Leading Through Innovation

The Berkeley-Haas PhD

Master of Financial Engineering

The PhD Program at

The Haas School of Business
 The Berkeley-Haas PhD

Making a Difference in the

World of Ideas
At the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley,
we believe it is new ideas put to work that will advance well-being in
the world. It is new ideas put to work that are the root source of Fernando Comiran
PhD Student, Accounting
business advantage and success. And it is new ideas put to work, in
Previous degrees:
every corner and in every function of our organizations, that our MS, Finance and Accounting
BA, Electrical Engineering
future leaders need to deliver. Because of our ideal location, our Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
forward-thinking faculty, and the types of outgoing and collaborative (UFRGS),Brazil

students we attract, we have long had a unique culture conducive to “If you want to do business
research at the highest level,
developing cutting-edge leaders and thinkers. you have to be in the U.S. If
you want to be exposed to the
In the Berkeley-Haas PhD Program, you will learn to cultivate an best business researchers, you
innovative set of skills that will make you a distinctive researcher and have to be at Berkeley. I had
imagined that the professors,
educator. You will discover how to challenge conventional wisdom, these important men and
pushing the boundaries of current thought to open new avenues of women, would have huge egos.
The opposite is true. They
knowledge and understanding. are available and support our
efforts to do our best work.
You set this expansion in motion by leveraging the reputation “This is such a diverse place.
and resources of one of the world’s best research universities— Everyone is appreciated for
his or her accomplishments,
UC Berkeley. You will partner with some of the brightest minds in without prejudice. Research
business theory as you are educated in a rigorous program offering can be very solitary—just you
and your computer. Having a
depth, far-reaching opportunity, and a world-class reputation. group of compatible colleagues
Later, as a Haas alumnus, you will benefit from the experience to go out with and share ideas
is a very big part of what makes
and connections of a faculty composed of today’s leaders in the Berkeley-Haas experience
business scholarship and education. valuable.”

Graduates of the PhD Program become faculty members with top-

notch academic institutions, including Harvard University, New York
University, London School of Economics and Political Sciences, Yale,
and IESE Business School. Positioned to lead the expansion and
communication of knowledge, these graduates are well prepared to
train future business leaders, pursue their own research interests,
and make an impact on global business and education.
The Berkeley-Haas PhD
PhD Program
Upon applying to the program,
you are required to choose a field
of study. For more information on the application of theory from social science, mathematics, or statistics.
available fields of study, visit
http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Phd/.
Three Phases
Phase I: Formal Coursework
You are usually required to complete
two semester courses in each of
the following areas: (a) a common
core of knowledge; (b) a field of
specialization; (c) a basic discipline;
and (d) a research methodology
and strategy. Phase I ends with the
preliminary exam.
Phase II: Directed Study
You work in close consultation
with faculty members to prepare
for research in your selected field.
Intellectual support during the
directed study phase is provided by
the field research seminars and one
or more individual study courses
designed to prepare you to take the
oral qualifying examination. During
the directed study phase, each
student works closely with a faculty
member in a directed study course.
Upon passing the oral qualifying
examination, the student formally
advances to the special status of
doctoral candidacy.
Phase III: Dissertation
In conjunction with the faculty
advisor, you select a dissertation
topic and dissertation committee.
The committee is typically
composed of three faculty
members, one of whom must be
from a department outside the
Haas School. Within approximately
six months, students are expected
to present a paper on their chosen
topic to a research seminar.
A Solid Foundation
The Berkeley-Haas PhD Program is strongly oriented toward
discipline and research. Emphasis is placed on preparing you to evaluate
the state of knowledge in a particular field of study and to advance it through
Upon applying to the program, you are required to choose a field of study that
will not only determine your coursework, but also focus your career path. Your
chosen field of study will provide you with 8-12 semester units in advanced
coursework. Additional work may include courses at the Haas School, but often
involve developing research skills in theory and methodology through other
departments at UC Berkeley.
In consultation with your advisor, you may choose from a wide range of
courses in such disciplines as economics, psychology, sociology, and political
science. The development of analytic skills in one of several disciplines gives
you the depth needed to place your training within a fuller and more unified
understanding of the world of business and research.
Courtney Brown
PhD Student, Management of Organizations
Previous degree:
BA, Communication Studies &
International Studies
Northwestern University, Illinois
“The smaller size of the Haas program
means that you get a lot more personal
attention from your professors. That is very
valuable. I’m working with four professors
right now. Each has a different style. I like
trying on their different approaches.
“At Haas, the sky’s the limit in terms of
exploring lines of research and questions that interest you. The curriculum
is very entrepreneurial, in that it is so interdisciplinary. You are encouraged
to make your own program.”
Explorers in Search of New Ideas
Berkeley-Haas School faculty members are explorers and discoverers,
seeking new ideas and insights at the frontiers of knowledge. They are
internationally recognized leaders in the study of the economic, social, political, and
technological forces shaping global markets today.
Berkeley-Haas faculty play an active role in the national and international business
communities, serving as consultants, board members, and speakers at major
business conferences and seminars. They perform important interdisciplinary
research with colleagues at Berkeley and at other top universities around the world.
Rankings of academic reputation consistently place the Haas School’s faculty in the
top ten of business schools worldwide.
In their search for knowledge, Berkeley-Haas professors go far beyond merely
describing a management or business problem and its resolution. As members
of a premier research university, Haas scholars seek the deeper answers to why
things happen the way they do. They develop theoretical explanations in order to
understand and predict future occurrences.

