Frequently Asked Questions

The Robinson Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship Program is an integrated, jointly-administered partnership between the Haas School of Business and the College of Letters and Science. Students take rigorous courses designed to help bridge scientific inquiry and research with entrepreneurship and commercial application. In the program, students earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Molecular and Cell Biology or Integrative Biology or Neuroscience. You’ll be part of a small cohort with specialized mentoring, career development, and internship opportunities.

The Robinson Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship Program is staffed with designated program staff guiding students through the program. The program integrates the MCB/IB/Neuroscience and Business curriculum plans, providing students with professional development opportunities that allow for practical, real-world application of concepts learned in the classroom.

In addition to professional development opportunities, the LSBE Program offers an academic confluence of biology and business: LSBE Capstone. This 4-unit course is a dynamic, project-based class where student teams develop a business pitch for a biotech startup incorporating all aspects of the company from R&D, clinical trials, competition, market opportunity, and IP.

Yes, several Robinson Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship students are pre-med, and the program’s coursework meets the prerequisites to apply to medical school without taking additional classes.

To date, we have had four cohorts graduate for a total of 84 students. Students have gone into Investment Banking, Consulting, Industry, and top-tier MD and PhD grad schools. For more detail on our outcomes, please visit: Student Outcomes | LSBE

To learn more, email lsbe@berkeley.edu with your questions. Shobit Singh is the Academic and Admissions Advisor for LSBE and checks this email regularly.

The coursework is designed for you to complete two full bachelor’s degrees in four years, and students must meet all degree requirements for both Molecular and Cell Biology/Integrative Biology/Neuroscience and Business. In addition, students must take the Intro to Biotech course in their first year and a program-specific capstone course in their senior year. You can complete degree requirements without taking double the course load, but this is a very rigorous program, to be sure, see the sample program plans

No, the 7-course breadth requirements are the same for Haas and L&S with a few exceptions

No. The admissions committee will always review the first attempt at a course, especially if it’s a prerequisite for Molecular and Cell Biology, Integrative Biology, Neuroscience, or Haas. Per university policy, you may repeat a course only if you receive a D+ or lower, or a NP.

For information about AP/IB credits, review the Exam Credit page

The Molecular and Cell Biology and Neuroscience departments will accept your scores to waive prerequisite coursework, but we do not necessarily recommend doing so. Most high school AP programs do not include the in-depth labs that our courses at Cal do and they do not delve into the details of the material in the way our courses do. While AP and IB courses provide a good foundation and allow you some review at the beginning of the semester as you acclimate to college life, they do not prepare you for upper division coursework to the same degree that Berkeley courses do.

For these reasons, many students will take the courses again at Berkeley. Looking up problem sets for the courses of interest at Berkeley to check your understanding is a popular tactic students use. Ultimately, the person who understands your abilities best is you.

No, the program is designed to be completed in 4 years without requiring summer classes, although taking summer classes to alleviate the course load during the semester is an option for students.

Yes, this is doable and we have had some students even triple major. The Robinson Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship Program is very rigorous, as you are earning both degrees alongside other commitments you may have, such as internships or labs. We advise choosing a minor with significant course overlap to make this more feasible. 

TheData Science minor is yet another popular option. Completing the STAT requirement any way you please will make significant progress towards completing this minor.

Given the fast-paced and challenging curriculum with many courses unique to UC Berkeley, studying abroad during the semester will be difficult, but possible, as several LSBE students did — just not during senior year. There are also many summer programs that might be possible for LSBE students to pursue.

The key to studying abroad is connecting with a BSA advisor as early as possible. At your meeting with a BSA advisor, you should go over all requirements you need to fulfill, and your advisor will help you choose a BSA program that is right for you.

Yes, you still need to apply to the LSBE program, even if you've been accepted into Haas as a Spieker student. While you can declare a biosciences major without a formal application, participation in LSBE requires a separate application. Acceptance into the Spieker Program does not automatically place you into LSBE.

In fact, you cannot join the Spieker Program unless you are also accepted into LSBE. If you’ve already applied to the Spieker Program and were not accepted, you are not eligible to apply to LSBE in the future.

The program will continue admitting cohorts of 25 students per year, with prospective students applying in their sophomore year through 2025. Your chances of admission remain the same.

Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship (LSBE) students must meet the prerequisites for both Haas and Molecular and Cell Biology/Integrative Biology/Neuroscience. You can review the prerequisite requirements for the Program on our Academics page

Students interested in pursuing LSBE must meet the requirements for both Haas and one of the Sciences: Molecular and Cell Biology/Integrative Biology/Neuroscience. Students apply for admission to LSBE in the fall of sophomore year. Read more about the admissions process and timeline

No, your application to the LSBE program includes an application to Haas.

No, the program is only open to UC Berkeley first-years who apply to the program in the fall of their sophomore year.

No, the UC Berkeley admission form is only for admission into the university. The LSBE Program has a separate application process at the beginning of the fall semester of sophomore year.

Unfortunately the Robinson Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship (LSBE) Program is very competitive and we cannot accommodate every student who wants to join the program. Students cannot reapply to the program.

As for prerequisite coursework, in addition to making you a more well-rounded student and fulfilling breadth requirements, the business administration prerequisites are largely congruent with a handful of majors; it is not uncommon for students to select these backup options below:

Majors

• Economics is a popular double major option. After completing the business administration prerequisites, your choice of ECON 100A, ECON 100B, ECON 101A, ECON 101B, ECON 140, or ECON 141 would qualify you for the ECON double major.

• Applying for thePublic Health major is another popular backup option. Assuming you have completed your biosci's major requirements (NEU students will also need to take Bio 1B)and the business administration prerequisites, you need only to fulfill the already partially-fulfilled social science requirement to apply.

• Students need to take only one more course to fulfill the prerequisites for aPolitical Economy double major.

• Students need to take MATH 53 and MATH 54 to fulfill the prerequisites for aStatistics double major.