Haas School of Business - UC Berkeley
Just miles away from Silicon Valley, the Haas School of Business gives students opportunities to work with leading businesses. Haas is UC Berkeley’s b-school, a university that has produced several world-renowned entrepreneurs. UC Berkeley alumni have founded companies like Apple, Tesla, Intel, eBay, SoftBank, AIG, and Morgan Stanley.
Founded in 1898, Haas School of Business is the second oldest business school in the US. Not only that, Haas was the first business school at a public university. Haas School of Business has some of the top degree programs in the world for business. It is one of three business schools in the Global Network for Advanced Management, and two of Haas’s esteemed faculty members are Nobel Laureates. And that’s just scratching the surface of an impressive list of accolades given to the school and its alumni!
The program gets its name from an influential graduate, Walter A. Haas. Haas graduated from Berkeley’s College of Commerce over a century ago in 1910. In 1914, he married Elise Stern, grandniece of Levi Strauss (of Levi Strauss & Co). Haas began working at Levi Strauss in 1919 and served as president from 1928 to 1955. He was chairman until 1970.
Haas was leader of the business school’s first advisory council and had a close relationship with Dean E.T. Grether. He continued to be a benefactor of the school and a friend of deans who served after Grether. Haas’s three children made what was then the largest contribution in the school’s history to fund the business school’s current building. Shortly after, the university renamed the school in honor of Walter.
Program Overview
Haas School of Business prides itself on providing a relevant, hands-on education. During the two-year MBA program, students learn from case studies, seminars, simulations, group projects, and guest speakers. They also get their hands dirty by working on projects for local and global companies.
The first part of the program consists of twelve core courses, which fulfill almost half of the units required to graduate. The other half consists of elective courses so students can create a program that fits their unique goals. If a course is not available, students may also design their own course or independent study program with a faculty member.
| School Rank: | #8 |
| Course Duration: | full-time, 2-year program |
| Median GMAT: | 730 |
| GMAT Range: | 690 - 760 |
| Approx. Class Size: | 291 |
| Avg. Work Experience: | 5.5 years |
| Tuition Cost (per year): | $65,360 |
| Average Age of Student: | 28 |
| Average Salary: | $143,696 |
| Average Consulting Salary: | $157,571 |
| % Employed after 3 months: | 88.3% |
| Location: | Berkeley, California |
Degrees Offered
- Accounting
- Consulting
- E-Commerce
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship
- Finance
- General Management
- Health Care Administration
- Human Resource Management
- International Business
- Leadership
- Manufacturing and Technology Management
- Marketing
- Management Information Systems
- Not-For-Profit Management
- Production/Operations Management
- Organizational Behavior
- Portfolio Management
- Public Administration
- Public Policy
- Real Estate
- Supply Chain Management/Logistics
- Quantitative Analysis/Statistics and Operations Research
- Technology
Specialty
- Executive MBA
- Master of Financial Engineering
- Executive Education
- Evening & Weekend MBA
Program Details
Are you divided into cohorts? Yes
Haas School of Business offers a rigorous program that emphasizes teamwork and experiential learning. The standard MBA program is a two-year, full-time program, but Haas also offers a part-time MBA program with evening and weekend classes.
The first semester consists of fourteen core courses that cover foundational business principles. Courses cover topics such as accounting, finance, economics, marketing, operations, strategy leadership, decision-making and management. Students are required to fulfill an experiential learning or “applied innovation” program. A dozen programs are available where students work with small teams to help corporations develop business strategies. Twenty courses must be completed to fulfill this requirement.
Students are permitted to start taking elective courses during the second semester of their first year. Electives allow students to sharpen their skills and gain specialized knowledge in one area. If their desired field of study is not available, students can work with faculty members to design their own course.
During the second year, students continue to choose electives from a wide array of options. In addition to the courses offered by Haas, students have access to graduate classes throughout UC Berkeley.
