BERKELEY HAAS · MBA GUIDE
Haas’s full-time MBA takes 21 months on campus in Berkeley, California. It starts in August, with classes Monday to Thursday and a summer between your two years. Start here to understand the program and prepare each part of your application.
Fall 2027 entry
GET TO KNOW THE PROGRAM
The core runs through your first year: Fall A, Fall B, and the spring.
FALL A
Leading People; Data and Decisions; Economics for Business Decision Making; and Financial Accounting.
FALL B
Introduction to Finance; Marketing; and Business Communication in Diverse Work Environments.
SPRING
The spring core includes Macroeconomics in the Global Economy, Operations, Ethics and Responsibility in Business, and Strategic Leadership.
ELECTIVES AND HANDS-ON WORK
You take at least one of nearly 20 experiential courses, and more than half of the electives include hands-on learning.
Haas’s support for founders includes the eHub, the Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Program, Lean Launchpad, New Venture Finance, and UC LAUNCH. In the Class of 2025, 15 graduates were starting businesses.
Electives: About 60% of the curriculum is electives, starting in your first year. You can take graduate courses elsewhere at Berkeley or do an independent study. Haas has also announced an AI for Business graduate certificate for MBA students, covering technology, management, strategy, and impact.
Waiving a core course: You need faculty permission and a replacement course. Haas doesn’t accept transfer credit.
Hands-on courses: Examples include Haas@Work, the Sustainable Investment Fund, and International Business Development, which involves work for international clients. A place on a particular project isn’t guaranteed.
Going abroad: In the fall of your second year, an exchange can count for up to 12 credits, with destinations including Hong Kong, Spain, France, and England. Check the current partner schools before you plan around one.
Clubs and conferences: Clubs include the Entrepreneurs Association, Venture Capital, Female Founders & Funders, and Entrepreneur Through Acquisition, along with AI and Finance clubs. Conferences include the Women in Leadership Conference, the Haas Tech and AI Summit, Product Con, and the Berkeley Real Estate Summit.
Housing and family: Options include university graduate apartments, couples and family housing, and private or shared rentals. Partners can join the Partners Club, and Haas lists childcare resources. Ask about university housing as soon as you’re admitted.
Accelerated Access: For students in their final year of college, or in a graduate program straight after college with no full-time work in between, graduating between July 1, 2026, and September 30, 2027. The deadline is April 1, 2027, with decisions on June 3, 2027. If you’re admitted, you work for two to five years before you start. It reserves you a later place, rather than offering a shorter MBA.
What Accelerated Access involves: Two essays, two recommendations, a test score, a résumé, transcripts, and an interview. Once admitted, you pay a $500 nonrefundable commitment and a small yearly fee, and tell Haas a year before you plan to start. When you enroll, a second review also considers you for scholarships.
Concurrent degrees: The MBA with a Master of Climate Solutions takes five semesters over two and a half years, with two summers. The MBA with a Master of Public Health takes 30 months, also five semesters, with about 20 students a year and two summer internships. The MBA with a Master of Engineering takes four semesters, including engineering study. The JD/MBA, with a law degree from Berkeley Law or UC Law San Francisco, takes four years.
Applying for one: For the climate and public-health degrees, you use the MBA application and add a statement of purpose. For engineering, you can name up to two departments. Ask Haas which rounds that route accepts before you choose one. The JD/MBA needs separate applications to the law school and to Haas.
Paying for the extra time: The longer routes add tuition terms. Ordinary Haas scholarships cover four terms and don’t extend to the extra ones automatically.
Your visa: Once you’re admitted, you complete the Berkeley International Office’s Nonimmigrant Information Form (NIF) and show you can pay for your studies. Berkeley then issues your I-20, the form you need for an F-1 student visa. Bank documents should generally be no more than three months old, and UC Berkeley funding or award letters no more than six months old.
Arriving: A visa for a new student can be issued up to 365 days before the program starts, but you can enter the U.S. no more than 30 days before.
Working while you study: On an F-1 visa, campus jobs are limited to 20 hours a week during term. Off-campus work needs authorization first, for example Curricular Practical Training (CPT), which has to be part of your program and approved on your I-20 before you start. A year or more of full-time CPT ends your eligibility for OPT.
