Haas School of Business – University of California, Berkeley

FAQ

What is the tuition for Haas’s MBA program?

The tuition for Haas’s MBA program is $68,444 per year. The total cost of the Haas MBA program is $106,348 per year; this includes budgeted living expenses.

How hard is it to get into Haas’s MBA program?

The acceptance rate for Haas is 13.2% It is important to consider the acceptance rate in the context of the student profile of those who are admitted. For example the average GMAT score is 727.

What is the average GMAT score for admission to Haas’s MBA program?

The average GMAT score for the incoming class at Haas is 727. The GMAT middle 80% range is 690 to 760.

Does the Haas MBA program accept the GRE?

Yes. The Haas MBA program has accepted the GRE for a few years now.

What is the average GRE score for admission to Haas’s MBA program?

The average GRE score for the incoming class at Haas is 161 Verbal, 161 Quant.

What is the minimum number of years of work experience required for admission to Haas’s MBA program?

Haas does not state a minimum requirement for years of work experience. However, it is important for candidates to be aware that they are being considered against other candidates with an average of 5.3 years of experience.

What is the average number of years of work experience for admission to Haas’s MBA program? (or, What is the average age of a Haas MBA student?)

The average number of years of work experience among students in Haas’s MBA program is 5.3.

What is the average starting salary for graduates of the Haas MBA program?

The average starting salary for Haas MBA graduates is $139,423 median base annual salary. The salary will vary by industry, with consulting and finance jobs generally commanding the higher salaries.

How long is Haas’s full-time MBA program?

Haas offers a traditional 2 year MBA program.

What are the application deadlines for Haas’s MBA program?

The Round 1 MBA application deadline is September 24, 2020. The Round 2 application deadline is January 14, 2021. The Round 3 deadline is April 5, 2021.

What percent of Haas MBA students are women?

The percentage of the class at Haas that are women is 39%.

What type of interview does Haas use for MBA admissions?

Haas offers interviews by invitation. The interviews are resume-based. This means the interviewer has not had access to the application materials.

VIDEOS

Admissions

The Class Profile

331 students enrolled at Berkeley Haas in 2020.  First-year Haas MBA students scored between 690 and 760 on the GMAT, and the average GMAT score for the class was 727. Those who took the GRE averaged 161 in each section. The average undergraduate GPA for the group was 3.65, with the middle 80% having no lower than a 3.4 GPA.

In regards to their undergraduate studies, economics and engineering each claim 17% of the Class of 2022.  Another 16% had majored in the social sciences, and 13% majored in business commerce.  The group had an average of 5.3 years of work experience. Twenty-one percent had a background in consulting and 17% worked in financial services before joining Haas. High tech/electronics followed at 10%, as did healthcare at 8%. Five percent of the latest class came from the military.

Twenty-one percent of first-year MBA candidates are international—a drop of 16% from last year. The group represents 37 countries. Women comprise 39% of the Class of 2022.  Finally, 39% of first-year students identify as members of a U.S. minority group, which comprises students of African American, Hispanic American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Island­er, Asian American and East Indian/Pakistani heritage, and 17% identify as underrepresented minorities.

Application Procedures

Applicants can elect to apply to Haas during one of three admissions rounds, which usually occur in September, January and April. Haas requires applicants to submit their completed online application along with a résumé, essays, GMAT and TOEFL or IELTS scores from students who received degrees from countries whose official language is not English, transcripts from all collegiate and post-collegiate academic institutions attended, and two professional letters of recommendation. Interviews are conducted on an invitation-only basis and are required for admission to the MBA program.

