Following close in the footsteps of Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business, the UC Berkeley Haas MBA program has received a STEM Designation for all its MBA programs. STEM (covered in detail here) stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
Even more remarkable is that Berkeley Haas is one of the first business schools to receive the STEM designation for all 3 of its MBA programs i.e.
- Full-Time MBA
- Evening and Weekend MBA
- MBA for Executives
The STEM designation and its corresponding STEM OPT Extension is retroactive to December 2018. This means that current international students studying on F-1 visas will be eligible to apply for the additional 24-month STEM OPT extension. Students can apply for the OPT extension in the first year of their work authorization after graduating from the MBA program.
What is STEM OPT? How does it benefit international students?
OPT stands for Optional Practical Training. The STEM OPT program allows international students with advanced degrees from STEM programs to work in the U.S. for an additional 24-months, for a total of 36 months.
All other non-STEM program graduates (holding F-1 visas) can work for 12-months post the completion of their degree. Thus, in summary, graduating from a STEM-designated MBA program allows you to stay and work in the US for a total of 36 months. International graduate students who want to continue to work extend their stay further need to apply for the H1-B visa post the completion of their 36-month OPT period.
How does a program receive a STEM Designation?
The process of receiving a STEM designation for any program starts with a campus review of how the programs are categorized under the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code by the National Centre for Education Statistics. These codes are established by universities based on the content of a program or major.
On Dean Ann Harrison’s request, the university was requested to consider changing the code to more appropriately reflect on how the program has changed over the last 40 years. The process of review took about 4 months, and the new code now defines the Berkeley Haas MBA as “a general program that focuses on the application of statistical modeling, data warehousing, data mining, programming, forecasting, and operations research techniques to the analysis of business organizations and their performance.”
After the review, the Berkeley Haas MBA degree program were changed to “Management Science,” which is considered a STEM program.
2019 UC Berkeley Hass Class Profile
International students have traditionally made up almost 40% of the full-time MBA at Berkeley Haas. In its latest class profile released recently, international students make up 35% of the MBA program. Following are some of the statistics related to the 2019 Berkeley Haas MBA class:
| Class Size | 283 |
| Average Undergrad GPA | 3.67 |
| Average GMAT | 725 |
| Average GRE (Total) | 323 |
| Percent With GRE | 21% |
| Applications | 3,450 |
| Acceptance Rate | 17.70% |
| Yield (Estimated) | 46.30% |
| Women | 38% |
| Minorities* | 30% |
| International | 35% |
Berkeley Haas has yet to release it’s 2019 employment report, however, you can read more about the 2018 employment report and the Berkeley Haas MBA program in this article.
Here are a few more articles you may find useful:
- UC Berkeley Haas MBA 2019-2020 Essay Analysis & Tips
- What is a good GMAT score for UC Berkeley Haas MBA program?
- UC Berkeley Haas MBA 2018 Employment Reports and Salaries
- UC Berkeley Haas features in our Best Business School for Marketing rankings
- Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business receives STEM Designation for its flagship MBA Program
- New H1-B visa rules – 3 reasons to pursue an MBA from the US in 2019
- Post-MBA work visa in the U.S. for international students – 3 ways to extend your stay
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