No Berkeley MBA is complete without experiential learning. It is the best way to demonstrate the real-world impact your classroom learning and freshly honed skills can have. There are more than a dozen experiential electives in our curriculum, and many electives feature hands-on learning as well.
One experiential learning opportunity you'll share with your entire class is WE Innovate, a mid-program retreat that challenges students to apply design thinking, collaboration, and leadership skills to a team challenge.
Experiential Learning Courses
Our deep relationships with leading organizations extends from the Bay Area to around the world, opening up unmatched opportunities for MBA students to participate on team projects that the gamut from consulting work for nonprofits and government agencies to major corporate transformation initiatives. Here are just a few:
Haas@Work
Haas@Work pairs teams of Berkeley MBA students with top executives at leading firms such as Cisco, Disney, Clorox, Wells Fargo, Visa, and Panasonic. Your task is to solve a competitive challenge faced by the client company.
Lean Launchpad
Lean Launchpad delivers an actual entrepreneurial experience. You are exposed to all of the demands and decisions required of an early-stage start-up, from developing a business model to customer development to market evaluation. Based on the feedback you receive, teams rapidly iterate the product to deliver what customers would purchase and use.
Social Sector Solutions
Social Sector Solutions matches student teams with social enterprises, nonprofits, and public organizations to perform strategic consulting projects that address pressing issues for the client. Teams are coached by consultants from McKinsey. Clients have included the Berkeley Food Network and the Museum of the African Diaspora.
Design Sprint for Corporate Innovation
While in residence at the THNK School of Creative Leadership in Amsterdam, you solve a real-life business challenge for a client by using a structured approach that draws on design thinking, innovation strategy, and entrepreneurship.
International Business Development (IBD)
Our signature international MBA experience pairs student teams with for-profit and nonprofit organizations worldwide on real-life consulting projects. IBD involves work in the classroom and two weeks in-country during the summer.
