We encourage students to explore academic subjects outside of business to complement their MBA coursework.

Full-time MBA students may take:

  • Up to 6 units of graduate courses (numbered 200-299) or upper-division undergraduate courses (numbered 100-199) in other UC Berkeley departments to count toward the 51 units needed to graduate from the MBA program. Haas Undergraduate courses cannot be taken and counted towards the MBA degree, regardless of their course number.
  • You may not take lower-division courses (numbered 1-99) or DeCal courses for degree credit, but they may be taken for your own interest. This includes PE courses. Lower-division foreign language courses are an exception (see below).
  • Lower-division language courses can be taken for a letter grade or on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) basis. To receive a Satisfactory (S), you must earn a B- or better in the course.
  • The 6 units of non-Haas courses do not apply to students in dual degree MBA programs

Requests to apply more than 6 units of non-MBA coursework towards the degree should be submitted to your academic advisor before enrolling in the course. In some cases, your academic advisor will make an exception to go up to a max of 9 units.

Foreign Language Courses

Students who feel a foreign language is instrumental to their career goals may want to consider taking a lower-division undergraduate language course (numbered 99 and lower).

To receive credit towards the degree, students must complete and earn a grade of B- or better (or S if taken S/U) in two semesters of the same language. Students may apply 60 percent of these units towards the 51-unit graduation requirement.

Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM)

What makes GNAM small network online courses (SNOC) courses so valuable?

GNAM is made up of 30 leading business schools from around the world, representing an innovative shift beyond traditional models of business school collaboration. By leveraging the capabilities of international member schools, GNAM provides students with unique opportunities to expand their personal networks while contributing to real solutions for complex global problems.

Who decides if I am accepted into a GNAM SNOC course? 

Individual GNAM SNOC instructors will decide which students are accepted into their courses. You will be asked to upload a copy of your CV and a brief (one or two paragraph) description of your reason for wanting to take the course when you apply.

Where can I find course descriptions and applications? 

Before each semester a curated list of courses will get emailed with course descriptions and syllabi. The application links for the courses can be found in that announcement.

When are applications due?

Students are strongly encouraged to apply by the deadline stated in the email announcement.

How would taking GNAM SNOC courses impact my units and GPA?

Once accepted into a GNAM SNOC course, you must contact the FTMBA academic team at [email protected] so we can enroll you in the appropriate course at Haas.

The credits for these courses do not count against the 4 credit limit for independent study but will count towards the 6 credit limit for non-Haas courses.

GNAM policies require that all enrolled students must receive a letter grade as credit for participation. Because letter grades impact GPA, we encourage students to consider this when planning their coursework for the semester.

To learn more about GNAM programs, members, and resources, visit their website or reach out to the program office at [email protected] for more information.