting business in an international context, with a three-week project, typically in a developing economy, and with clients such as the Seva Foundation, Population Services International, and Novartis.


Social Sector Solutions

In Social Sector Solutions, students develop skills and knowledge in problem solving, management consulting, and nonprofit organizations in partnership with McKinsey & Company coaches. Previous clients have included the Ellen Meadows Prosthetic Hand Foundation, the UCSF/UCB Joint Medical Program, and the SF Council on Child Abuse Prevention.

See the full list of Berkeley MBA experiential learning opportunities

Health Management Faculty Spotlight

Professor Paul Gertler is considered an early pioneer in the randomized evaluations of social programs in developing countries, and has served as chief economist for the Human Development Network at the World Bank. He teaches Applied Impact Evaluation and Design & Evaluation of Development Technology.

Associate Professor Jonathan Kolstad was named the 2018 top health economics researcher under 40 by the American Society of Health Economists. He teaches Big Data and Better Decisions and eHealth: Business Models and Impact.

Jeffrey Ford is an MBA/MPH alum and a partner at Deloitte Consulting in healthcare and life sciences strategy. He teaches Commercialization of Biotech and Strategic Healthcare Finance.

Kim MacPherson is executive director of Health Management & Innovation at Berkeley Haas, director of the MBA/MPH program, and co-director of the Berkeley Center for Health Technology. She teaches Health Care in the 21st Century, Unlocking Digital Health Innovation and Commercializing Biotech & Pharma.

As a senior managing director of GE Ventures, Lisa Suennen leads healthcare venture investing activities. She teaches Healthcare Venture Capital and Healthcare Innovation.

Healthcare Research Centers

Through the Berkeley Center for Health Technology (BCHT), students access coursework, workshops, internships, and career support. The center promotes the efficiency and effectiveness of medical technologies through learning opportunities such as the BCHT-Genentech Flex Intern program

The Berkeley-UCSF Startup Marketplace provides Berkeley Haas MBA students with experience working with early-stage science startups developed by UCSF scientists and faculty members.

The California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) is a nonprofit research and technology commercialization institute spanning UC Berkeley, UCSF, and UC Santa Cruz.

Healthcare Co-Curriculars

The Haas Healthcare Association is an interdisciplinary student-run organization that brings together students focused on the intersection of business and health care. The club organizes a speaker series that examines trends in biotech, pharma, and global health, as well as a digital health hackathon and the annual Business of Healthcare Conference.

For more than 10 years, the Haas Healthcare Conference has welcomed corporate leaders, students, life sciences gurus, digital health entrepreneurs, and public health champions to explore market and industry trends.

Over the course of a seven-month fellowship, the Berkeley Board Fellows build governance and leadership skills. Previous clients include Lifelong Medical Care, Hyde Street Community Services, Huckleberry Youth Programs, and Cancer CAREpoint.

Support for Careers in Healthcare

Students leverage their co-curricular experiences, the Berkeley Haas Alumni Network, the Berkeley Center for Health Technology, and the Career Management Group to pursue careers in healthcare management and innovation. Abbott Diabetes Care, Genentech, Eli Lilly & Co, Intuitive Surgical, Kaiser Permanente, Evidation Health, Biogen Idec, Manifest Medex, and McKinsey are among the firms that have hired recent grads.

Our graduates live all over the world and work in every sector of healthcare. They also maintain close relationships with Berkeley Haas, returning to campus to meet and mentor students. Berkeley Haas alumni in fields related to healthcare include:

  • Joe Jimenez, former CEO of Novartis
  • Sarah Krevans, CEO of Sutter Health
  • Jennifer Cook, former CEO of Grail
  • Jennifer Liebermann, Director of Kaiser Permanente’s Garfield Innovation Center
  • Amy Belt Raimundo, Managing Director of KP Ventures