Application Requirements

The following material are required to apply for the Berkeley Haas MBA:

• Online application
• $200 application fee
• Current resume (submitted online)
• Admissions essays
• Two professional letters of recommendation
• University transcripts
• GMAT or GRE score report
• English language proficiency
• Interview

Interview Reports

Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Alumnus / Google Meets

My interview was mostly school-specific, with some behavioral questions. I think it was supposed to be resume-based, but he didn’t ask much about it. It was extremely conversational and there was good rapport. Lasted for an hour, but we were done with questions for me after 35. The questions (may not be exact, but the […]

Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Alumnus / Google Meets

My interview was a resume based interview with an alumnus, with a few behavioral questions. It was very conversational and lasted for an hour. The questions included: Tell me about yourself ST and LT Goals Why MBA? Why Haas? Why now? Tell me about a time you fostered DEI. Tell me about a time you […]

Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Alumna / Zoom

This blind interview lasted about an hour and was with an alumna. She had a list of questions to get through and pick from. The conversation was very personable; it was easy to establish rapport. I think Haas is very intentional about creating this sort of environment to get the best out of interviewees. The […]

Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Pre-Recorded Video Interview

I was waitlisted without an interview. Just finished the pre-recorded video interview that is required after accepting the waitlist. The pre-recorded format gives me a lot of stress as the timing was strictly defined, and I don’t know what kind of questions was going to be asked. I’m sharing my questions here, and hope this […]

Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 1/ Pre-Recorded Questions / Off-Campus

I received my interview invite a little late in the process. As a result, the only interview option available to me was the pre-recorded Skype format – the Adcom pre-selects 5 questions that are loaded on to their audio-visual virtual platform (I think it was called Kira). There is no interviewer on the other side […]

Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Alum / Off-Campus

Context: My Round 2 Berkeley Haas interview occurred in mid-March 2020, was with an alum in the Boston area, and was blind, or i.e. the interviewer had only seen my resume. I was invited to interview in mid-February about 5 weeks after I submitted my application in January on the Round 2 deadline day. I […]

Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / First-Year Student / On-Campus

The interview was on March 4th at the Haas campus, it was with a first-year student, and it was blind. The interview took place in a small study room at Haas. My interviewer was super friendly and she asked a few behavioral questions. Examples include: tell me about yourself, why MBA, why Haas, etc. I […]

Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / First-Year Student / On-Campus

I signed up for lunch and classes before my interview with a Haas Student Ambassador. The whole day was very casual and informal. Interview lasted about 45 minutes, with about 30 minutes of questions and 15 minutes of asking the interviewer questions. I was asked a couple main questions: 1. Tell me about yourself. Why […]

Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 1/ Alumnus / On-Campus

I went on interview day at Haas. It was really great! I applied through Consortium so Consortium students hosted a breakfast for us to network, ask questions, and conduct mock interviews before the interview day began. Everyone from students, other applicants, and staff were extremely friendly. I was asked the standard questions: why Haas, why […]

Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / First-Year Student / On-Campus

I interviewed on-campus, in a small room in the Executive MBA Suite. It was a warm room, and only got warmer throughout! The interviewer explained the process of the interview – there would be a few official questions, a few behavioral, and then I could ask questions. He was friendly and had a chill vibe. […]

Haas Q&As

Admissions Director Q&A: Berkeley Haas’s Morgan Bernstein

In this edition of our ongoing series, Admissions Director Q&A, we stop by the Bay Area of California.  Morgan Bernstein is the executive director of full-time MBA admissions at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and a 2009 alumna of the program. Bernstein is deeply passionate about helping prospective students navigate the business school landscape, and […]

Admissions Director Q&A: Morgan Bernstein of UC Berkeley / Haas

Clear Admit is delighted to share admissions insights from Morgan Bernstein, the Executive Director of Full-time MBA Admissions at UC Berkeley / Haas.  Bernstein was part of the admissions team for five years before stepping into her current role, and she knows things from the other side as well. A successful applicant herself, she graduated […]

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: UC Berkeley Haas’s Morgan Bernstein

Morgan Bernstein is currently in her first year as executive director leading the full-time MBA admission team at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, having taken over last March for Stephanie Fujii, who held the role for four years before that. “I’m excited about growing my team, learning, figuring out what I know and what […]

Haas LiveWire and DecisionWire

Academics

Faculty

Haas employs 74 tenure-track faculty members. These scholars and practitioners help lead Haas’s more than 10 research institutes and centers, and participate in seven multidisciplinary programs, which cover topics ranging from business innovation to nonprofit and public leadership. The Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation, for example, enables faculty to publish articles, create teaching materials and lead research projects on “open innovation,” a more dispersed industry innovation model. 