Haas Professor Wins

2009 Nobel Prize
Haas Professor Emeritus
Oliver E. Williamson was awarded
Richard G. Sloan the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic
L.H. Penney Professor of Accounting Sciences for his work in the area of
PhD, University of Rochester economic governance. The Edgar
Winner of the 2010 Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature F. Kaiser Professor Emeritus at
Award, presented by the American Accounting Association the Haas School of Business and
Publication Highlights:
Professor Emeritus of Economics
“The Relation Between Corporate Financing Activities, Analysts’
and Law at the University of
Forecasts and Stock Returns,” with Mark Bradshaw and Scott California, Berkeley, is a pioneer
Richardson. Journal of Accounting and Economics 42 (2006). in the multi-disciplinary field of
“Accrual Reliability, Earnings Persistence and Stock Prices,” transaction cost economics, and one
with Scott Richardson, Mark Soliman, and Irem Tuna. Journal of of the world’s most cited economists.
Accounting and Economics 39 (2005).
The second Berkeley-Haas Professor
Professor Richard G. Sloan, believes in immersing to claim the prize in the past 15
doctoral students in the world of research as soon years, Williamson continues to
as possible, calling it,“one of the best bridges from coursework to dissertation.” advise PhD students who are doing
scholarly work in the area
Sloan helps students build that bridge in several ways. He encourages them to of economic governance.
research and write with their professors and frequently involves students in his
own research on the role of accounting information in security valuation and the
quality and management of corporate earnings. This, Sloan says, “gives students
an advantage when it comes to writing their dissertations. They have learned
where the pitfalls are and can work more effectively.”
He typically lists his student assistants as co-authors on papers, which helps
establish their credentials, and more importantly, “gives them a sense of
responsibility for the whole, not just their part in the paper.”
At the Heart of
Innovative Scholarship
The Berkeley-Haas PhD Program draws on the incredible
breadth and depth of the University of California at
Berkeley, whose graduate programs are consistently ranked
among the best in the world, and whose undergraduate programs UC Berkeley
are among the most selective. The proof is in the university’s
distinguished record of Nobel-level scholarship, constant
Academic and
innovation, a concern for the betterment of our world, and Faculty Distinctions
consistently high rankings of its schools and departments— • Ranks first nationally in the number
the Haas School among them. of graduate programs in the top 10
in their fields (National Research
The strength of the faculty in all academic departments and Council)
the breadth of course offerings throughout the university confer • Ranked the #1 public university in the
lifelong advantages on students in the doctoral program. Integral US for the tenth year in a row by U.S.
to the Berkeley-Haas PhD Program experience is the opportunity News & World Report
for students to take courses and study with faculty members in • Ranked #1 in the nation in the
other departments on campus. Through coursework with the 2009 Washington Monthly College
departments of economics, statistics, and mathematics, students Rankings, based on three main
criteria: performance as an engine
enrich their knowledge of economic theory and build skills of social mobility, research output,
in quantitative methodology. The ability to conduct integrated and promotion of a service ethic
investigation of basic and applied theory in the social sciences is
• The leading institution in awarding
honed through study within such disciplines as political science doctoral degrees to minorities
and psychology. Haas School PhD students also enjoy access and women
to employment opportunities through the network of research • 21 Nobel Prize laureates (including
institutes across the Berkeley campus. Haas professors Oliver Williamson
and John Harsanyi)
• 213 American Association for the
Advancement of Science Awards
• 222 American Academy of Arts and
Sciences Awards
• 74 Fulbright Scholars
Ron Berman • 362 Guggenheim Fellows
PhD Student, Marketing
• 30 MacArthur Fellows
Previous degrees:
MBA, Tel Aviv University, Israel • 87 National Academy of
MSc, Computer Science Engineering Awards
Tel Aviv University, Israel
BSc, Physics/Mathematics/Computer Science
• 135 National Academy of
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Sciences Awards

