We present a comparison of the 8-band k-p and empirical pseudopotential approaches to describing the electronic structure of pyramidal InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots. We find a generally good agreement between the two methods. The most significant shortcomings found in the k-p calculation are ͑i͒ a reduced splitting of the electron p states ͑3 vs 24 meV͒, ͑ii͒ an incorrect in-plane polarization ratio for electron-hole dipole transitions ͑0.97 vs 1.24͒, and ͑iii͒ an over confinement of both electron ͑48 meV͒ and hole states ͑52 meV͒, resulting in a band gap error of 100 meV. We introduce a ''linear combination of bulk bands'' technique which produces results similar to a full direct diagonalization pseudopotential calculation, at a cost similar to the k-p method.

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