Each year the Haas Undergraduate Program offers several summer programs:
1. The BASE Summer Program, an integrated intensive multi-course boot camp specifically designed for non-business majors
2. Core and elective undergraduate business courses as part of the Berkeley Summer Sessions.
3. Summer Minor in Sustainable Business and Policy: Students will gain a broad understanding of the skills needed for careers in business or government focused on sustainable business and policy. Students develop economic and business skills and gain an understanding of government laws and policies.
4. The Berkeley Charter of Professional Accountancy provides you with the accounting knowledge to pursue a CPA and is the perfect way to round out your studies in any major, including Business, Economics, English.
Who should consider the integrated BASE Summer Program at Haas
The BASE Summer Program (Business for Arts, Sciences, and Engineering) is an intensive, six-week business boot camp designed for non-business majors. Sometimes this intensive type of program is called a Summer Business Institute. BASE begins in early July and ends in mid August each summer. BASE is limited to a small group of students (around 50) who take all classes together as one cohort. This small program size allows for a lot of personal attention from Haas faculty and staff and provides social and networking opportunities. BASE is the only premier business program where students can earn academic credit. BASE combines all benefits of Summer Session and makes them available in one integrated and carefully planned-out program. More information about BASE is available here.
Who should consider the Berkeley Haas Summer Session
1. Berkeley students who need to catch up, to get ahead on their degree progress, to manage a dual degree or who participate in athletics during the school year.
2. Newly admitted transfer students who are eager to start their Berkeley educational experience.
3. Non-business majors who want to learn specific skills. If your goal is to cover multiple classes, the BASE Program may be ideal for you.
4. International visitors who want to experience US education and visiting students from other US universities who want to spend a summer in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area and California. Please note that most non-US citizens may require a visa to study in the United States.
Scheduling and Logistical Information
Summer Session classes are scheduled as two consecutive 6 week sessions. The mid-point between the two sessions comes at the beginning of July (check Berkeley Summer Sessions for specific dates each year). Students can be enrolled in either one or both sessions. The regular semester at Berkeley is 14 weeks of instruction. In Summer, classes meet on more days a week (typically 3 or 4) and for more hours each day.
The Summer Sessions Schedule of Classes shows which classes will be offered each year. Students should look carefully at the “Start” and “End” dates to see which courses are in the first six-weeks and which are in the second.
Traditionally, all course pre-requisites are waived during the summer. This means that you can take an Upper Division class before you have completed 2 years at the university and you can take a class out of sequence. Of course, this would be at your own risk. You have to be confident that you reasonably understand the background material.
It is up to your university as to whether they will accept the transcript credit but you can request a syllabus to help with this or to get pre-approval from advisors at your school.
Summer Sessions has specific registration fees and tuition is charged per course, not per semester as during the academic school year (Fall and Spring semesters).
Berkeley Haas Summer Session Tips from Faculty
- A manageable load is about two 3-unit classes per session. Note that some non-Haas classes may be on an 8-week or other schedule.
- Almost all Berkeley Haas classes require active student class participation; if you would not be comfortable raising your hand, giving your opinion and explanations in English, then you would find study at Berkeley Haas very difficult.
- Berkeley Haas is a competitive, nationally-ranked program and the instructors expect serious study and hard work.