After you graduate: OPT needs a recommendation from Berkeley and approval from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before you start work. The STEM extension depends on the degree’s classification on the government’s STEM list, so confirm it with Berkeley’s international office before you count on the extra 24 months.
Career support: Career coaches, employer relationship managers, second-year peer advisers, and industry specialists help you recruit, and their support continues after you graduate. Haas explains visa processes to employers too, but neither its support nor the STEM designation guarantees sponsorship.
UNDERSTAND WHAT HAAS LOOKS FOR
Haas reviews each application as a whole. Its Defining Leadership Principles are “Question the Status Quo,” “Confidence Without Attitude,” “Students Always,” and “Beyond Yourself.” They’re about challenging convention, pairing evidence with humility, staying curious, and taking responsibility for a wider good.
YOUR CAREER
There’s no minimum, but most students have at least two years of work. Haas looks at how you’ve progressed and the quality of your work.
Letrado’s adviceThe middle 80% of the Class of 2027 had 3.2 to 8.2 years of work. If you’re near either end of that range, say plainly why now is the right time.
ACADEMIC READINESS
Haas treats a B average, or 3.0, as its general standard for serious consideration, not a strict cutoff. Preparation in math and statistics matters.
Letrado’s adviceIf your transcript is light on math, a recent statistics course with a strong grade is direct evidence. Explain a weak semester briefly in the optional statement.
LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES
Haas considers your personal qualities alongside your work and academics, and its four principles describe what it hopes students bring.
Letrado’s adviceSkip the slogans. Pick one time you questioned how something was done and changed it, and let the details show the principle.
WHAT HAAS DESCRIBES
after your round’s deadline, invitations start going out on a rolling basis, and they continue until decisions
a prerecorded interview, or a remote live one with a Haas alumnus or current student
Haas gives both formats the same consideration
CLASS OF 2027 · GRADUATING IN 2027
The GMAT Focus Edition is the current GMAT, scored from 205 to 805. On the previous edition, scored from 200 to 800, the class median was 730, with a middle 80% of 669 to 767. On the GRE, the medians were 161 Verbal and 162 Quantitative.
Before Haas, 24% of the class worked in consulting, 21% in technology, and 20% in financial services. Veterans make up 6%.
Haas counts anyone with a non-U.S. passport as international, including dual U.S. citizens, so the 44% isn’t the share who need a visa. These figures describe one class, not minimums, and Haas sets no minimum test score.
WHAT HAAS ASKS FOR
Haas’s application checklist requires one letter from your current direct supervisor. If you can’t ask your supervisor, the application has a field to explain why, and you can choose someone else who has seen your work, such as a former supervisor or a client. Avoid family, friends, peers, people who report to you, and professors.
If you work in a family business, Haas says a major client, a former supervisor, or a leader from your activities outside work who has seen you perform can give independent evidence.
rated on a grid
how they’ve worked with you, and your role
how you compare with peers in similar roles, with examples
constructive feedback they’ve given you, the circumstances, and how you responded
Haas uses the Common Letter of Recommendation from GMAC, the organization behind the GMAT, which other business schools use too. Your recommender also confirms that “the applicant was not involved in crafting any portion of this written recommendation.”
EMPLOYMENT REPORT · CLASS OF 2025
By function, the largest shares were consulting at 27.5%, finance at 19%, and general management at 15.7%. Employers included Adobe, Amazon, Bain, BCG, Deloitte, Google, McKinsey, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, NVIDIA, and ServiceNow.
Outside North America, 2.0% of employed graduates worked in Asia, 0.7% in Europe, and 0.7% in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The class had 229 graduates, and 182 of them were seeking jobs. These are one class’s results, not a promise of a job or of visa sponsorship.
WHAT HAAS SAYS
On advice, editing, and AI tools that help with readability, Haas’s rule is that the “content and final written text must be your own.”
Your recommenders confirm you had no part in writing their letters. If you apply through the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, you also sign a statement that you wrote your essays and your recommenders wrote their letters.
PLAN THE APPLICATION
Haas has three rounds for fall 2027 entry. After you apply, you can still send an updated test score, and Haas’s supplemental scholarships have later deadlines of their own.
Round 1
Sep 10, 2026Round 2
Jan 7, 2027Round 3
Apr 1, 2027Accelerated Access (deferred entry)
Apr 1, 2027Application deadlines are at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Supplemental scholarship decisions come with admission decisions in Rounds 1 and 2, and on May 7, 2027, in Round 3. Consortium applicants follow the Consortium’s own deadlines, explained below.
