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Business, finance and entrepreneurship clubs at UCLA

Open business societies, selective investing funds, startup and venture groups, and business fraternities: what members do, which take everyone, and when each recruits.

Updated

UCLA has no formal undergraduate business program, as the Daily Bruin has pointed out. Anderson, the business school, offers undergraduates a handful of minors, including accounting, entrepreneurship, real estate, and sports leadership and management, but most students interested in business learn it through clubs. The Business & Careers directory has 126 groups, and 48 of them take members by application. Consulting clubs have their own guide. This one covers the rest: open business societies, finance and investing clubs, entrepreneurship and venture groups, marketing and industry clubs, and business fraternities.

Open clubs: start here

A few large groups take anyone, and they are the easiest way to learn what the selective clubs do before you apply to one. The Undergraduate Business Society says it is UCLA's largest student organization, with more than 5,500 members a year; you join its GroupMe and newsletter. Bruin Finance Society has no application for general members. It also runs an intern program by application, and interns who attend ten events can move up to its associate program.

Business in Entertainment Association takes general members year-round with a form and $10 annual dues, and no interview. Its committees, which apply separately, each work with a real company in their industry; the club's site lists Sony Music and the LA Dodgers among past partners. Other open groups include Bruin Women in Business, Latin Business Student Association, which welcomes first-generation and Latinx students, Bruin Marketers on Slack, and Bruin Real Estate Association, which uses an interest form and newsletter. If personal finance is your interest rather than a career, the Financial Literacy Group covers budgeting and money basics.

Finance and investing clubs

These are the most selective. In fall 2025, The Stack, the Daily Bruin's data team, found that Bruin Investment and Trading Group accepted fewer than 5 percent of applicants out of hundreds per cycle. Most of these clubs teach investment banking, markets or fund management, and several run real money. Bruin Value Investing is a student-managed fund that pitches public stocks it thinks are undervalued, and Bruin Crypto Investment runs a real-money crypto portfolio.

Read each club's join note for who it wants. Bruin Alpha Investment has committees in wealth management, trading, consulting and investment banking, and says first-year applicants need no prior finance experience. Bruin Hedge Fund says non-business majors are not disadvantaged. Bruins in Finance and Banking asked for a résumé and two short essays by October 2 in fall 2026. Bruin Private Equity ends with a 20-minute interview in business professional dress. Scholars of Finance held its info session on the same day its application closed, so you had to plan ahead.

One club offers a middle path. Bruin Reserve Bank, which prepares teams for monetary policy competitions like the Federal Reserve Challenge, has a selective analyst application and a general member interest form. You can join as a general member while you decide.

Entrepreneurship and venture capital

Bruin Entrepreneurs recruits on two tracks, and you may apply to only one. Members help run the club and work alongside founders. Startup Labs is a 10-week, equity-free accelerator for early-stage startups founded by UCLA students, alumni or faculty, and it ends with a Demo Day. Both tracks had a fall 2026 application due October 4. Bruin Business helps students turn ideas into startups and also takes members by application.

For venture capital, Bruin Ventures starts new members with a training quarter, then projects with Los Angeles venture firms. Its join page offers coffee chats with board members. Girls Into VC is for women-identifying undergraduates of any major or year and asks for no prior venture, finance or startup experience. Its fall 2026 decisions came out October 13. If you would rather take entrepreneurship for credit, Anderson's entrepreneurship minor ends in a capstone course, MGMT 169.

Marketing and industry clubs

Some clubs focus on one industry instead of a job function. Bruin Sports Business Association takes associate members by application and runs a speaker series with people in sports. Aurum Cosmetics follows the beauty industry from product chemistry to marketing. General membership there is a form, and its committees apply separately. Consumer, Culture and Capital covers consumer brands and trends through a GroupMe and a weekly Substack. For marketing projects with real clients, look at the marketing teams in the consulting guide.

Business fraternities and identity-based groups

Professional business fraternities recruit by rush, usually in week 1, on their own schedule. This directory lists them under Business & Careers rather than Greek Life. Delta Sigma Pi's fall 2026 rush ran September 28 to October 2, with two open nights before invitation-only events and bid interviews. Alpha Kappa Psi uses a rush interest form and application. Sigma Eta Pi, an entrepreneurship fraternity, closed its fall applications September 29, before most clubs had held an info session. Rho Epsilon Iota, a real estate fraternity, started its UCLA chapter in fall 2025.

Several identity-based business groups are worth a look. Black Business Student Association takes general members by application and expects at least two events a quarter. Ascend is a Pan-Asian professional network, and International Business for Bruins recruits at the start of both fall and winter. The Stack found it accepted fewer than 5 percent of applicants. Beta Alpha Psi, for accounting and finance, requires a minimum 3.0 GPA, according to The Stack.

Timing and odds

The Stack found that 43 of the 53 registered business clubs it reviewed used an application and seven were open to all. More than half required a written application, a coffee chat and a final-round interview. Most began recruiting in week 0, held their info sessions in week 1, closed applications at the start of week 2 and finished interviews by the end of week 3. Acceptance rates were usually under 40 percent, and some smaller clubs took nearly everyone who applied.

The open societies above are where to start in week 0. Pick two or three selective clubs whose work you can describe, go to their info sessions, and apply. If they turn you down, International Business for Bruins, Bruin Microfinance and TAMID all recruit again in winter, and a quarter of events at an open club gives you something concrete to write about. The selective clubs guide covers applications in general, and joining after week three lists clubs that take members later.

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