Full-time MBA Program
Berkeley MBA Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- What is the difference between the Full-time, Evening & Weekend, and the Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA Programs?
- What is the best way for me to learn about the Berkeley MBA program?
- What is the structure of the Berkeley MBA program? How long does it take?
- What is the size of the first-year class?
- What type of financial aid is available?
- What opportunity exists for me to work in order to finance my MBA education?
- Admissions FAQs
1. What is the difference between the Full-time, Evening & Weekend, and the Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA Programs?
The main difference between the programs is the profile of the students. The full-time students generally have about 5 years of work experience, Evening & Weekend students have 8 years of work experience, and Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA students have 12 years of work experience. All programs are competitive. Please see the following link for more information: http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/theberkeleymbacompared.html
2. What is the best way for me to learn about the Berkeley MBA program?
Besides looking carefully over the website, we recommend visiting the campus. During your visit you can have lunch with a student, attend an information session, and attend a class. For further details about our on-campus visitation program, please visit http://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/visitation.html.
We also participate in and periodically sponsor events for potential students in locations around the world. Visit https://ssl.haas.berkeley.edu/admissions/events for further details.
3. What is the structure of the Berkeley MBA program? How long does it take?
The full-time Berkeley MBA program is a two year full-time degree program. The Berkeley MBA curriculum is anchored by twelve required core courses which students complete in the first year, including leadership, finance, accounting, operations, micro- and macro-economics, strategy, organizational behavior, data and decisions, leadership communication, marketing, and business ethics. The core courses, which make up about 40% of a typical student’s course of study, are deliberately designed to build upon one another and provide a common foundation for all the students in the program. Elective courses comprise 60% of the Berkeley MBA curriculum, meaning that students begin to customize their own course of study very early in the program.
Students take classes Monday through Thursday. Fridays are usually spent attending discussion sessions, career services workshops and other curricular and extra-curricular activities.
For further details about the curriculum, please visit http://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/curriculum.html.
4. What is the size of the first-year class?
Our goal is to enroll 240 students in the Berkeley MBA Program each August. Each entering class is divided into four groups of 60 students. In the first semester, all students in the cohort take the same core classes. The cohort system provides a support system for first-year entering students.
5. What type of scholarship and financial aid are available?
Most non-scholarship aid is derived from the US federal government. Federal financial aid is available only to US citizens and US permanent residents. Refer to www.haas.berkeley.edu/MBA/finaid/index.html for details. Financial resources are extremely limited for international students. This necessitates adequate financial planning on your part prior to enrolling, as Haas is unable to fully fund students for the cost of their education. Refer to www.haas.berkeley.edu/MBA/finaid/prvtmba.html for private loan options.
Over 60% of Haas students receive some form of financial assistance, which can include scholarships, loans, and assistantships. Over $1.5 million in scholarship aid is awarded each year, and 17% of the fall 2006 entering class received a scholarship of some kind. Haas Merit Scholarships are awarded to the most outstanding applicants overall; all MBA applicants are routinely considered for these awards, and no special application is necessary. Haas Achievement Awards are awarded to applicants who have achieved success in spite of significant economic, educational, health-related or other obstacles; applicants for these awards must be sure to answer an optional essay question on the application for admission. Haas Merit Scholarships and Haas Achievement Awards cover either 50% or 100% of tuition and required fees for both years of MBA study.
On our website you'll also find a list of scholarships offered by external organizations for which Berkeley MBA students are eligible. To link to the PDF list of outside scholarships please visit http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/MBA/outsidescholarships.pdf. (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
6. What opportunity exists for me to work off-campus in order to finance my MBA education?
Due to the rigorous nature of the MBA curriculum, students in the full-time MBA program are not able to work off-campus during their first year. In some cases, second-year students have worked up to 10 hours per week, usually by continuing to work for the company at which they held their summer internship. More common is the opportunity for second-year students to serve as graduate student instructors (GSIs). Nearly 30% of our full-time MBA students serve in this role, which partially reduces their rate of tuition and also provides them with a small monthly stipend. For more information about graduate student instructorships, visit http://groups.haas.berkeley.edu/gsi.
