Executive MBA Curriculum

The Berkeley MBA for Executives Program delivers a rigorous general management education with the same high course standards and drawing from the same top faculty pool as our full-time MBA program, in a format tailored to you as an executive.

Learn through lecture, case studies, class discussions, simulations, guest speakers, group projects, and immersive learning opportunities, and boost your learning by studying with high caliber peers who collaborate rather than compete.

Along the way, you are shaped as a leader not only by our curriculum, but by our culture, with its four Defining Leadership Principles. Building your business fluency and strengthening these traits, you develop as a leader who harnesses new ideas and creates value for your firm.

Our executive MBA curriculum is rooted in four pillars:

Leadership

Learn how to lead authentically, building on your ability to inspire others and execute at scale. Gain skills through our Leadership Communications immersion, through core courses on leading and managing organizations and on building trust-based relationships, and in electives such as Executive Leadership.

Entrepreneurship

Frame problems, and lead organizational innovation. Whether you lead a firm or a team, an entrepreneurial skillset will give you essential tools. Gain these in our Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Applied Innovation immersion weeks and in electives such as Opportunity Recognition and New Venture Finance.

Strategy

Design long-term strategies to achieve large-scale goals. You’ll find strategy throughout your coursework, including in the core Competitive and Corporate Strategy course and in electives such as Financial Information Analysis, Global Strategy, and Game Theory, and in the Public Policy and Global immersion weeks.

Finance

Understand the bottom-line impact of strategic decisions. Learn finance in the core Financial Accounting and Finance classes and in electives such as New Venture Finance and Corporate Finance, which examines the subject from a CFO perspective.

Executive MBA Program Schedule

The program consists of five terms, each with five course sessions (blocks). Typically, classes meet about once a month, Thursday through Saturday, though block week and elective schedules may vary in the last two terms.

Students are also required to participate in five field Immersions (one each term) that run on different schedules and are five to seven days long.

Core courses are taken in the first three terms and are designed to build upon one another. The final two terms offer you challenging electives and the option to pursue independent studies.

See Detailed Program Calendar for July 2023 Start →

Schedule in a Typical Year

EMBA Curriculum Overview

Due to the accelerated nature of the program, all academic sessions and field immersions are required. Excused absences will be made for medical/family emergencies; other absences will be considered by the faculty on a case-by-case basis.

Sample Block Schedule

Here is how the daily schedule during a typical block might look.

Next: Core Courses →

Adam Tibble

Adam Tibble

Cardiac Anesthesiologist
CASE Anesthesia
Northbay Healthcare

“The Berkeley MBA for Executives is the real deal. This is not a watered-down program. Every one of our professors has his or her own way of getting each of us to work to our highest potential.”