About Berkeley Haas
The Berkeley Haas mission is “to develop leaders who redefine how we do business.” Its distinctive culture is framed by four defining principles:
- Question the status quo
- Confidence without attitude
- Students always
- Beyond yourself
Haas aims to cultivate innovative leaders who know how to put new ideas to work and to do so responsibly. By leveraging the energy that’s ever-present in the innovative business ecosystem of the San Francisco Bay Area, the program emphasizes how to seize opportunities, challenge conventional wisdom and act creatively. As the website states, “Our entire culture is about fresh thinking. This is Berkeley, after all.”
Anchored in a rigorous general management curriculum, the program aims to impart multidimensional leadership skills that can be applied in any type of organization, including global firms, start-ups, nonprofits, or graduates’ own entrepreneurial ventures. Haas links its courses and programs across disciplines at Berkeley and puts a premium on flexibility, allowing students to customize a program of study to their interests and design their own electives.
Strengths and Specializations
Entrepreneurship, finance, general management, healthcare, innovation, international management non-profit/social responsibility, organizational behavior, technology
Graduating Class of 2026
Number of Applicants: 2904 (in 2023)
MBA Class Size: 295
Avg. Work Experience: 5.7 years
Avg. GPA: 3.65
Avg. GMAT: 730
International Students: 38%
Female Students: 42%
Tuition: $85,406/year
Post-MBA Careers (class of 2023)
Sector: Technology (29.8%); Consulting (27.6%); Finance (14.5%); Health/Biotech/Pharma (7.5%); Starting Own Business (3.4%)
Top Recruiters: Amazon, Apple. Bain & Company, BCG, C3.ai, Cisco, Deloitte, Evercore, EY- Parthenon, McKinsey, Microsoft, PayPal, Strategy&, Tesla, TikTok
Avg. Salary: $162,831; Salary Increase: 121% (sources: FT Rankings 2024)
Employment offered within 3 months of graduation: 89.9%
Berkeley Haas Rankings
Admissions
Deadlines for 2024-2025:
R1: September 12, 2024
R2: January 9, 2025
R3: April 3, 2025
Essays
Berkeley Haas MBA Essay Prompts (2025–26)
Video Essay Prompt:
What makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why?
(Video essays should last 1–2 minutes. You’ll have two attempts to record.)
Essay 1 – Career Goals:
What are your short-term and long-term career goals, and how will an MBA from Haas help you achieve those goals?
(300 words max)
Essay 2 – Distance Traveled:
We invite you to share aspects of your background, personal circumstances, or significant experiences that have meaningfully impacted who you are today and how you’ve reached this point. Please tell us how these experiences have influenced your perspectives, decisions, and aspirations, and how they contribute to the person you are becoming.
(300 words max)
Optional Statement:
This section should only be used to convey relevant information not addressed elsewhere in your application. This may include explanation of employment gaps, academic aberrations, supplemental coursework, etc.
(Recommended: 300 words max)
For advice on how to ace these essays, see our article Berkeley Haas MBA Essays & Video Essay Question: Strategy & Tips.
VIDEO
The Berkeley MBA program develops leaders who embody our four Defining Leadership Principles. Briefly introduce yourself to the admissions committee, explain which leadership principle resonates most with you, and tell us how you have exemplified the principle in your personal or professional life. (Not to exceed 2 minutes.)
Fortuna Tips & Advice
View our team’s strategy & tips for tackling the Berkeley Haas Essays and Video.