“It was very important to me to • 12 National Medal of Science Awards

study in a large public university. • 110 Sloan Fellows
Berkeley has unrivalled diversity
among the students and the • 4 Wolf Prizes
faculty. Because we take classes
• 4 Pulitzer Prizes
in other Berkeley graduate schools, not just Haas, we get to see
how business research is used in different disciplines—a study on • 1 National Poet Laureate
decision-making related to kidney transplants, for example.
“Because the Marketing program here is small, it is very intimate.
We all—professors and students—get to know each other very
well. I feel comfortable going to professors’ houses for dinner or
having a beer after class.”
Application Requirements
Each year some 400 students apply for admission to the Berkeley-

N
Haas PhD Program. A faculty committee reviews and ranks applications.

C E A
The size of the entering class, limited by university regulations, is approximately
16 students per year. Qualified students from any discipline may be admitted.
Previous graduate work or completion of an MBA is not required.

O
The doctoral program is a four-year, full-time program. Part-time and evening

F I C
studies are not offered. Applications are accepted only for the fall semester of
each academic year.

C I
Applicants to the PhD Program are required to submit the following:

P A
• The Application for Admission and Fellowship (available online at
www.grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/grad_app.shtml)
• Official transcripts showing all college-level work
• GMAT or GRE score (taken within five years of the date of application)
• TOEFL or iBT score (required of international students who have not
previously studied at a university where English is the official language)
• Three letters of recommendation
For more admissions information, visit our website:
www.haas.berkeley.edu/Phd/apply.edu.

Financial Aid
In conjunction with the regular financial aid programs of the university, the
Haas School strives to provide financial assistance to deserving PhD students.
This usually takes the form of a financial aid package over four years of study PhD Program
at Berkeley which includes stipends, grants, fellowships, and other awards plus Haas School of Business
tuition and fees. All financial aid is based on the satisfactory academic progress 2220 Piedmont Ave.
of the student. Students are automatically considered for departmental aid S544 Student Services Bldg.
University of California
when they submit their application for admission and are notified about their Berkeley, CA 94720-1900
award when they are accepted into the program.
Tel 1-510-642-1409
Learn More Fax 1-510-643-4255
To arrange a visit to the Haas School, contact the PhD Program office at phdadms@haas.berkeley.edu
510-642-1409 or via email at phdadms@haas.berkeley.edu.

www.haas.berkeley.edu/Phd

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