IMPORTANT LINKS:
- FTMBA Academics Drive (Student-Facing Documents, Policies, Forms)
- On-Line Registrar (OLR) Portal
- Academic Advising & Support
SPRING 2025 ELECTIVE PLANNING
- Spring 2025 Registration Timeline
- Spring 2025 Elective Schedule
- Spring 2025 Planning Folder (FTMBA Academics Drive) – check out the FY Spring Cohort Schedule and information about courses that bid out in previous years
Units & Requirements
Here are a few important points to keep in mind when planning your academic schedule for your degree:
- The Full-Time MBA Program considers 8 units as “full-time” status. The 8 units can be a combination of Haas and non-Haas units.
- On average, students enroll in 12 to 14 units each semester to meet the valid 51-unit graduation requirement.
- In any given semester, Full-Time MBA students can enroll in up to 16 units of MBA classes.
- Dual-degree students must enroll in the number of required MBA units according to their degree requirements.
- Students should meet with their academic advisors to discuss their academic plans. Review Academic Advising & Support for contact and appointment information.
Core Courses
During the first two semesters of the Full-Time MBA program, students are automatically enrolled in their core classes with their pre-assigned cohort. Students attend these required courses on the assigned days and times with their cohort throughout the first two semesters of the Full-Time MBA program. The cohorts are Blue, Gold, Axe, and Oski.
Fall & Spring Elective Courses
First Semester
During the first semester, students have the option to add elective(s) to their schedule through the SignUp process (not Bidding). This process allows students to enter their requests and order them according to which they’d most like to enroll in for the Fall. Enrollments in the courses are then processed based on space availability.
Keep in mind that adding an elective is an option, not a requirement. The core classes are rigorous, fast-paced, and demanding, so it’s important to carefully weigh this before adding an elective.
This FAQ page is geared toward students who did not waive a core class but are still interested in possibly adding an elective.
Students who waive out of core courses can sign up for MBA electives according to the number of units they waive for the semester. Review the FAQ sheet for First-Years who waived out of Fall core courses.
Second Semester
Students are enrolled in 7 units of core classes during their first Spring semester. Students can enroll in up to another 6 units of MBA electives during bidding.
Students who waived out of Spring core courses may enroll in additional units during Add/Drop, but no more than 16 units total for the semester, to replace the units they waived.
Third and Fourth Semester
Students can enroll in up to 16 units of MBA electives by the end of the add/drop period.
MBA Course Enrollment Process
MBA course enrollment for MBA students consists of two phases –bidding and add/drop. The MBA Bidding and Add/Drop processes are done through OLR. It is important to note that the deadlines of the FTMBA processes are separate and distinct from the main UC campus deadlines.
Bidding is Phase 1 of the overall Haas enrollment process. Bidding occurs at the end of the current semester and has two rounds for students to enroll in their next semester’s courses. During this phase, all students should aim to build their full schedule for the following semester.
Add/Drop is Phase 2 and takes place at the start of each semester. During this phase, all students can add and/or drop eligible MBA elective courses to finalize their semester’s schedule. Students will not be able to add or drop courses after the Add/Drop period concludes.
MBA Enrollment Phases
Why does Haas use bidding?
Bidding enables us to:
- Fairly allocate seats in classes where demand exceeds supply
- Identify and cancel courses with insufficient demand
- Allow students who receive financial aid to get pre-enrolled in enough courses (6 units) to generate a bill and disburse aid
For those interested in learning more, here is the historical context and rationale behind the Haas bidding system.
Add/Drop is the second enrollment phase and a real-time registration process. It takes place during the first two weeks of the new semester. During Add/Drop, if someone drops a class, that seat immediately becomes available for others to add. Transactions are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. If a class has only one open seat, and two users submit “add” requests at the same time, the first transaction to arrive at the processor gets the seat.
All adds and drops for MBA elective classes must take place through OLR (not CalCentral).