Berkeley Haas

History

The roots of the university date back to 1866, when the land comprising the current Barkeley campus was purchased by the private college of California, but was later merged with the state-run Agricultural, Mining and Mechanical Arts College to form the University of California. The university opened in 1869 with 40 students in Oakland. The university relocated to its Berkeley location in 1873. In 1883, Arthur Rodgers, a Berkeley graduate and well-travelled businessman, proposed the concept of a College of Commerce at the University of California. The College of Commerce got established in 1898. In 1942, the College was renamed as the Department of Business Administration. In 1943, it was renamed as the School of Business Administration. The Graduate School of Business opened in 1955. In 1989, Walter and Elise Haas Fund endowed the School with $23.75 million, and the School was subsequently renamed as the Haas School of Business to honor the contribution.

MISSION STATEMENT

To develop leaders who redefine how we do business.

Core Strengths of the School

Berkeley-Haas MBA is known world over for shaping innovative business leaders, who thrive to make a positive impact on society through fresh ideas and a collaborative approach. Students acquire the attitudes and behaviors of innovative leadership by challenging the status quo and come to conclusions based on evidence and deep-rooted analysis. Students learn to look into a problem from multiple perspectives and imbibe different modes of thinking while dealing with problems that are characterized by ambiguity and uncertainty, through the Problem Finding, Problem Solving course. The entire MBA curriculum is based on Being, Thinking, Doing framework, where students are guided by strong principles that shape their behavior (being), help them develop expertise in business and management skills (thinking), and implement their knowledge to identify and leverage the opportunities that inspire others (doing) to imbibe such skills. Apart from innovative leadership skills, there is intense focus on teamwork skills as the potential employers want their employees to leverage the expertise of their team members and achieve team performance. Hence, Team@Haas, a science-based curriculum has been interwoven throughout the MBA program that strengthens the collaborative leadership skills of the students and improves the team’s output. Students also learn to capitalize on the strengths of interdisciplinary teams by working on large-scale projects with external clients.

Uniqueness in MBA Pedagogy

An array of experiential learning opportunities as a part of the required coursework enables the students to develop insights into all aspects of general management. Haas@Work is a golden opportunity for the students to indulge themselves into the business challenges faced by companies such as Visa, Virgin America, Cisco, Disney, etc., and develop a sustainable solution after thorough research. Students learn to be responsible business leaders through Strategic and Sustainable Business Solutions, where they involve themselves in consulting projects for clients such as Wells Fargo, Autodesk or Tesla and develop socially responsible strategies while ensuring maximum returns for the clients. The Lean Launchpad coursework helps students explore the challenges of an early stage start-up. Students work in teams to develop a business-model for each part of the company and implement a product after incorporating the feedback of the customers. Students can further join hands with the local venture-backed startups through the Startup Lab, and apply their knowledge in an entrepreneurial context. Students gain immense experience by doing thorough market analysis and developing different marketing strategies for new product entry. Students work with interdisciplinary teams and learn about the entire product development process right from product definition, collecting and prioritizing customer data, developing specifications, building prototypes to incorporating customer feedback through Managing the New Product Development Process. The Design and Development of Web-Based Products and Services allows the students to learn the entire process of web-based desktop development and mobile customer product and services development.

Global experience is an integral part of the Haas MBA and students gain hands-on experience of consulting in a global marketplace through the International Business Development program and create value for the esteemed clients by helping them redefine their ways of conducting business globally. Students can spend an entire semester in studying at one of the partner schools through the International Exchange Programs and delve into the culture, business and economics of the host country. Students can also participate in International Study Treks, where they can visit developing countries of Asia, Latin America and Europe and understand the macroeconomic factors affecting the business in these countries. The Intel + UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge and Global Social Venture Competition GSVC bring together the entrepreneurial teams from across the world to a common platform where they showcase the positive impact of the deployment of truly innovative technologies.

CONCENTRATIONS OFFERED

LOCATION ADVANTAGES

The School is located at Berkeley city, which is on the East Coast of San Francisco Bay in California. The Bay area is home to leading technology companies, venture capital firms and digital media industries. Companies like Visa, Apple, Google, Charles Schwab, etc. have their headquarters in the city. The San Francisco Bay Area is a popular tourist destination owing to the stunning natural beauty of the location. Students can explore the valleys and waterfalls of Yosemite National Park that is just a couple of hours drive from San Francisco. Students can indulge themselves into the art, theatre, dance, culture and numerous other activities of the city during their spare time.

CAREER SUPPORT

Haas’s culture attracts the potential employers to recruit graduates of this school who thrive to achieve success by implementing fresh ideas. The Career Management Group supports the students in achieving their career objectives by providing them access to state-of-the-art tools and resources that would enable them to tackle the job market strategically. Students can get all the latest information on the potential employers and career events from the CareerNet. The Virtual Interview Coaching tool helps the students in preparing ideal responses for common questions. The Case and Interview Preparation program is an excellent opportunity for the students to get trained from firms such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, who guide the students in effectively applying their classroom skills to crack the interview. Students can seek career guidance from career advisors as well as MBA Career coaches (second year students), who mentor the students in determining their career goals, developing the requisite skills and structuring their entire job search process.