Scholarships provided by Haas give financial flexibility to students who are ready to continue pursuing their passion for business education. By awarding students gift aid, Haas is able to continue building its classroom experience with high-performing, diverse, and engaged students.
According to Jamie Hayden, Director of Financial Aid, the University of California Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Haas awards over $8 million in scholarship funding each year. And, approximately 75% of Haas students receive some form of financial assistance, with 40% of gift aid reserved for full-time MBA students.
Learn what Berkeley prioritizes when it comes to giving scholarship funding, how the process works at Haas, and tips for applying and securing financing for your MBA degree.
Whether you’re considering a Full-time, Evening & Weekend, or Executive MBA, Berkeley Haas has a number of scholarships, loans, and assistantships to help bridge the gap between your tuition costs and your career goals.
All applicants, domestic and international, full-time and part-time, are considered for scholarships through the admissions process. According to Hayden, the primary criteria admissions officers look for when awarding scholarships to MBA applicants are merit, industry, commitment to diversity, and financial need.
Each MBA program has different scholarship lists and different application requirements. For example:
The list of scholarships at Berkeley is extensive. Scholarships at Berkeley Haas range from $5,000- $125,000, which can be applied toward tuition, and fees.
Below you’ll find a sampling of recent scholarships available at Haas for full-time and part-time students based on merit, financial need, industry, and commitment to diversity.
For second-year, full-time students, scholarships for the following career paths are available:
When applying for a scholarship at Haas, remember to keep the Defining Leadership Principles in mind as you start to craft your application.
It’s critical to exemplify how you embrace the principles like Question the Status Quo and Beyond Yourself as a way to show your willingness and ability to continue your business education, while fostering an inclusive culture at Berkeley.
If you’re unfamiliar with these principles, here is a recap:
Berkeley Haas also focuses intensely on the diversity of our student body. Haas defines diversity in many ways, from racial and ethnic differences, unique industry or job function, geographic location, gender, and more. A student’s ability to embody these principles, and demonstrate how the principles apply in their life during the application process increases the odds of securing financial aid from Haas.
Additionally, consider the following tips to increase your odds of securing gift aid.
With an abundance of options for gift aid, it’s natural for students to experience ‘application fatigue’ if they don’t limit the number of applications they send.
Rather than submitting applications to as many options as possible, take your time to select the options that match you best. Not only will you give more attention to the scholarships that are better suited for you, but you’re less prone to making mistakes on the application, which can increase your odds of receiving aid.
Funding at Berkeley is limited, so if scholarships or financing are a part of your final decision it’s important to apply early in the admissions cycle, before financing has been awarded.
Early applications will have more financing considered for all available scholarship opportunities.
In addition to satisfying the requirements of the prompt, proofreading your work, and following instructions like word count, it’s also important your content is meaningful.
When speaking to the Defining Leadership Principles in your personal statements go beyond simply listing how your values align with the schools. Try using narratives and case studies to show how these values resonate in your life. For need-based scholarships, use personal statements and stories to explain factors that have prohibited you from securing funds to support your MBA journey.
It’s not surprising that members in our high-achieving community often receive more than one acceptance letter for a top-ranking MBA program. This desirability can be used as a bargaining chip.
Financial aid can be a tool business schools use to woo top students away from competing schools. Try exercising Confidence Without Attitude as you negotiate for a portion of Haas’ scholarship fund.
Whether you’ve received gift aid or not, there are many ways to acquire additional funding to help finance your MBA.
Many Haas students obtain internships by working with career services or connecting with business leaders in the Bay Area from Berkeley’s extensive network. In some cases, second-year students work up to 10 hours per week by continuing to work for the company at which they held their summer internship.
Additionally, special groups like the Haas Social Impact Fund (HSIF) provide grants to first-year, full-time MBA students who accept summer internships in the social sector. Each applicant received $500 to $7,000 that could be used to pay salary, living expenses, or travel expenses.
More common is the opportunity for second-year students to serve as graduate student instructors (GSIs). According to the Berkeley Haas’ admissions office, “nearly 20% of full-time MBA students serve in this role, which partially reduces their rate of tuition and also provides them with a small monthly stipend.”
The University of California, Berkeley participates in the Federal Loan Program, which allows students enrolled at least half-time (6 units) to borrow money directly from the federal government at fixed interest rates (6.08% for Direct Loans; 7.08% for the Grad PLUS Loan).
Students should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and complete the FAFSA any time after October 1st for the upcoming academic year in which you will begin your MBA program.
For private loans, students should begin the process as early as May with the lender. Haas encourages students to complete the private loan application process by the end of July to ensure funds are processed in time for the fall semester.
LRAP, which is supported by Berkeley Haas, is designed to provide financial support to graduates employed in the public or nonprofit sectors where salaries are typically lower than in the private sector.
Because Berkeley Haas is part of a public university system, veterans with qualifying length of service can obtain funding for up to 100% of schooling fees, a monthly housing allowance, and an annual book stipend.
Some students, especially those in the executive MBA program, receive financial assistance from employers. If you’re unsure whether your employer participates in tuition reimbursement, learn the best steps for approaching your company.
For more information about scholarships and how to apply you can attend an Admissions Event. Check the list of upcoming events to find a time that works best for you.