What is the recommended process for Researching Electives?
- Check out the Electives Page
- Elective Schedule
- Other Academic Opportunities and Certificates
- Haas Course Evaluations
- Attend Webinars
- Academic Calendars and Registration Timeline
- Unit Limits
- Understand the Registration Process
Recommended Process:
1. Check out the Electives Page
Our Electives page outlines important things to help you on your electives journey and can help in three main ways:
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- Providing previous schedules to see where the patterns are in terms of course regularity. Past Curricular Plans allow you to see what we map out from semester to semester.
- We also put the latest Curricular Plan on EWMBA Homepage.
- Outlining our Prime Electives. These are courses deemed beneficial for an MBA no matter what career path you are on. Because these courses are an important part of general management education, we strive to offer them with the most regularity from year to year.
- Breaking down recommended electives by career path. Elective offerings can change from year to year based on new courses being designed, faculty availability, student demand, and scheduling conflicts. Because changes may occur, the career path listings are not considered exhaustive and may not include all electives on our schedule. Remember, just because an elective may not be on these lists doesn’t mean it isn’t a great fit for you!
- Providing previous schedules to see where the patterns are in terms of course regularity. Past Curricular Plans allow you to see what we map out from semester to semester.
2. Elective Schedule
Once our elective schedule is released on our Homepage, you will have a couple of weeks to dive into each course description and see what it’s all about. You can also do this using the previous elective schedules featured on our Electives page, but just know that some details may change from term to term. Please note that the Summer Elective Schedule has a different structure from what is offered in the Fall and Spring terms. You will want to pay close attention to the details listed on the schedule and in the course descriptions when the schedule is released. Examples of previous Summer Schedules are featured on the Electives Page.
Course Descriptions
Within the Elective schedule, click on the hyperlink on the course title to read the course description. The detailed description is created by the instructors and is the BEST place to find out if the course is right for you! Pay attention not just to what the course is about, but also when it is offered, what the format of the class will be, and any other expectations or instructions the professor may provide.
Syllabi
If faculty have provided the Program Office with their syllabus for their course, it will be linked in the Course Description. Sometimes these are syllabi from the year or two prior, but they will give you a good idea of what the course is like.
3. Other Academic Opportunities and Certificates
As you consider what electives to take, it may be helpful to see what Other Academic Opportunities are available. If international travel is important to you, there are a number of options to select from. EWMBA students also have the opportunity to take courses from other departments at Haas and other graduate programs at Cal. Students may even choose to do an Independent study with a professor. In addition to other course opportunities, there are also several Certificate Programs available for students. Some of these certificates are easier to map out with the EW curriculum than others, so if you are interested in getting the certificate, please consult with your Academic Advisor.
4. Haas Course Evaluations
As a student, you have access to read Faculty and Course evaluations from previous semesters. You can do this by accessing Haas Course Evaluations with your CalNet ID. When accessing Haas Course Evaluations, you may need to login to the VPN if you are not on campus. Please note this option is only available for Haas courses. It does not provide access to evaluations for courses offered by other departments on campus.
5. Attend Webinars
Every semester, when the Elective Schedule is released, The Program Office hosts an Elective Webinar. Students are encouraged to attend and ask questions, or watch the recording afterwards to learn about new courses and any changes to previously offered courses. In addition to the Elective Webinar, there are often other webinars hosted by the EWMBAA VPs of Academics, or by various Faculty groups. These webinars are available to everyone and the recordings are posted on the EWMBA Homepage.
6. Academic Calendars and Registration Timeline
The most up to date academic calendars can be found on EWMBA Homepage under the appropriate semester. It is important in planning your elective curriculum to look at the start and end dates for the term so that you can be prepared for when you are expected in class.
7. Unit Limits
When researching what electives to take, it’s important to know your unit limits:
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- Students can take a maximum of 9 units per term
- You need 6 units to receive Financial Aid, including loans
- In order to receive career and student services you need to be enrolled in 1 unit
Additionally, there are some other unit requirements to keep in mind:
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- You may only take up to 5 units of Non-Haas credit. This does not include any UC Berkeley graduate courses which we list on our elective schedule, but does include any GNAM GNW or SNOC courses.
- You may only take up to 3 units of Independent Study. This does not include any of our GNAM GNW or SNOC courses which are listed on your transcript as independent studies.
- You may only take 1 Business of Politics: Washington Campus course, and 1 Seminar in International Business (SIB) course.
8. Understand the Registration Process
Your final step in researching electives is to understand the registration process. There is a two part process to enroll in electives. The first part is called Bidding and it takes place midway through the previous semester. Part two is Add/Drop and Drop Only which will take place at the beginning of the semester in which the electives take place.