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Our Identity

The formal name of the school is Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. This full name should be used in all official communications. For internal/informal communications and second references, using UC Berkeley Haas may be appropriate.

The official name of the school remains the Walter A. Haas School of Business. However, the official name is now used only in very limited cases, such as on diplomas from the school.

Shorthand Ways to Refer to the School

“UC Berkeley Haas” is the preferred shorthand way of referring to the school. It is an effective way to tap the power of the internationally recognized UC Berkeley brand, while at the same time building up the brand recognition of the Haas School. In external/formal communications, “UC Berkeley Haas” should only be used following introduction of the formal name of the school—not as the first reference.

Below are a few additional ways to refer to the school in informal/internal communications. These may also be used in official/formal communications following introduction of the formal name of the school.

Correct:

  • Haas
  • the Haas School
  • UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business
  • the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley

Incorrect:

  • Berkeley Haas
  • Berkeley-Haas
  • Berkeley Haas School of Business
  • UC Berkeley Haas School of Business

Possessive of “Haas”

It’s best to avoid using the possessive form of Haas, but when necessary, use Haas’ (not Haas’s). It’s better to say, “the Haas way of doing things” than to say, “Haas’ way of doing things.”

Our Defining Leadership Principles

Our Defining Leadership Principles (or “DLPs” for short in informal and internal contexts) distinguish us relative to our peers. Their use to describe and promote the school is encouraged wherever it is appropriate.

The DLPs should always be written in the order below, with all of the important words capitalized:

Question the Status Quo
Confidence Without Attitude
Students Always
Beyond Yourself

“Defining Principles” is no longer a correct way to refer to the Defining Leadership Principles.

Never place the principles within quotation marks. Instead, use bold or italic styles to highlight the principles within blocks of text.

When listing the principles as a unit, use the same font and style for all of the principles and include one of these headers:

  • The Berkeley Haas Defining Leadership Principles
  • Our Defining Leadership Principles
  • UC Berkeley Haas Defining Leadership Principles

Program Names

When referring to any of the UC Berkeley Haas degree programs, use the official program name on first reference:

  • UC Berkeley Haas Evening & Weekend MBA Program*
  • UC Berkeley Haas Full-time MBA Program**
  • UC Berkeley Haas MBA for Executives Program
  • UC Berkeley Haas Master of Financial Engineering Program
  • UC Berkeley Haas Undergraduate Programs
  • UC Berkeley Haas PhD Program

*Use the ampersand (&) in “Evening & Weekend” only when writing the proper name of the program.
**Use a lowercase “t” in “Full-time.”

When referring to a specific degree program in a sentence—where you are not using the full official name of the program—capitalize only the proper nouns.

Examples of correct usage:

  • They attended the evening and weekend MBA program.
  • They attended the UC Berkeley Haas Evening & Weekend MBA Program.
  • The undergraduate programs at UC Berkeley Haas are the best.
  • She taught several courses in the PhD program at UC Berkeley Haas.
  • He made lifelong connections in the UC Berkeley Haas Full-time MBA Program.

Using “EMBA” and “Executive MBA”

When appropriate, the terms “EMBA” and “Executive MBA” may be used—on second reference—to refer to the UC Berkeley Haas MBA for Executives. These terms may sometimes be used in titles and headlines for the sake of brevity. They may never be used as the primary reference to the program, or in place of the official name of the program.

Referring to MBA Students

We encourage the use of “UC Berkeley Haas MBA” to refer to our MBA students. It is common for students to use the term “Haas MBA” or “Berkeley MBA” on second reference. Either is okay—or simply say “an MBA.”

UC Berkeley Degrees and Graduation Years

When identifying UC Berkeley students and alumni, use the abbreviated degree followed by the two-digit graduation year, with no periods and no apostrophe. When identifying graduates of UC Berkeley degree programs outside of Haas, include the field of the non-business degree in parentheses. For alumni with multiple UC Berkeley degrees, list them chronologically. See examples of correct usage below.

Abbreviations of Degree Designations for UC Berkeley Haas Programs

  • BS
  • EMBA*
  • MBA
  • MFE
  • PhD**
  • BCEMBA

*While we use “EMBA” as the designation for graduates of our MBA for Executives program, the degree conferred is an MBA degree.
**Note that the “h” in “PhD” is always lowercase.

Examples of Correct Usage

  • Jesus Carrillo, BS 02
  • Swetha Tupelly, MBA 16
  • Yasmine Moulehiawy, MFE 11
  • Andrew Lee, BS 02 (Engineering), MS 09 (Engineering), MBA 18
  • Mel Gordon-Jones, JD 05, EMBA 16
  • Angela Hohn, MBA/MEng 21

Concurrent and Dual Degree Programs

Dual and concurrent degree programs in which students earn an MBA degree should be referred to as MBA/[other degree]. Current UC Berkeley Haas dual degree programs include:

  • MBA/MCS
  • MBA/MPH
  • MBA/JD
  • MBA/MEng

Communicating Inclusively

We strive to create and nurture a welcoming environment at UC Berkeley Haas, and to actively support all members of our community. To be fully engaged in this effort, we should be aware of how we can—in our everyday communications—aim to make people of every race, ethnicity, country of origin, ability status, religion, veteran status, gender, and sexual orientation feel included.

When writing or speaking about Haas, our programs, and our people, be mindful about the diversity of our community—both in experience and in origin. Whether you’re writing a story, news article, formal letter, social media post, or website copy, here are some practices to consider:

Ask your subjects how they would like to be identified.

Individuals may have different preferences for how they would like to be identified (e.g. “African American” vs. “Black,” “Hispanic” vs. “Latinx”). It’s always best practice to ask.

Recognize that gender is not binary.

When speaking to or about members of our community, take care not to assume that everyone identifies as either male or female. Many people list their pronouns in their email signature or in Name Coach.

Recognize that not all disabilities are visible.

Many people have mental and physical illnesses or disabilities that may not be visible. Take care to avoid making judgments or assumptions related to others’ ability status.

Represent our diversity.

Think about your body of work and individual contributions—do they reflect the diversity of our community? If you notice you have a pattern of protagonists with similar identity profiles, switch it up. Add another dimension of representation. We all have blindspots; seek out different perspectives from colleagues.

If you don’t know, ask.

Contact the Haas Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team. Consult a campus organization. Reach out to student affinity groups. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Cultivating and supporting an inclusive campus environment is a constant learning experience for everyone.