Curriculum

Professors at Haas make use of a variety of teaching methods, including case studies, seminars, simulations, group projects and guest speakers. Haas places an emphasis on hands-on learning, with certain courses providing students the opportunity to gain consulting experience by working in Silicon Valley firms. 

Haas operates on a two-semester schedule, with MBA classes running from late August through early December and from mid-January through May; commencement takes place shortly thereafter. For first-year students, each semester is further divided into two quarters. Within the academic year, all students have short breaks for Thanksgiving and other holidays, as well as a one-month break between the fall and spring semesters. 

During the first year, Haas students are required to take 12 core courses which account for roughly half of the 51 semester units needed to graduate. The core covers foundational business principles in accounting, finance, economics, marketing, operations, strategy, leadership, decision-making and management. Each of the required courses places an emphasis on team learning, with students working in small groups on projects and assignments. A core course may be waived if a student passes a waiver examination, and these are available for seven of the 12 core courses. These examinations are akin to the course’s final examination and are given the week before the start of each semester. All students must also fulfill an experiential learning, or “applied innovation” requirement by completing at least one of over a dozen programs. These include working in small teams on projects for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations, as well as developing socially responsible strategies for large corporations.

MBA students may begin taking elective courses in the spring semester of their first year. Haas provides a broad range of elective courses from which to choose, and students may even design their own courses together with members of the faculty. The school emphasizes hands-on learning and offers over 20 courses to satisfy the Applied Innovation requirement, ranging from international consulting projects to people development to strategies surrounding sustainable business practices. Haas also provides students with 11 Areas of Emphasis, which are high-level recommendations of courses, extracurricular activities and summer internships that students can follow to prepare for entry into related careers.

Other MBA Degree Options

In addition to the 21-month full-time MBA program, Haas offers a four-year JD/MBA program with either UC Berkeley’s School of Law or UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. Also available are an MBA/MPH program with the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and an MBA/MA program in Global Studies with various UC Berkeley Schools. Part-time options include an evening and weekend MBA program. 

Areas of Emphasis at Haas

Finance

Marketing

Strategy/Consulting

Corporate Social Responsibility

Energy and Clean Technology

Entrepreneurship

Equity Fluent Leadership

Global Management

Health Management

Social Sector Leadership

Real Estate

Technology

Degree Options at Haas

Full-time MBA
http://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/

Concurrent Degrees
JD/MBA
http://haas.berkeley.edu/MBA/academics/concurrent-degrees.html

MBA/MPH
https://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/careers/healthcare

MBA/MA
http://haas.berkeley.edu/MBA/academics/concurrent-degrees.html#internationalandareastudies

MBA for Executives
http://mbaforexecs.haas.berkeley.edu/

Evening & Weekend MBA
http://ewmba.haas.berkeley.edu/

Applied Innovation  Courses

• [email protected]
• Social Sector Solutions
• International Business Development
• Cleantech to Market
• Strategic and Sustainable Business Solutions
• Design Sprint for Corporate Innovation
• Design, Evaluate and Scale Development Technologies
• People Development
• Real Estate Investment Analysis
• Hedge Fund Strategies
• The Haas Socially Responsible Investment Fund
• Design and Development of Web-Based Products and Services
• Lean Launchpad
• Social Lean Launchpad
• The Startup Lab
• Applied Data Analytics

Campus Life

Clubs, Conferences & Competitions

Haas offers its students many opportunities for extracurricular involvement, including over 50 student organizations to choose from, with a wide array of professional, athletic and cultural groups on hand. Many MBA students become involved in Challenge for Charity events such as competitions, shows and auctions geared at raising money for the Special Olympics and other charitable organizations. In addition, a large portion of MBA students volunteer their time to the [email protected] program, where they act as mentors for underprivileged high school students. 

