Our mission at the Haas School of Business is to develop leaders who redefine how we do business. The admissions committee selects individuals who demonstrate promise for academic success as well as demonstrate excellence in non-academic endeavors.
The goal of the admissions review process is to holistically evaluate an applicant’s overall fit for the program. Additionally, we seek applicants who embody the Berkeley Haas Defining Leadership Principles:
- Question the Status Quo
- Confidence Without Attitude
- Students Always
- Beyond Yourself
Characteristics of Successful Candidates
- Academic achievement including grades, course load, consistent academic excellence, and high academic performance in all required prerequisite courses.
- Consistency and impact in extracurricular activities
- Personal attributes and life experience suggesting leadership, maturity, ethical character, teamwork and goal orientation.
- Communication and analytical skills as demonstrated by responses to essay questions.
The following factors are evaluated and weighted as listed below for the Continuing UCB & Transfer Applicant Pools:
50% – Grades & Coursework
35% – Essays
15% – Activities & Awards
Admission Interviews: The information submitted as part of the written applications typically gives us the full picture of a student’s experience and aspirations. All applicants have the opportunity to submit a video interview along with the application. The video interview is not mandatory but strongly recommended.
Continuing Berkeley Students: Updated Admissions Timeline
This year all Continuing Berkeley students will apply to the business major in Spring 2023, please review the Important Dates page for timeline details.
- Completion of all prerequisite courses for a letter grade of C- or higher by the end of the Spring term prior to your anticipated start at Berkeley Haas (courses may not be more than 5 years old).
- Minimum of 60 semester or 90 quarter units.
- All prerequisite courses must carry a minimum of 3 semester or 4 quarter units
Required Prerequisite Courses
| Course Title | Continuing UC Berkeley Students <1> <2> | Transfer Students <2> <3> |
| Principles of Business | UGBA 10 | One introductory business course |
| Calculus |
Math 16A &16B or Math 1A & 1B or Math 1A & 16B or Math 53 or Math 54 |
2 semesters or 3 quarters of calculus |
| Introduction to Economics | Econ 1 or 2 | Lower division course(s) in macro and micro economics |
| Statistics |
Stat 20 or W21 or 131A, 134 or Data/Stat C140. A Foundations of Data Science course (STAT/DATA/INFO/CS/C8) plus a connector course (DATA C88S, [formerly STAT 88] OR UGBA 88) may also fulfill the statistics prerequisite. |
One introductory course in probability and statistics for business. |
| English/Reading & Composition | R1A (or equivalent) | You must satisfy this requirement by completing courses comparable to UC Berkeley’s English R1A. Students at schools other than California community colleges should refer to http://admissions.berkeley.edu/transfer_info for a listing of articulated courses. |
| English/Reading & Composition | R1B (or equivalent) | You must satisfy this requirement by completing courses comparable to UC Berkeley’s English R1B. Students at schools other than California community colleges should refer to http://admissions.berkeley.edu/transfer_info for a listing of articulated courses. |
<1> Once at UC Berkeley, all prerequisites must be completed at UC Berkeley. If non-UC Berkeley college level course work was completed before admission into UC Berkeley, it can be used to satisfy prerequisite or breadth requirements (with the exception of Principles of Business (UGBA 10), which must be taken at UC Berkeley). If off-campus work was completed at a California community college, visit the Assist website, www.assist.org for courses at each school that fulfill the prerequisite or breadth requirements.
<2> If you repeated or have taken more than one course to fulfill a prerequisite you must use the first attempt to satisfy the requirement. If you received a C- or higher for your first attempt you should not repeat the prerequisite.
<3> California Community College transfer applicants consult Assist.org for exact courses offered. The assist.org web site has not been updated to reflect 2022-2023 articulation agreements. To view the most current articulation agreement go to assist.org and choose:
“Academic Year”: Select 2021-2022
“Institution”: Select your Community College
“Agreements with Other Institutions”: Select University of California, Berkeley
Click “View Agreements”
“View Agreement By”: Select Major
Select “Business Administration, Lower Division B.S.”
You can then view or download the agreement
Students with exam credit may be exempt from certain admission requirements.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP)
| EXAM | SCORE NEEDED TO FULFILL REQUIREMENT |
UC BERKELEY COURSE(S) SATISFIED BY AP SCORE |
| ECONOMICS (MICRO & MACRO) | 4 OR 5 ON BOTH EXAMS | ECONOMICS 1 OR 2 |
| ENGLISH COMPOSITION & LITERATURE |
4 |
R1A |
| 5 | R1A & R1B | |
| ENGLISH LANGUAGE & COMPOSITION | 4 OR 5 | R1A |
| MATH BC |
3, 4 OR 5 |
MATH 16A OR MATH 1A (MATH 16B or MATH 1B or MATH 53 or MATH 54 still required to complete prerequisite) |
| MATH AB | 3, 4 OR 5 |
MATH 16A OR MATH 1A (MATH 16B or MATH 1B or MATH 53 or MATH 54 still required to complete prerequisite) |
| STATS | N/A |
The AP Stats exam does not fulfill the Statistics prerequisite requirement. |
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) – Higher Level
| EXAM | SCORE NEEDED TO FULFILL REQUIREMENT |
UC BERKELEY COURSE(S) SATISFIED BY AP SCORE |
|
ECONOMICS
|
5, 6 OR 7 | ECONOMICS 1 OR 2 |
| ENGLISH A: LITERATURE* | 5, 6 OR 7 | R1A AND R1B |
| Beginning with students admitted to UCB in Fall 2018 – ENGLISH A: LANGUAGE & LITERATURE* | 5, 6 OR 7 | R1A AND R1B |
| MATHEMATICS | 5, 6 OR 7 | Math 16A or Math 1A (Students must take Math 16B or 1B or Math 53 or Math 54 to complete the calculus prerequisite) |
| MATHEMATICS, ANALYSIS & APPROACHES | 5, 6, OR 7 | Math 16A or Math 1A (Students must take Math 16B or 1B or Math 53 or Math 54 to complete the calculus prerequisite) |
| MATHEMATICS, APPLICATIONS & INTERPRETATION | 5, 6, OR 7 | Math 16A (Students must take Math 16B or 1B or Math 53 or Math 54 to complete the calculus prerequisite) |
| MATHEMATICS, FURTHER LEVEL | 6 OR 7 | Math 1A (Students must take Math 16B or 1B or Math 53 or Math 54 to complete the calculus prerequisite) |
GCE ADVANCED LEVEL (A LEVEL)
| EXAM | SCORE NEEDED TO FULFILL REQUIREMENT |
UC BERKELEY COURSE(S) SATISFIED BY AP SCORE |
|
ECONOMICS
|
A, B OR C | ECONOMICS 1 OR 2 |
| MATHEMATICS | A, B OR C |
MATH 16A OR MATH 1A (MATH 16B or MATH 1B or MATH 53 or MATH 54 still required to complete prerequisite) |
*The IB Literature & Performance exam does NOT satisfy the R1A/R1B requirement.
Breadth is not required for admission but you must successfully complete the 7-course breadth sequence to earn a B.S. degree from the Haas School. Although breadth coursework is not required for admission, students are encouraged to spread breadth courses over 4 years. One course cannot be used to satisfy both a prerequisite and a breadth requirement for the business administration major.