Transferring to UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business

UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business is one of the best undergraduate business schools in the country. Although the acceptance rate hovers only a little over 6% (a little over 90 people were accepted last year) , this statistic is misrepresenting. The fact is, out of over 1000 applications only about 400 applicants have fulfilled the major prerequisite requirement, the seven course breadth requirement, the foreign language requirement, and the units requirement. Because applications that are incomplete are immediately disqualified, it is important to meet the many requirements in order to be an eligible candidate.

College Major Prerequisites

All major prerequisites must be taken for a letter grade.

Business Administration Prerequisites:

• Introductory Business Course
• One Semester or Two Quarters of Calculus
• Microeconomics
• Macroeconomics
• Statistics
• English /Reading and Composition Requirement
  • You must complete 2 English courses (sometimes it is 3 depending on your college) that are comparable to UC Berkeley’s R1a and R1B
• Literature/Writing Requirement
  • In addition to the 2 (or 3) English courses needed to fulfill the English Reading and Composition Requirement, Berkeley requires you to take a literature/writing class that is offered by either the English, English Literature, or English Writing Departments at your college.

Check out Project Assist for more information on the specific courses at your college that have been articulated to satisfy these prerequisites.

*Admission Changes: The Haas School of Business will require students applying in Fall 2011, transferring Fall 2012 to take an additional semester of Calculus (2 semesters of Calculus total)

Seven Course Breadth Requirement

The seven course breadth is a requirement set up by UC Berkeley faculty to ensure their students a liberal arts education. The Haas School of Business currently requires transfer applicants to complete the seven course breadth requirement the spring prior to transferring. The seven course breadth requirement stipulates that students must that one course from each of the following departments:

• Arts and Literature
• Biological Science
• Historical Studies
• International Studies
• Philosophy and Values
• Physical Science
• Social and Behavioral Sciences

A list of approved courses at your college that have been articulated to satisfy the seven course breadth requirements can be found at Project Assist.

Fine Print:

• The breadth requirement must be completed through coursework
  • Prerequisites courses, AP credit, or IB credit cannot be used to fulfill the breadth requirements
  • One course cannot be used to fulfill two breadth requirements
  • The course used to fulfill the Literature/Writing  prerequisite cannot be used to fulfill breadth requirements

*Admission Changes: The Haas School of Business will not require students applying in Fall 2011, transferring Fall 2012 to fulfill the seven course breadth requirement prior to transferring

UC Foreign Language Requirement

Although not all Berkeley hopefuls need to complete the recommended 3 years of a high school foreign language, this is a Haas requirement.

How to satisfy this requirement:

• Passing (C- or higher) third year high school foreign language courses
• Passing (C- or higher) a college foreign language course equivalent to a second semester foreign language course at Berkeley
• Obtaining a score of 590 or higher on any SAT II Foreign Language Subject Tests
• Obtaining a score of 3 or higher on any AP language exam other than English
• Receiving a grade of C or better on the General Certificate “A” or “O” Level Foreign Language Exam
• If you are an international student and English was not the language of instruction where you attended high school, then English is your foreign language. So to have completed this requirement in high school, you must have passed your third year English courses.

College Units

You must complete 60 semester units prior to transferring.

College Admissions Timeline

• October: The UC application is up online early October
• November: Submit your application between November 1-30
• January: You will be emailed the Haas essay supplement, the Haas resume application, and the Haas Self-reported Academic Record (SAR)
• May: Decisions are available May 1 

College Application Selection

How is your application evaluated? The Haas Admission Committee divides your application into three portions giving them different weight: 50% grades and coursework, 35% essays, and 15% resume.

The Admission Committee will, in addition, consider:

• Performance in the prerequisites
• Grade trends & consistency
• Course load
• Leadership skills
• Extra Curricular Activities
• Work Experience: Haas Resume
• Haas supplemental essays

Because there are so many requirements to meet when planning on transferring to UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, the most important thing to remember is to plan ahead. Contact your college counselor and work together with him/her to create a student education plan. Mapping out which specific classes you plan on taking each semester with your counselor will ensure that you will meet all the requirements and help keep you on track towards transferring.

College Majors:  “Take time to do some research into colleges and majors.  Summer internships are a great way to add value to your college application as well as receive first hand experience in your field of interest.”

Related Posts

1. UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business Changes Transfer Requirements for Fall 2012

2. Important: Send your high school transcripts to your community college [IGETC]

3. The Benefits of Taking a Foreign Language in College

4. UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design Summer Events

5. UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design Update

Share:

Tags: Berkeley, Berkeley admissions, business major, business school, CAL, CAL admissions, CAL Berkeley, College Majors, college of business, community college transfer, Haas, haas admissions, Haas application, haas breadth, haas foreign language, haas prerequisites, Haas requirements, haas resume, Haas School of Business, Haas transfer, seven course breadth, transfer students, UC Berkeley, ucb, UCB admissions

3 Responses to “Transferring to UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business”

1. UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design Summer Events | College To Careers says:

   June 30, 2010 at 6:04 am

   [...] This week, a notice went out from UC Berkeley’s Environmental Design department advising students, counselors and community colleges of upcoming events they will be hosting.  These events are intended for students interested in majoring in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Studies at UC Berkeley. [...]
2. Popular Online College Courses Revealed | College To Careers says:

   August 10, 2010 at 6:45 am

   [...] line of work that focuses on managing a business effectively while leading others toward success? Business Administration is one of the most popular choices for students of an online university. To top it off, it’s a [...]
3. Towering » Blog Archive » Haas school of business says:

   June 9, 2011 at 7:35 am

   [...] Transferring into UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business Jun 28, 2010 … UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business is one of the best undergraduate business schools in the … [...]