Haas Breadth Guidelines
Breadth courses must be at least three semester units or four quarter units.
You must successfully complete the 7-course breadth sequence to earn a B.S. degree from the Haas School. Although breadth coursework is not required for admission, students are encouraged to spread breadth courses over 4 years.
Breadth Guidelines for UC Berkeley Students
Haas students should adhere to the 7-course breadth guidelines outlined on the College of Letters and Science website with the following exceptions:
- Business courses cannot be used to fulfill breadth requirements.
- Reading and Composition courses cannot be used to fulfill breadth requirements.
- Microeconomics and macroeconomics at any level (Econ 1, Econ 2, Econ 3, Econ 100A/B, Econ 101A/B, IAS 106/107) cannot be used to fulfill breadth requirements.
- No more than two courses from any one department may be used to satisfy the Seven Course Breadth requirement (L&S Discovery courses are exempt).
Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and A Level exams will not fulfill the requirement.
Breadth courses may be taken at a California Community College. Please follow the most current Articulation Agreement between the community college and UC Berkeley for the business administration major. This information can be found on the www.assist.org website by selecting the community college, then UC Berkeley, then the business administration major.
At UC Berkeley, students obtain a liberal arts education. To that end, our 7-course breadth requirement specifies that students take courses in several different departments or fields.
Complete one approved course for each of the seven areas with a minimum grade of C- or P. To find course options for breadth, go to the Berkeley Academic Guide Class Schedule (link is external), select the term of interest, and use the ‘Breadth Requirements’ filter to select the breadth area(s) of interest.
The following are the breadth categories:
- Arts and Literature
- Biological Science
- Historical Studies
- International Studies
- Philosophy and Values
- Physical Science
- Social and Behavioral Sciences
Transfer students must have taken one course from each of the following categories:
- Arts and Literature
- Biological Science
- Historical Studies
- International Studies
- Philosophy and Values
- Physical Science
- Social and Behavioral Sciences
Prerequisites, business courses, micro and macro economics cannot be used to fulfill breadth requirements.Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit will not fulfill breadth requirements. A Level exams are accepted. Please contact a Haas Advisor to determine how your A Level exams can be applied to breadth requirements.
All courses must be UC transferable and carry at least 3 semester or 4 quarter units.
California community college students must follow the most current Articulation Agreement between their school and UC Berkeley for the business administration major. This information can be found on the www.assist.org website by selecting the community college, then UC Berkeley, then the business administration major. The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) will NOT satisfy Haas School of Business requirements. Students with college work from schools other than California Community Colleges may fulfill breadth requirements with UC-transferable courses that fit the breadth guidelines. Compare the descriptions of breadth coursework required of Berkeley applicants, listed above and in the UC Berkeley General Catalog, with the descriptions of courses offered at your school to get a general idea of which courses you might take to satisfy the breadth requirements. Most academic courses are UC-transferable if comparable to courses offered at UC. Vocational and personal enrichment classes do not qualify. Please contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to determine if your courses are UC transferable.
