New executive, evening and weekend, and Flex MBA students begin their journeys

three students, one holding a cal frisby in front of his face.
Evening & weekend MBA students gathered for WE LAUNCH orientation earlier this month at Haas. Photo: Jim Block.

Hundreds of new Berkeley Haas Evening and Weekend, Executive MBA, and Flex students arrived on campus in July to meet their study groups and cohorts, engage in collaborative games, and learn more about the school’s Defining Leadership Principles before beginning classes.

EWMBA Class of 2027

The WE Launch orientation weekend, which kicked off July 19, included a busy three days of tours, info sessions, skits, and  a special performance by the Cal Band.

Most of the 350 new EWMBA students hold full-time jobs, and many balance parenthood with the demanding three-year course of study, taking classes during either the evenings or on Saturdays.

The new class has an average age of 31, with 42% hailing from outside of the Bay Area, including 24 states outside of California. Internationally, the class includes students from Canada, India, Japan, South Korea, and Venezuela. Other quick facts:

  • More than half of the class was born outside of the United States; 68% of the class is bilingual; and 22% are first-generation college students.
  • With eight years of work experience on average, the majority of the students work in industries like tech, health care, and finance, in various roles, including management, software development/engineering, and marketing/sales, among others.
  • The class includes students from many diverse backgrounds working for 280 companies and organizations. The group includes athletes (a former professional baseball player who became a pitching analyst for the San Francisco Giants); entrepreneurs (the founder of Korean Japanese restaurant chain Koja Kitchen); several doctors (including a veterinarian who developed an EEG machine for sea lions); and government leaders, (the research director for the United States House Committee on Financial Services).

The Flex cohort—students who complete core classes online with an option to come to campus for electives—joined fellow EWMBA cohorts on campus, too. The class includes 120 students, 74% who live outside of the bay area in 22 states and five countries.

(All photos: Jim Block) 

EMBA Class of 2026

Students in the tight-knit Berkeley Haas MBA for Executives Program also arrived on campus July 19.

Orientation highlights included a welcome from Wendy Guild, vice dean of MBA programs, a talk from Distinguished Teaching Fellow and EMBA alumna Maura O’Neill on the transformational power of the EMBA program, and a primer on the school’s Defining Leadership Principles, delivered by UC Berkeley Chancellor and former Haas Dean Rich Lyons.

(All photos: Brittany Hosea-Small)

With a global perspective, 60% of the 70 students in the incoming group were born outside of the United States. 

  • About 40% of the class hails from outside of the Bay Area. International students join from China, Mexico, and Thailand.
  • The class shares an average of 16 years of work experience within 66 companies and organizations in tech, health care, the military, consumer products, and finance. Many students work in management at the department and corporate level at companies ranging from Amazon to Northrop Grumman to Hachette Books.
  • With an average age of 40, 39% of the class are women; 20% of the class is from underrepresented minority groups.
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