Experiential Learning

In the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program 25 percent of your learning is experiential, with field immersions that invite deep focus on five areas: leadership, design thinking, entrepreneurship and innovation, global business, and public policy.

Led and developed by top faculty, these powerful immersive courses place you on the ground in Silicon Valley, Washington, DC, and in such global business hubs as Shanghai or Copenhagen. They connect you with path-breaking entrepreneurs, with high-level leaders in business and government and, even more closely, with your classmates. 

And though these immersions take you off campus, the experience is 100 percent Berkeley Haas: transformative and powered by our thought leadership and deep connections in the Bay Area and around the globe.*

Berkeley EMBA Field Immersions

Leadership Communication Immersion

Term 1 | Santa Cruz

With executive coach and Distinguished Teaching Fellow Mark Rittenberg, learn how to enhance professional and leadership skills through authentic communication. Students will learn how to inspire others, create cooperation among those who work with them, and advocate ideas within and outside of their organizations.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Immersion

Term 2 | Silicon Valley

Gain insight into the core capabilities of entrepreneurs and the demands, benefits, and risks of launching or working at a startup. You’ll explore the unparalleled entrepreneurial ecosystem of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area with Toby Stuart, faculty director of the Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Program, and learn through case studies and by engaging with the entrepreneurial community through frank conversations with founders and C-suite executives.

Applied Innovation Immersion

Term 3 | San Francisco

In this hands-on week, focus on design-centered thinking and idea development, and engage with design firms and leaders from corporate innovation labs. Learn how to go beyond obvious questions and answers to find the insights that lead to breakthrough innovations with Teaching Professor Sara Beckman. Generate ideas, experiment, prototype, derive meaning from customer insights, iterate, and pitch, applying these tools to design and redesign solutions and business models.

Business and Public Policy Immersion

Term 4 | Washington, DC

Travel to Washington, DC to explore the intersection between public policy and business. Previous classes have discussed policy with White House staff members, such as the chair of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors, and with former Fed Chair and Haas Professor Emeritus Janet Yellen.

International Field Immersion

Term 5 | International

Uncover the key factors influencing global business success during a week in an international hub, through a mix of lecture, company visits, and discussions with local business and government leaders. Previous classes have traveled to Singapore to explore the market entry of U.S. companies into Asia and to Copenhagen to examine corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices in The Nordics.

*Field immersion faculty, locales, and itineraries are subject to change.

Next: Faculty & Research →

KunjalParikh-016@2x

Kunjal Parikh

Principal Technologist and Director
Intel Corporation
Santa Clara, California

"I wanted a program that would help me build connections outside my industry, and I wanted to make sure the program's education was experiential and not just theoretical. Haas fit all of this."