At Berkeley Haas, we believe that a fundamental step in redefining the business leader is to get our culture right, because this culture encourages students to develop the mindset and behaviors of innovative leaders.
Berkeley Haas students, faculty, staff, and alumni live our distinctive culture out loud by embracing our four Defining Leadership Principles:
Question the Status Quo
We thrive at the epicenter of innovation. We make progress by speaking our minds even when it challenges convention. We lead by championing bold ideas and taking intelligent risks.
Confidence Without Attitude
We make decisions based on evidence and analysis, giving us the confidence to act with humility. We foster collaboration by building a foundation of empathy, inclusion, and trust.
Students Always
We are a community designed to support curiosity. We actively seek out diverse perspectives as part of our lifelong pursuit of personal and intellectual growth. There is always more to learn.
Beyond Yourself
We shape our world by leading ethically and responsibly. As stewards of our enterprises, we take the longer view in our decisions and actions. This often means putting the collective good above our own interests.
Our culture fosters new thinking and new tools to change careers—and markets.
Across every dimension, Haas students, faculty, and staff are characterized by the high quality of their work, their exceptional talents and creativity, their diversity of experience, and their commitment to inclusiveness.
Applicants select Berkeley Haas in order to join a diverse global community of people who use the tools of business to make a positive impact. Once here, our students work with and alongside others who embrace our Defining Leadership Principles—and see how their role is to contribute to a larger purpose.
Berkeley Haas: The Heart of What’s Next™
Traditional business education was designed for the 20th-century economy. Berkeley Haas has adapted its teaching model to respond to the challenges and opportunities that are taking shape worldwide.
- The ability to capture and analyze massive amounts of data have brought new capabilities for both upstarts and established firms and industries. These capabilities have touched virtually all aspects of business and business education.
- Climate change and the depletion of natural resources are wreaking havoc on our economies, infrastructure, and health. Businesses need to rethink their products, processes, and supply chains to continue to prosper in this environment.
- Not everyone has had equal access to opportunity, which means all of us have missed out on the talent, creativity, and contributions of those on the margins. Leaders who define what’s next are able to work across differences to create stronger solutions to achieve a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
Haas has retained its strong general management foundation, and continues to produce leaders who excel at the core skills employers tell us they need more of: critical thinking, communication, and constant adaptability. We’ve adjusted existing courses and added new ones that address the skills and meet the demands of innovation economy employers.
Our new state-of-the-art teaching building, Chou Hall, features classrooms designed with the collaborative teaching and learning styles needed today. Its zero-waste systems are a model of sustainability.
Living in the epicenter of the innovation economy, influencing it, and supplying its leaders is why Berkeley Haas has earned distinction of being the heart of what’s next.
Living at the Center of Innovation
Innovation lies at the heart of the Bay Area’s economy. It’s no surprise that Apple, Google, AirBnB, and other disrupters headquartered in the Bay Area are driving global economic growth, while established firms are employing Bay Area technologies to redefine their industries.
The Bay Area is home to the world’s largest assembly of information technology, biotechnology, internet, digital entertainment, and cleantech firms. Beyond technology, the Bay Area is leading the way on innovation in food and design; in addition, the country’s top consulting firms all have a major presence here and are deeply entwined in this innovation culture.
The proximity of these companies to each other, and to our campus, creates opportunities for growth and development for every Berkeley Haas student. Students have direct access to the innovation economy through internships, consulting projects, speakers, company visits, and networking.
Opening Doors to Career Success
When the world’s most selective organizations seek new talent, they turn to Haas. Recruiters regularly report that they choose Haas because our programs produce collaborative leaders who possess confidence without attitude.
As a student, you will have opportunities to further your career, or launch a new one, as the program’s highly personalized Career Management Group works with you to identify your professional goals and help you make the contacts to make it possible.
As a graduate, you will join a powerful global network of over 40,000 Haas School of Business alumni. You’ll also be a Cal Bear for life, joining a network of over 300,000 University of California, Berkeley alumni. Go Bears!