‘We Aren’t Chasing Hype’: Berkeley Haas Just Launched A Game-Changing AI Certificate For MBAs

Students in an AI elective course at Haas. The school has launched a new certificate program in AI, and plans a flagship course for the program in 2026. Noah Berger photo

Berkeley Haas is betting big on artificial intelligence — not just as a technology, but as a fundamental shift in how future leaders think, operate, and lead.

This fall, the Haas School of Business launched a new AI for Business certificate that is available to students in the Full-Time, Evening & Weekend, and Executive MBA programs. The goal? Equip graduates to become what school leaders call “AI-native” business leaders — capable not only of understanding the capabilities of artificial intelligence, but also of driving innovation with it across industries and sectors.

“There’s no better time than now to launch this certificate,” Dean Jenny Chatman tells Poets&Quants. “We must prepare our students to be at the center of this profound global shift that is reshaping careers and redefining leadership — and our location gives us a perfect edge.”

A PROGRAM DESIGNED BY BUSINESS FACULTY — FOR FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS

Berkeley Haas Dean Jennifer Chatman: “The opportunity to lead in this moment of transformation is enormous. And we want our students to be not just participants, but pioneers”

That location is ground zero for the AI revolution. Within an hour of the Haas campus sit OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity, Meta, Google, and Apple, as well as Databricks, Nvidia, and a host of rising AI startups. For Chatman and her faculty, that proximity isn’t just geographic. It’s also strategic.

“This AI for Business certificate is a natural fit for Haas, aligned with UC Berkeley’s reputation as a world leader in AI,” Chatman says. “The program will equip students with the comprehensive tools and knowledge required across many business career paths.”

Unlike many technical AI certificates that focus heavily on code or data modeling, the Haas program was built from the ground up by business faculty for business students. It centers on four key pillars: technology, management, strategy, and impact. To earn the certificate, students must complete a required core course and six units of approved electives — a list that includes more than 30 offerings across topics like AI ethics, marketing analytics, AI and climate change, new product development, and industry-specific applications in healthcare and finance.

The anchor course, Business for AI, will launch in Spring 2026 and be taught by a multidisciplinary faculty team with deep expertise in economics, finance, operations, and management.

“In designing this certificate, we wanted students to explore what it means to build their own capabilities using AI, to work in teams alongside AI agents, and to rethink how business partners and stakeholders interact in an economy transformed by this technology,” Chatman says. “And we want to prepare Haas students to collaborate with their peers in engineering, data science, and AI-focused programs to bring new ideas to market.”

Twenty-five faculty members from across all six of Haas’s academic groups are contributing to the certificate’s development and instruction — bringing an unusually broad perspective on AI’s commercial potential, risks, and ethical boundaries.

STUDENTS BRIDGE TECHNICAL LITERACY & STRATEGIC THINKING

For students like Andrei Bratescu, a second-year full-time MBA and VP of careers with the Haas AI Club, the new certificate is a timely addition that validates what many have already been exploring in their coursework and internships.

“I was impressed by how the faculty integrated AI into several of the courses I took during my first year,” says Bratescu, who spent the summer at Amazon’s Zoox, which is building a fully autonomous robotaxi fleet. “For me, it’s important to signal to employers that I’m an MBA who didn’t do only cash flow modeling, leadership, and accounting courses — and that my two years were also spent learning about and applying AI.”

Steve Nunes, a student in the Haas Evening & Weekend MBA program, echoed that sentiment. As a product marketing manager who leads go-to-market efforts for AI-powered solutions, he sees the certificate as a way to sharpen both his technical fluency and his strategic leadership skills.

“The certificate felt like a natural next step — a chance to connect my day-to-day experience with a structured program that explores strategy, management, technology, and impact in depth,” says Nunes, who also serves as VP of marketing and communications for the Haas AI Club. “I’m pairing real-world experience with academic rigor, and better connecting the technical side of AI with its business and leadership implications.”

That ability to speak across disciplines — to engineers and executives alike — is essential for modern business leadership, he says. “My goal is to become even stronger at connecting the dots between what AI can do technically and how businesses can use it responsibly to drive real results.”

Noah Berger photo

MORE THAN TECH: A CERTIFICATE ROOTED IN ETHICS, CULTURE & PURPOSE

For Haas leadership, the program isn’t just about technical upskilling. It’s about shaping a new kind of leader — one who can navigate AI’s complexity with both competence and conscience.

“AI is changing not only how we lead, but also who we lead and the very nature of the firm,” says Erika Walker, senior vice dean of instruction at Haas. “We’re bringing together expertise across Haas and Berkeley to train the first generation of ‘AI-native’ business leaders.”

Nunes points to the school’s Defining Leadership Principles as central to the program’s philosophy. “Question the Status Quo comes through in how we’re encouraged to rethink business in the AI era. Students Always speaks to staying curious and adaptable as the technology rapidly evolves. And Confidence Without Attitude reminds us to approach AI with both ambition and humility.”

That mindset, he adds, is what distinguishes Haas. “Haas’ location in the Bay Area puts students at the center of AI innovation, but the mindset is just as important. The program isn’t about chasing hype — it’s about learning to apply AI thoughtfully, strategically, and responsibly.”

POSITIONING STUDENTS TO LEAD THE AI ERA

Though the certificate just launched this fall, it builds on years of experimentation and integration by Haas faculty who have already begun weaving AI topics into core MBA courses. More AI electives and initiatives may follow, though nothing has been finalized.

For now, Dean Jenny Chatman says, the school is focused on helping students lead at the intersection of human judgment and machine intelligence — and using that combination to create lasting value.

“The opportunity to lead in this moment of transformation is enormous,” she says. “And we want our students to be not just participants, but pioneers.”

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