Student Perspectives

The program was perfectly suited to narrowing my gaps and leveraging my strengths.

I admit, over my career, to questioning the real-world value of MBAs. When I decided to get my own MBA, I knew it had to be a program that grounded the theoretical in the practical, real world. Both my classmates and professors in the Berkeley MBA for Executives program did just that.

I’m very clear about what I’ve accomplished and about where I have knowledge and skill gaps. The Berkeley MBA for Executives was perfectly suited to narrowing those gaps and leveraging my strengths.

An interesting outcome of the program was that my two sons began to approach their homework differently, knowing that Dad also had to do his.

I expanded my network in every direction.

The Admissions Office does an excellent job of putting together a class that will work well together. Although there were several people from the healthcare industry, like myself, most of my classmates were from industries that, until now, I didn’t have an in-depth knowledge of. I learned from everyone and expanded my network in every direction.

The quant courses certainly sharpened my analytical skills. New Venture Financing taught us how VCs think and showed the kinds of battle scars they can incur. Knowing both the theory and how it plays out in the real world will be very useful.

One of the many things I appreciate most about Haas is how the Defining Leadership Principles are truly embraced and lived day-to-day. We even talked about them—especially what it means to be Students Always and to have Confidence with Attitude—over beers at the end of a day.

The Silicon Valley Immersion Week is the crown jewel of the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program.

My study group really held a mirror up to my face and helped me focus on receiving feedback. They challenged me in good ways, often asking "did you think about this or that" and encouraging me out of my usual train of thought.

The Immersion Weeks are a catalyst for group cohesion. Every time, we seemed to get to a new level of togetherness and understanding.

The Silicon Valley Immersion Week is the crown jewel of the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program. It was great to take what we saw in Silicon Valley and share that current, real-world experience with my staff.

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