For business curious engineering PhDs at UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering offers a PhD Minor in Technology Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Strategy. Students can take a variety of classes in business and/or investigate the commercialization of their own technical research or start-up ideas. To earn the minor, CoE PhDs must complete a set of eligible courses and speak with one of the minor advisors, both of whom are listed below.
The Business Minor also brings together a community of like minded PhD students who can support one another’s interests during the degree and beyond. This community helps access courses in other colleges on campus, select the most worthwhile courses within the college, navigate the inherent challenges with a PhD, and provides a network for after the PhD. Note, this community is available to all PhDs whether they are on track to complete the minor or not.
Eligible Courses
Each department may have different requirements. Double check with your home department before taking coursework.
- ENG 274 Commercializing Science and Technology Breakthroughs
- 3 classes of 1 unit MEng boot camp courses (e.g., R&D Tech Management, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Strategy)
- BIO ENG 253 Bringing Biomedical Devices to Market
- Appropriate graduate level courses from Haas:
These are a collection of courses from prior years, many are not always offered, and pending availability. MBA students have priority in MBA courses and enrollment in MBA coursework is not guaranteed and subject to availability. See enrollment instructions for non-MBA students.- MBA 236V New Venture Finance
- MBA 290T Growth Hacking
- MBA 295A Entrepreneurship
- MBA 295C Opportunity Recognition: Technology and Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley
- MBA 295F Lean Launchpad (Applied Innovation course)
- MBA 295T Social Lean Launchpad (Applied Innovation course)
- MBA 295T Start-up Lab (Applied Innovation course)
- MBA 295T Bay Area Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- MBA 295T Entrepreneurial Strategy
- MBA 295T Start-up Sales
- ENG 273 Intellectual Property and Business Strategy
- ENG 274 Commercializing Science and Technology Breakthroughs
Six units from:
- 3 classes of 1 unit MEng boot camp courses (e.g., R&D Tech Management, Finance, Technology Strategy)
- BIO ENG 252 Clinical Need-Based Therapy Solutions
- Appropriate graduate level courses from Haas:
These are a collection of courses from prior years, many are not always offered, and pending availability. MBA students have priority in MBA courses and enrollment in MBA coursework is not guaranteed and subject to availability. See enrollment instructions for non-MBA students.- MBA 290T Hands-on Rapid Innovation
- MBA 295M Business Model Innovation and Entrepreneurial Strategy
- MBA 295T Lean Transfer (Applied Innovation course)
- MBA 295T Built for Growth
- MBA 236G Designing Financial Models That Work
- MBA 292S Social Sector Solutions (Applied Innovation course)
- MBA 299M Marketing Strategy
Total of six units, with E297 (2 units) and/or E295 (1 or 2 units) required:
- E297 Introspective Leadership 2
- E295 Leadership Communication
- 3 classes of 1 unit MEng boot camp courses (e.g., R&D Tech Management and Ethics, Marketing, Negotiations)
- Appropriate graduate level courses from Haas:
These are a collection of courses from prior years, many are not always offered, and pending availability. MBA students have priority in MBA courses and enrollment in MBA coursework is not guaranteed and subject to availability. See enrollment instructions for non-MBA students.- MBA 254 Power and Politics
- MBA 291T Interpersonal Skills and Embodied Leadership
- MBA 296 Building Trust Based Relationships
- MBA 292T Equity Fluent Leadership
- EWMBA 292N Equitable and Inclusive Leadership
- MBA 252 Negotiations and Conflict Resolution
- MBA 257 Leading High Impact Teams
- BIO ENG 280 Ethical and social issues in translational medicine
Frequently Asked Questions
UC Berkeley engineering PhDs are currently eligible to earn this minor.
- Take a moment to read through the eligible courses.
- Jot down the name of one of the advisors who can offer a conversation on what it would look like to incorporate a rigorous business perspective into your thesis.
- Reach out to a fellow business curious engineering PhD to ask how they incorporated coursework into their PhD experience.
- Sign up for the email list to get information about the latest opportunities for UC Berkeley’s engineering PhDs.
UC Berkeley’s PhD Business Minor, designed specifically for engineering PhDs, was initiated and developed by and for PhD students. In 2020, hundreds of Engineering PhD students and candidates responded to student-led surveys. EECS, ME, MSE, BioE, AST, CEE, IEOR, and NE PhDs alike shared considerable support for a minor that would increase their exposure to business in the context of their research. In the survey these students also shared their interests, needs, expectations, and experiences associated with a minor.
A handful of students had even created their own business minor while several others already had exposure to business through the research centers within their departments. With the help of an engineering professor experienced in business, a proposal was crafted to highlight and formalize the many ways to incorporate business into one’s engineering research for all rather than for only a select few. In record time, the proposal for a Business Minor was approved by the engineering faculty.
“Yes! I think this is a fantastic idea, and one I’ve supported for awhile because of Berkeley’s role in the academic community and beyond.”
~Caleb, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research
- Professor (IEOR and Haas) Lee Fleming
- Professor (ME) Lisa Pruitt
- Professional Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Haas) Rhonda Schraeder
- PhD Candidate Jonathan McKinley
“I’m a grad student in the RISE Lab, and have been observing multiple start ups happening in the background. I’ve been floating the idea to minor in Business for some time, so I’m very excited to see this initiative happen.”Gur-Eyal Computer Science
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