Haas School of Business aims to develop students who are able to thrive in teams. Starting at orientation, students are divided into study teams and larger cohorts. The Teams@Haas curriculum teaches science-based collaboration skills and gives opportunities to apply them in every learning experience. Students learn the art of giving and receiving feedback, how to diagnose and improve team dynamics, and when to change course with a class project or client.
Multiple joint degree programs are available at Haas. Students may pursue an MBA and JD with UC Berkeley School of Law or UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. UC Berkeley School of Public Health offers an MBA and MBH program. An MBA and MA in Global Studies is also available with various UC Berkeley Schools. Finally, students may pursue an MBA and MEng joint degree.
Can you do a joint degree while at the school? Ex: MBA/MD between HBS and Harvard Medical School: Yes
What Makes Haas School of Business Unique?
Haas School of Business MBA students can choose from over fifty student organizations. Clubs range from professional to cultural to athletic clubs. Berkeley also has a variety of competitions designed to raise money for different charities like the Special Olympics. Students can also create their own competitions. The Patagonia Case competition was created in 2016 to solve a real problem the company was facing. The Technology Club launched the Haas Tech Challenge in 2011 (Google was the sponsor for the event one year).
Haas School of Business hosts ten conferences throughout the year. Some events are industry and affiliation-related such as the Berkeley Energy Symposium and Women in Leadership conference. Other events include:
- Haas Healthcare Conference
- UC Berkeley Startup Competition
- Global Social Venture Competition
Professors received an overall rating of 4.51 out of 5 according to The Economist. Berkeley also uses its own seven-point scale to evaluate instructors and courses. Faculty who average a score of six or higher become members for “Club 6.” Visitors or lecturers who receive a score below four are usually not rehired.
What is the Haas School of Business campus like?
Haas School of Business is comprised of three buildings designed by architect Charles Moore. Classrooms, student services, and faculty offices each have their own building, all facing a main courtyard. The majority of students choose to live off-campus, but a few take advantage of on-campus housing available for grad students.
The downtown business district of Berkeley sits just west of campus. Northwest of campus is the North Berkeley neighborhood, which offers a variety of high-quality dining opportunities. Telegraph Avenue, one of Berkeley’s main shopping districts, lies south of campus. The UC Berkeley campus has quite a few attractions of its own including museums and a botanical garden. Strawberry Creek flows right into the main campus.
The UC Berkeley campus is located just northeast of San Francisco and Silicon Valley. San Francisco is home to world-famous attractions like the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, cable cars, and its Chinatown district.
Notable Alumni
Here are just a few notable Haas alumni:
- Richard Blum, Chairman, Blum Capital Partners, Founder & Chairman, American Himalayan Foundation & Founder, Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies
- Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO Adobe Systems Inc.
- Barbara Desoer, Chief Technology & Operations Officer, Bank of America
- Paul Otellini, President, and CEO, Intel Corporation
- W. “Tom” Clausen, Former Bank of America and World Bank Chief
- Arun Sarin, Former CEO, Vodafone Group Plc
- Peter E. Haas, Sr., Director & CEO Levi Strauss & Co.
- Michael Blumenthal, Chairman & CEO, Unisys Corporation
- John Hanke, CEO, and Co-Founder, Niantic, Inc.
- Albert Lee, Vice President, Under Armour Connected Fitness, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, MyFitnessPal
Haas School of Business Employment Report
The Haas MBA Employment Report highlights statistics like average salary and signing bonus for the Haas 2021 graduating class. The report also contains employment data by region, industry, and function. The top companies hiring Haas MBAs include impressive names like BCG, Bain, McKinsey, Deloitte, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Adobe, and Google. A few fun employment facts about Haas:
- % of grads employed after 3 months: 88.3%
- Average overall salary (USD): $143,696
- Average signing bonus: $33,775
To find out what the prospects are for you to break into consulting from Haas School of Business, see our breakdown of the Haas School of Business Employment Report.