Important Dates & Deadlines 2025-2026
| International Exchange Program Slide Deck | ||
| February 28 | Applications Open | Apply here |
| March 3 March 6 March 12 |
Int’l Advising Drop In Hour (1-2 PM) | Stop by anytime during the lunch hour to ask questions about the international exchange opportunities (sessions will not be recorded) |
| March 17 | Applications Close | Applications close at 12 PM noon, Pacific Time |
| March 19 | Application Decisions Sent | All decision emails will be sent to applicants’ Berkeley.edu email |
| March 24 | Deadline to Accept/Decline Seat | Students must confirm acceptance via email by 5 PM Pacific Time |
General Information
Exchange programs are an opportunity to expand your personal and professional horizons and to experience the global marketplace first-hand. Haas has reciprocal agreements with leading business schools in both Europe and Asia. Check out our Partners at a Glance.
Evening & Weekend MBA students who have completed their core course requirements may participate in an exchange program in either the Fall or Spring semester. Students may complete a maximum of 12 units of course work as an exchange student (or the equivalent of the host university’s Full Time course load). During their semester abroad, students will receive 10 semester units at Haas upon completion of the program and must pay the applicable Haas tuition and fees during the exchange semester.
International Exchange Program Partner Schools
Located in one of Barcelona’s most pleasant suburbs, ESADE recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary as a leading academic institution in Spain. The MBA program gives special emphasis to the importance of teamwork and participation is highly valued. Students come from diverse business backgrounds and over 75% of its student population are international students, representing 30+ countries. A wide range of elective courses are offered with classes taught in both English and Spanish. Doing Business in Spanish is also offered as an optional language class throughout the term with students being placed according to their level.
ESSEC Business School is one of the internationally recognized, premier European business schools rooted in its core values of humanism, responsibility, innovation and openness. ESSEC’s mission is to infuse leadership with meaning to prepare leaders to address contemporary economic, environmental, and social challenges. Located in Cergy-Pontoise, a thriving town northwest of the capital, on a pleasant, modern campus, just 30 kilometers away from Paris, Berkeley Haas students have the opportunity to spend a term in ESSEC’s Master in Management program, which offers over 200 business courses. See previous ESSEC course offerings.
Note 1: This program can only be done for ESSEC’s Fall or Winter terms.
Note 2: Students studying at ESSEC during the Fall term may also attend courses in ESSEC’s Global MBA program.
A dynamic, international research university in relentless pursuit of excellence, leading the advance of science, technology, business and humanities, and educating the new generation of front-runners for the world. Since its official opening in October 1991, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has established itself as an intellectual powerhouse, energizing the community’s transformation into a knowledge-based society, and securing a place on the academic world map in record-breaking time.
The Rotterdam School of Management offers a US-styled MBA program focusing on the European business environment. Previous course options have included Leadership, Sustainability, Strategic Finance and Value Creation, Consulting, Brand Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Negotiations, Private Equity, Financial Engineering, Innovation Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, and E-Marketing.
Note: This program is available only in the Fall semester.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are many reasons – academic, professional and personal. Our partners are among the top business schools in the world. Taking classes at these institutions will give you a different perspective on business issues. Studying abroad will also allow you to polish your language skills, to delve into a new culture and to make friends. Many Haas students use their exchange semester to contact local firms with the goal of securing employment outside the Bay Area and outside the United States.
Typically, we send around 3-5 students each year. The number is a function of the size of the partner school’s exchange program and the “balance of trade” between Haas and the partner school over time. Check the “Partners at a Glance” document for current information on the schools you are considering.
1. You must be in good academic standing with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.
2. You must have completed your core courses by the time of travel.
3. You cannot participate in an exchange program to your home country.
4. You also must be a solid citizen at Haas. Exchange students are Haas ambassadors. Our exchange relationships depend in part on your good citizenship while on exchange. We reserve the right to deny applicants whose behavior while at Haas indicates they might endanger those relationships and prevent future Haas students from going on exchange to a particular school.
The application period is in March. All students are notified in the Bear Necessities about the dates for information sessions, the number of placements available at each school and the application deadline. This information can also be found on the International Exchange Program website.
If there is space available at the school you have selected, you are in good academic standing and we have no concerns about your ability to represent Haas, you will be offered a space at your chosen school. If demand for the school you selected exceeds supply, exchange students will be selected by lottery. Those who don’t win the lottery are welcome to go to any other school where space is still available.