Approximately ten conferences are regularly hosted by Haas faculty and students.  These comprise both industry- and affiliation-related events, such as the Berkeley Energy Symposium and Women in Leadership Conference.  Haas also sponsors the Haas Healthcare Conference, the UC Berkeley Startup Competition and the Global Social Venture Competition.  Furthermore, MBA students have the opportunity to create their own competitions; recently, students organized the Patagonia Case Competition and the Haas Tech Challenge.

Campus Spaces

Designed by architect Charles Moore, Haas’s campus is comprised of three buildings—one each for classrooms, student services and faculty—linked together that face a main courtyard. Among the school’s facilities are a career center, a high-tech computer lab, a café and an economics and business library.

While most Haas students choose to live off campus, a fair number of students take advantage of Haas’s on-campus housing options. These include university residence halls as well as several apartment complexes devoted to housing UC Berkeley graduate students. The university also provides a housing service called Cal Rentals, through which students can receive counseling about their housing options. Students who wish to live off campus can refer to Cal Rentals for a listing of off-campus rental opportunities. 

MBA Careers

Career Services

The Haas Career Management Group provides extensive support for MBA students by hosting on-campus interviews, corporate presentations and electronic job postings through CareerNet. The Career Management Group also offers students informal ways to meet employers year-round through career panels, alumni mixers, industry firm nights, job fairs and corporate visits. In addition, individual career advisors are available to aid students in developing their job search skills and tackling the recruiting process. Full-time recruiting for second-year students takes place in the fall and spring semesters, and internship recruiting for first-year students occurs in the spring.

Career Statistics

The mean base annual salary of 2020 Haas MBA graduates was $139,423, with an average signing bonus of $31,330.  Almost 28% of the Class of 2020 went on to work in consulting positions, with business development/strategy as the second most popular function at nearly 18%.  Meanwhile, roughly 17% of Haas’s 2020 MBA graduates accepted positions in finance, another 15% opted for marketing roles, and nearly 9% of students entered operations.

About 32% of students in the Class of 2020 found jobs in the technology industry after graduating. The next most chosen industry was consulting, at 25% of the class, and nearly 15% of students accepted positions in financial services.  Nearly 12% of students entered pharma/biotech/healthcare and 5% entered CPG/retail.

Of the 207 graduates who reported regional placement, 91% settled in North America and 9% chose to work internationally.  Nearly 75% of graduates settled in the West of the U.S. The Northeast claimed nearly 8% of graduates. Four percent or less settled in other regions of the U.S.

Financing

The tuition and fees for the 2020-2021 academic year is $64,246 for California residents and $68,444 for non-residents.  However, Haas estimates that with additional expenses such as living expenses and textbooks, students will pay up to $102,150 as residents or $106,348 as non-residents in that time.  Haas offers both merit- and need-based scholarships to help students with the program’s cost.  While some merit-based scholarships are awarded to applicants at the time of admission, others require the completion of separate applications.  Both two-year and one-year scholarships are available, and Haas requires that the recipients of two-year grants maintain at least a 3.0 GPA throughout business school.

Students also have an array of loan options at their disposal, including federal loan offerings for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.  In addition, Haas publishes a compiled list of preferred lenders with different loan options for students to consider. For international students, a risk-share loan is available that does not require a U.S. co-signer.

Cost of Attendance

Tuition & Fees
CA Resident $64,246
Non-Resident $68,444
Health Insurance $5,682
Housing & Food $25,658
Books & Supplies $634
Transportation $3,186
Personal Expenses $2,744

Total
CA Resident $102,150
Non-Resident $106,348

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This blind interview lasted about an hour and was with an alumna. She had a list of questions to get through and pick from. The conversation was very personable; it was easy to establish rapport. I th