Leading Through Innovation

Master of Financial Engineering

The Berkeley-Haas PhD

The PhD Program at The Haas School of Business

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 business advantage and success. And it is new ideas put to work, in every corner and in every function of our organizations, that our future leaders need to deliver. Because of our ideal location, our forward-thinking faculty, and the types of outgoing and collaborative students we attract, we have long had a unique culture conducive to developing cutting-edge leaders and thinkers.

In the Berkeley-Haas PhD Program, you will learn to cultivate an innovative set of skills that will make you a distinctive researcher and educator. You will discover how to challenge conventional wisdom, pushing the boundaries of current thought to open new avenues of knowledge and understanding.

You set this expansion in motion by leveraging the reputation and resources of one of the worlds best research universities UC Berkeley. You will partner with some of the brightest minds in business theory as you are educated in a rigorous program offering depth, far-reaching opportunity, and a world-class reputation. Later, as a Haas alumnus, you will benefit from the experience and connections of a faculty composed of todays leaders in business scholarship and education.

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.

Making a Difference in the World of Ideas

The Berkeley-Haas PhD

Fernando ComiranPhD Student, Accounting

Previous degrees:MS, Finance and AccountingBA, Electrical EngineeringFederal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS),Brazil

If you want to do business research at the highest level, you have to be in the U.S. If you want to be exposed to the best business researchers, you have to be at Berkeley. I had imagined that the professors, these important men and women, would have huge egos. The opposite is true. They are available and support our efforts to do our best work.

This is such a diverse place. Everyone is appreciated for his or her accomplishments, without prejudice. Research can be very solitaryjust you and your computer. Having a group of compatible colleagues to go out with and share ideas is a very big part of what makes the Berkeley-Haas experience valuable.

A Solid Foundation

PhD Program Upon applying to the program, you are required to choose a field of study. For more information on available fields of study, visit http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Phd/.

Three PhasesPhase I: Formal CourseworkYou 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 StudyYou 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: DissertationIn 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.

Courtney BrownPhD 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. Im working with four professors right now. Each has a different style. I like trying on their different approaches.

At Haas, the skys 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.

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 the application of theory from social science, mathematics, or statistics.

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.

The Berkeley-Haas PhD

A Solid Foundation

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. RankingsofacademicreputationconsistentlyplacetheHaasSchoolsfacultyinthetop 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.

Explorers in Search of New Ideas

Richard G. SloanL.H. Penney Professor of AccountingPhD, University of RochesterWinner of the 2010 Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature Award, presented by the American Accounting Association

Publication Highlights: The Relation Between Corporate Financing Activities, Analysts Forecasts and Stock Returns, with Mark Bradshaw and Scott Richardson. Journal of Accounting and Economics 42 (2006). Accrual Reliability, Earnings Persistence and Stock Prices, with Scott Richardson, Mark Soliman, and Irem Tuna. Journal of Accounting and Economics 39 (2005).

Professor Richard G. Sloan, believes in immersing doctoral students in the world of research as soon

as possible, calling it,one of the best bridges from coursework to dissertation.

Sloan helps students build that bridge in several ways. He encourages them to 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.

Haas Professor Wins 2009 Nobel Prize

Haas Professor Emeritus Oliver E. Williamson was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work in the area of economic governance. The Edgar F. Kaiser Professor Emeritus at the Haas School of Business and Professor Emeritus of Economics and Law at the University of California, Berkeley, is a pioneer in the multi-disciplinary field of transaction cost economics, and one of the worlds most cited economists.

The second Berkeley-Haas Professor to claim the prize in the past 15 years, Williamson continues to advise PhD students who are doing scholarly work in the area of economic governance.

Ron BermanPhD Student, Marketing

Previous degrees:MBA, Tel Aviv University, IsraelMSc, Computer Science Tel Aviv University, IsraelBSc, Physics/Mathematics/Computer Science Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

It was very important to me to study in a large public university. Berkeley has unrivalled diversity among the students and the faculty. Because we take classes

in other Berkeley graduate schools, not just Haas, we get to see how business research is used in different disciplinesa study on decision-making related to kidney transplants, for example.

Because the Marketing program here is small, it is very intimate. We allprofessors and studentsget to know each other very well. I feel comfortable going to professors houses for dinner or having a beer after class.

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 are among the most selective. The proof is in the universitys distinguished record of Nobel-level scholarship, constant innovation, a concern for the betterment of our world, and consistently high rankings of its schools and departments the Haas School among them.

The strength of the faculty in all academic departments and the breadth of course offerings throughout the university confer lifelong advantages on students in the doctoral program. Integral to the Berkeley-Haas PhD Program experience is the opportunity for students to take courses and study with faculty members in other departments on campus. Through coursework with the departments of economics, statistics, and mathematics, students enrich their knowledge of economic theory and build skills in quantitative methodology. The ability to conduct integrated investigation of basic and applied theory in the social sciences is honed through study within such disciplines as political science and psychology. Haas School PhD students also enjoy access to employment opportunities through the network of research institutes across the Berkeley campus.

UC Berkeley Academic and FacultyDistinctionsRanksfirstnationallyinthenumber of graduate programs in the top 10 in their fields (National Research Council)

Rankedthe#1publicuniversityinthe US for the tenth year in a row by U.S. News & World Report

Ranked#1inthenationinthe 2009 Washington Monthly College Rankings, based on three main criteria: performance as an engine of social mobility, research output, and promotion of a service ethic

Theleadinginstitutioninawarding doctoral degrees to minorities and women

21NobelPrizelaureates(including Haas professors Oliver Williamson and John Harsanyi)

213AmericanAssociationforthe Advancement of Science Awards

222AmericanAcademyofArtsand Sciences Awards

74FulbrightScholars

362GuggenheimFellows

30MacArthurFellows

87NationalAcademyof Engineering Awards

135NationalAcademyof Sciences Awards

12NationalMedalofScienceAwards

110SloanFellows

4WolfPrizes

4PulitzerPrizes

1NationalPoetLaureate

PhD Program Haas School of Business2220 Piedmont Ave. S544 Student Services Bldg. University of California Berkeley, CA 94720-1900

Tel 1-510-642-1409Fax 1-510-643-4255 phdadms@haas.berkeley.edu

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Application RequirementsEach year some 400 students apply for admission to the Berkeley-Haas PhD Program. A faculty committee reviews and ranks applications. 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.

The doctoral program is a four-year, full-time program. Part-time and evening studies are not offered. Applications are accepted only for the fall semester of each academic year.

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

TheApplicationforAdmissionandFellowship(availableonlineat www.grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/grad_app.shtml)

Officialtranscriptsshowingallcollege-levelwork

GMATorGREscore(takenwithinfiveyearsofthedateofapplication)

TOEFLoriBTscore(requiredofinternationalstudentswhohavenot previously studied at a university where English is the official language)

Threelettersofrecommendation

For more admissions information, visit our website: www.haas.berkeley.edu/Phd/apply.edu.

Financial AidIn 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 at Berkeley which includes stipends, grants, fellowships, and other awards plus tuition and fees. All financial aid is based on the satisfactory academic progress of the student. Students are automatically considered for departmental aid when they submit their application for admission and are notified about their award when they are accepted into the program.

Learn MoreTo arrange a visit to the Haas School, contact the PhD Program office at 510-642-1409 or via email at phdadms@haas.berkeley.edu.

www.haas.berkeley.edu/Phd