All offers for the exchange program are conditional on your maintaining a 3.0 GPA for all course work and successfully completing the MBA core before the exchange semester.
Each exchange program is 10 Haas units, regardless of how many classes you end up taking at the partner school. You will pay your usual tuition and fees to the University of California for those 10 units as if you were spending the semester at Haas.
Some schools will require health insurance to be paid at the host school but no additional tuition fees are paid to the exchange school, except perhaps secondary fees to use the computer center or other services, similar to the secondary fees you pay at Haas.
Students are also responsible for any costs associated with entry to the country in which the host institution is located (i.e. visa costs) as well as housing/lodging, roundtrip airfare, and other living expenses.
You will only be able to take elective courses at the exchange school. Please review the Factsheets for more information on any enrollment restrictions set forth by the host institution.
You must complete an equivalent of at least 10 units of coursework while on exchange. Before you depart, you will register for an assigned EWMBA Exchange Program class at Haas. Your exchange units will transfer back to your UC Berkeley transcript as a block of 10 units on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis. You will receive an official transcript from your exchange institution that will show the specific courses completed and grades earned.
Your classes will start at the normal date for the school you selected. Some are on the quarter system, so your break may be longer than usual. However, some schools offer a period of intensive language training for exchange students before regular classes start and/or a mandatory orientation program in advance of the start of classes.
The degree of fluency in the local language required at each school varies. All partner schools teach many (if not all) electives in English. You should investigate the policy at the particular school you are interested in by visiting the school’s website.
Life outside the classroom will vary by country as English is widely spoken in some countries and less so in others. In all cases, familiarity with the local language will be important to getting the most out of your exchange experience.
The partner school will provide the necessary documentation needed to get a student visa, but you are responsible for submitting the paperwork to the appropriate governmental agencies far enough in advance that you can start school on time.
You should check with the Haas Financial Aid Office ([email protected]) if you will need financial aid while on exchange. All paperwork should be completed and in order before your departure. Also, you must sign up for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) via CalCentral so your financial aid proceeds can be deposited directly into a designated bank account. Budget appeals can be considered to augment the standard financial aid budget for some of the increased costs of studying on exchange.
Some of our partner schools have on-campus recruiting in the Fall and allow exchange students to participate. However, this may not be the case at the partner school of your choice, and/or the mix of employers recruiting there may not match your career goals. Thus, you should plan on a proactive job search.
You may register for on-campus recruiting at Haas, receive all of the emails from the recruiting coordinator, and submit résumés and cover letters for interviews via fax or email attachments while on exchange. However, this is impractical unless you plan to fly back for each interview. Thus, if you are considering going on exchange, you also may have to plan a proactive job search, depending on your career goals and situation.
If you are interested in industries that recruit primarily in the fall (e.g., consulting and investment banking) you should network and develop contacts in these industries before leaving Berkeley. You should stay in touch with these contacts and visit their European, Latin American, Asian or New York offices while you are on exchange. Students who are on exchange often put their résumés into the second-year résumé book, indicating in the education section of the résumé that they will be away for a particular semester. If you do this, be sure to include the phone number and address number where you can be reached while away.
It is very challenging for students to continue working while on an exchange because you will be considered a Full Time student at your hosts school and the time difference can be a difficult burden.
If you plan to apply for an exchange, you will need to talk to your employer about taking a leave of absence for the time you are gone.
Studying abroad can be a wonderful chance to experience another culture and meet students from another part of the world. It also can be very challenging to find housing and negotiate a foreign city while keeping up with the academic demands of another top MBA program. We have a number of Haas students and alumni who participated in exchanges. You can ask them for their impressions and tips. During your first year, there are likely to be some second or third-year students on exchange from the schools you are considering. They are also a wonderful source of advice.
Student safety is of the upmost priority to us here at Haas and to our partner schools. In light of the COVID-19 Pandemic and emergent global conflicts, we cannot guarantee that in person exchange programs will not be cancelled. Host schools may choose to move their programs online or cancel for the semester. UC Berkeley may also choose to cancel all in person study abroad programs to ensure student safety or due to travel restrictions. If in-person instruction is cancelled and the host school offers their program remotely, students will have the option to take the program remotely. All of the regular exchange course load policies would apply.
All students who are offered and accept an exchange program will have the opportunity to participate in the regular EW Bidding process just in case their exchange program is cancelled. In the case that they do attend their exchange program, they will be able to drop the Haas classes during Add/Drop.