A video of up to two minutes, a 300-word career essay, optional essays, short-answer fields, and a current résumé, ideally as a PDF. The fee is $250 and nonrefundable. Haas lists fee waivers for specific groups, such as certain U.S. service and financial-need cases, citizens of African countries, and Haas Thrive Fellows, so check the conditions and request one by your round’s deadline.
Required, with no minimum score. Take the test by your round’s deadline. You can self-report your score first, then send an updated one until the date listed for your round.
Scans of your university records, front and back, plus your degree certificate if you studied outside the U.S. Records in another language need the original and an accepted official English translation. Official records come only after you’re admitted.
Plan on one from your current direct supervisor. If that isn’t possible, the application asks you to explain why.
Prerecorded, or live and remote with a Haas alumnus or current student. Both formats get equal consideration.
A TOEFL or IELTS score, unless an exemption applies. The minimums and exemptions are listed below.
Which tests: The GMAT, either the current Focus Edition or the previous edition, or the GRE. There’s no minimum score. The Executive Assessment, a shorter 90-minute test, isn’t one of the options.
Which scores count: For fall 2027 entry, tests taken on or after October 1, 2021, as long as Haas can still verify the official score. GMAT and GRE scores last five years, so check yours hasn’t expired before you send it.
English minimums: TOEFL 90 on the 0 to 120 scale, or IELTS 7 overall with at least 6.5 in speaking and writing, from a test taken on or after June 1, 2025. If you were hoping to use another test, such as the Duolingo English Test, ask admissions first.
TOEFL’s new scale: Since January 21, 2026, TOEFL has reported scores from 1 to 6, with a comparable 0 to 120 total for a two-year transition. If you want to use the new scale, confirm Haas’s minimum with admissions before you book.
Who’s exempt: Applicants with a degree from an eligible, mainly English-speaking country, or a full academic year of study with grades of B or better in the U.S., the UK, Australia, English-speaking Canada, or Singapore before applying. An English-medium education in India or Latin America isn’t enough on its own. Haas lists exclusions, so check your case before you skip the test.
Your degree: Haas looks for a four-year bachelor’s degree, or a two-year master’s after a bachelor’s. If yours took three years, read the country guidance in Haas’s FAQ before you apply: not every three-year degree from India qualifies on its own. If you already hold an MBA, you aren’t eligible.
Your GPA: Report it on your university’s own scale, without converting it to a U.S. 4.0. Haas gives your first bachelor’s degree more weight than later ones.
If you’re reapplying: If you applied to a Haas MBA program in the past two years, you can use Haas’s reapplication process, unless that application was to Accelerated Access, or was incomplete or withdrawn. You update your test scores, résumé, academic records, video, and the essays that apply, and add a statement on how you’ve improved. One or two new recommendations are encouraged, not required.
Deferrals and the waitlist: Deferrals are rare and decided case by case, and Haas doesn’t rank its waitlist.
The route: The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management is open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) who are committed to its mission and hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. Each school sets its own DACA policy. You apply through the Consortium instead of Haas’s own application, and admission, membership, and fellowship funding are separate decisions. Funding isn’t guaranteed.
What you write: A 400-word essay on your career goals, experience, and reasons for an MBA, an optional 300-word essay, and three required 300-word mission essays, plus each school’s supplement. Haas also asks Consortium applicants for a video of one to two minutes, with two attempts, once it receives the application.
Your letters: Two professional letters on GMAC’s Common Letter of Recommendation, plus a mission recommendation that schools can’t see.
Dates and fees: The Consortium application opens August 15. Its deadlines are October 15 and January 5 each year, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, for all supporting materials. Check its site for the current cycle. The fee is $150 for one program and $50 for each additional one, with no waivers or refunds.
If you’ve applied before: You submit a new application. Before you plan to reuse earlier letters or transcripts, ask Haas and the Consortium what carries over.
WRITE IN YOUR OWN VOICE
A video of up to two minutes, and 300 wordsOne video of one to two minutes, with two recording attempts, and a career essay of up to 300 words. The two optional essays allow up to 300 words each.
These are Haas’s questions for the 2026–2027 application cycle, alongside short-answer fields on your activities and work.
