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Berkeley, CA, United States
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The University of California, Berkeley is a public research university in Berkeley, California, founded in 1868 when the private College of California in Oakland merged with a new state land-grant institution, the Agricultural, Mining and Mechanical Arts College. It opened with 10 faculty members and 40 students. Fall 2024 enrolment was 33,070 undergraduates and 12,812 graduate students, with about 400 degree programmes and 184 academic departments and programmes.
Teaching is organised in schools and colleges: the Haas School of Business; the College of Chemistry; the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society; the Berkeley School of Education; the College of Engineering; the College of Environmental Design; the School of Information; the Graduate School of Journalism; the School of Law; the College of Letters & Science (the largest college, with more than 60 departments across the biological sciences, arts and humanities, physical sciences and social sciences); the Rausser College of Natural Resources; the School of Optometry; the School of Public Health; the Goldman School of Public Policy; and the School of Social Welfare. The student-to-faculty ratio is 19.4 to 1 and 71% of undergraduate classes have fewer than 30 students.
Berkeley's libraries hold more than 14.6 million volumes, and the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive holds about 18,000 films and videos. Current faculty hold 9 Nobel Prizes, and about 60 Nobel Prizes are held by alumni and faculty overall. The campus runs more than 120 research units, including centres and institutes, field stations and museums.
Student life includes hundreds of student organizations, 30 Cal athletics teams that have won 104 team national championships, recreational and intramural sports, and campus health services. About 96% of first-year students and more than a third of transfer students live in campus housing, and new first-year students entering in 2026-27 are eligible for a two-year housing guarantee (one year for transfer students) if they meet the conditions. Anchor House, a transfer-only apartment complex, opened in 2024.
Of undergraduates, 26% of first-year students are first generation, 21% are transfer students and 29% receive Pell Grants. International students have attended since the 1890s. Berkeley has been fully accredited since 1949 and its accreditation was most recently reaffirmed in 2025 under the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) process.
The 2026-27 undergraduate fee schedule (per semester, new students) is $11,890 for California residents and $31,525 for non-residents; non-residents pay Nonresident Supplemental Tuition of $19,635 per semester in addition to the base fees. Residents and non-residents pay the same base tuition of $7,101 per semester.
Berkeley's financial aid is need-based and includes grants, scholarships, work-study and loans; around 65% of students qualify. International students are not eligible for federal, state or need-based institutional aid managed by the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office. The priority deadline to apply (FAFSA or California Dream Act Application) is March 2, and applications open October 1.
All admitted international undergraduates are automatically considered, with no separate application, for the Regents' & Chancellor's Scholarship and for the Robinson International Scholars, International Leaders and Swaniker Scholars programmes where eligible. Details: international student scholarships.
International graduate students can seek funding from their departments (Graduate Student Researcher and Graduate Student Instructor positions), the Graduate Division's fellowships and external sources. See graduate fellowships.
Regents' & Chancellor's Scholarship →
Robinson International Scholars Program →
International Leaders Scholarship at UC Berkeley →
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View scholarships for University of California, Berkeley →Applicants must meet the UC A-G subject course requirements and have a 3.0 GPA in A-G courses taken in the 10th and 11th grades (3.4 for non-residents). Berkeley is competitive, so meeting the minimum is often not enough. Selection is holistic and considers weighted and unweighted UC GPA, planned 12th-grade courses, pattern of grades, the number of college-preparatory, AP, IB, honours and transferable college courses, and AP or IB exam results, as well as personal qualities, achievements and context.
Berkeley is test-free: SAT/ACT scores are not used in the application process (any scores submitted are used only for placement or subject credit after admission). Select applicants are invited to submit two letters of recommendation, due January 10.
The application is the UC Application, available from August 1. The filing period is October 1 to November 30 and the deadline is November 30. Berkeley does not offer early admission or early decision. Mandatory forms and the Transfer Application Update are due January 31; first-year decisions are posted at the end of March and the deadline to accept an offer is May 1. Transfer decisions are posted at the end of April and the acceptance deadline is June 1.
Transfer applicants need at least 60 UC-transferable semester units (90 quarter units), an overall GPA of 3.0 in transferable coursework (3.5 for the College of Engineering), and lower-division major preparation, completed by the end of the spring term before entry. California community college applicants receive priority. Only fall entry is offered.
International first-year applicants must complete secondary school and earn a certificate of completion allowing university admission in their home country; applicants whose curriculum needs further certification (for example A Levels, IGCSE results, French Baccalaureate, ATAR) submit those results once admitted. Applicants with only IGCSE or O-Level exams have not met the requirement and need two-year A-levels with at least three academic exams, the IB Diploma or a similar curriculum. Grades are entered exactly as on school records, without conversion. English proficiency can be shown with TOEFL with a minimum score of 90/4.5, IELTS 6.5 or Duolingo English Test 115, or other listed exam scores such as AP English Language or Literature scores of 3-5. Applicants from countries with compulsory military service should apply only after fulfilling it. International students on a visa are classified as non-residents for tuition.
Applicants need a bachelor's degree or equivalent from an accredited institution; a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is generally recommended. Berkeley offers over 200 graduate programmes (master's, professional and doctoral), and each applicant may apply to only one degree or concurrent-degree programme per cycle through the Graduate Division application.
The University of California, Berkeley is based in Berkeley, California, with its undergraduate admissions office at Sproul Hall on the main campus. Visitor Services operates from the Koret Visitor Center, located on the Lisa and Douglas Goldman Plaza inside the gates of the historic California Memorial Stadium.
The campus landmark is the Campanile, a 307-foot clock and bell tower. The university library system holds more than 14.6 million volumes, and the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) holds a collection of about 18,000 films and videos.
Fall 2024 enrollment was 33,070 undergraduate and 12,812 graduate students, with around 400 degree programs offered.
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