Letrado’s adviceGive the last part of the career question real thought. Haas asks how you’d adapt if your career circumstances changed, so name a realistic second path, not only the job you want most.
Haas asks: “Briefly introduce yourself, then tell us what makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why?” Two minutes is the maximum, you get two recording attempts, and you can test your camera and microphone first.
Describe your post-MBA goals, the resources at Haas that would help you reach them, and how you’d adapt if your career circumstances changed.
Write about your background or circumstances, and how they shaped your journey, your perspective, your decisions, and your aspirations.
Use it for gaps in your record, unusual academic results, or other relevant context the rest of the application doesn’t cover. Bullet points are allowed.
Rank your activities during and after university. For each, describe the organization and its size, then give your role, the dates, and your hours. List any jobs you held while studying. Two more fields ask about any academic disciplinary action and, if neither recommender is your current supervisor, why.
MAKE ROOM FOR THE FINANCIAL QUESTION
That’s Haas’s estimate for nine months for one student, and it’s lower for California residents. Merit awards are automatic, but the need grant and several named awards have their own applications and deadlines.
MERIT AWARDS
Every admitted applicant is considered automatically. Named awards have their own preferences, for example undergraduate study in Asia or Latin America, a finance career, or a science or engineering degree with entrepreneurial plans.
SUPPLEMENTAL SCHOLARSHIPS
The need grant looks at your income and assets, which Haas verifies after a conditional award. The Maxwell, Forté, and ROMBA (Reaching Out MBA) awards ask for extra information too.
SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING
went to entering students in 2025–26. Most awards are open to international and U.S. students alike, and Haas says about half of its students have historically received one.
Awards normally cover four terms, as long as you stay enrolled with at least a 3.0 average and satisfactory academic progress. If you defer your admission, your award is void until Haas reviews it again.
Haas scholarships (opens in a new tab)PUBLISHED 2026–27 BUDGET · NONRESIDENT, FIRST YEAR
$138,921Tuition and fees are $92,755 and health insurance $8,206. Housing, food, books, transportation, and personal costs add $37,960. A California resident doesn’t pay Nonresident Supplemental Tuition, and Haas’s resident estimate is $126,676.
This is Haas’s 2026–27 estimate for nine months. For fall 2027 entry, use the 2027–28 budget when Haas publishes it. It covers you alone, not the summer, a partner, or children. Optional workshops, clubs, and treks can reach $25,000 over the program.
Haas full-time MBA cost of attendance (opens in a new tab)Letrado’s adviceIf you’ll need a scholarship, don’t leave your application to Round 3: Haas says some funds run out, and Round 3’s scholarship decisions come last, on May 7, 2027. If you’re borrowing from abroad, ask which lenders are taking new applications before you accept your offer.
In the Class of 2025, 88.9% of graduates who accepted jobs reported a salary. The median base salary was $168,500 for jobs in North America and $169,100 in the western U.S., where most graduates who took jobs worked. Elsewhere in the U.S., regional medians ran from $150,300 in the Mid-Atlantic to $192,000 in the Southwest. In North America, the median signing bonus was $30,000 among those who reported one.
Employment report tables, Class of 2025 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)ADMITTED TO BERKELEY HAAS · V.R.
He was applying after seven years in operations and finance at his family’s distribution business in Colombia, aiming for growth finance in Latin American consumer businesses. His first résumé claimed the company’s growth as his own and didn’t mention that his family owned it. We helped him give an accurate account of both his advantage and his work.
Family access hadn’t put every decision in his hands, and he wrote about what he learned when he was overruled.
His years in the family business gave him a close view of how Latin American consumer businesses operate, and his goal was growth finance for those businesses.
A family business can raise fair questions, so his practice interviews put them to him plainly.
“Confidence Without Attitude,” (opens in a new tab) one of Haas’s four principles, pairs evidence with humility. V.R.’s application did both: it set out his own analysis plainly, and it didn’t hide where his early access came from.
AI illustrationHIS BERKELEY HAAS OUTCOME
Offered a place in the Berkeley Haas MBA
HIS CHOICE: BERKELEY HAASHaas School of Business, UC Berkeley · Photo: BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped.
Haas’s entrepreneurship and its place on the West Coast drew him, and he weighed them against Wharton’s traditional finance network before he decided.
ALSO ADMITTED TO
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