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11th Sept
$113 million gift, UC Berkeley's largest ever, to support 100 endowed faculty chairs
8th Sept 2007
Astronomers eager to add to Sky in Google Earth
25th August 2007
The Berkeley Campus
Undergraduate Majors and Programs
Information for International Freshman Applicants
Living and Learning at Berkeley
Visiting Berkeley
Tuition, Fees and Financial Aid
About three-quarters of Berkeley undergraduates receive financial aid, which is primarily need-based. Applicants apply for university-sponsored scholarships automatically when they apply for admission; a separate form, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is required for grants, loans and work study.
Average Student Budget 2007-2008*
| Living on Campus | Living off Campus | Living at Home | |
| Registration & Fees** | $ 8,384 | $ 8,384 | $ 8,384 |
| Housing, food & utilities | 13,848 | 9,340 | 4,002 |
| Books and supplies | 1,234 | 1,234 | 1,234 |
| Personal expenses | 1,264 | 1,394 | 1,758 |
| Transportation | 578 | 976 | 1,842 |
| Total | $25,308 | $21,328 | $17,220 |
*Estimated budget; subject to change.
**Non-resident tuition add $19,620.
An additional fee is charged for selected residence halls.
Health insurance fee of $1,220 is included in student budget, but may be waived if proof of adequate coverage is presented.
A visit to the campus is the best way to find out what UC Berkeley has to offer. No matter how much you've read or heard about Berkeley, nothing can compare to seeing it for yourself. We hope that you will take us up on this invitation: tour the campus, listen to an admissions presentation, explore the surrounding area, and talk informally to some of the people in the Berkeley campus community.
Planning Your Visit
Your first stop on campus should be Visitor Services, located in 101 University Hall. Campus tours leave Visitor Services Monday-Friday at 10:00 a.m. These student-led tours are free of charge and last about an hour and a half. Admissions information for prospective students is also available most weekdays between 1-4 p.m.; please check the links above to confirm tour times before you arrive on campus. You may wish to refer to the following academic calendar in planning your campus visit.
| Fall 2008 | |
| Fall semester classes begin | August 21 |
| Labor Day Holiday | September 1 |
| Veterans Day Holiday | November 11 |
| Thanksgiving Holiday | November 27 - 28 |
| Instruction ends | December 10 |
| Final Examinations | December 13 - 20 |
| Winter Holiday | December 25 - 26 |
| New Year's Holiday | December 31, 2008 - January 1, 2009 |
| Spring 2008 | |
| Martin Luther King holiday | January 21 |
| Spring semester classes begin | January 22 |
| Presidents' Day Holiday | February 18 |
| Spring Recess | March 24 - 28 |
| Cesar Chavez Holiday | March 28 |
| Cal Day (Campus Open House) | April 12 |
| Instruction Ends | May 12 |
| Final Examinations | May 15 - 22 |
| Summer 2008 | |
| First summer session begins | May XX |
| Memorial Day holiday | May 26 |
| Independence Day holiday | July 4 |
| Last summer session ends | August XX |
*Dates in italics indicate times when campus offices will be closed For More Information | |
Housing and Residential Life
You have a wide variety of housing choices at Berkeley. The campus guarantees housing to new students who are admitted to the fall semester and meet the housing application deadline. Most residence halls offer dining facilities, seminar/study rooms and on-site academic services such as tutoring, advising, and computing assitance. In addition, the campus maintains over 1,000 apartments for students who are married, single parents, or domestic partners. Also available are "theme houses" that combine residential living with a particular academic focus and nearly 3,500 spaces in student cooperatives, fraternities, and sororities. For more information, please check the links on the right side of this page.
Over 700 Campus Organizations
The Berkeley campus is an eclectic, interesting and varied place to live and to learn, and this is truly reflected in the wide range of clubs and student organizations available. Cal students can join the Marching Band, the Cal Hang Gliding Club, radio station KALX, ethnic associations, humor and literary magazines, debate team, and a variety of cultural and political groups. If you can't find one that suits your interests, you may even form your own organization—new groups are constantly forming and changing to meet the needs of the our students.
Volunteer and Internship Opportunities
A large percentage of our students take Berkeley's public service mission to heart. Cal Corps Public Service Center coordinates a wide variety of programs for students who want to volunteer for a community organization, work with an established campus group such as Cal Berkeley Habitat for Humanity or Raza Recruitment and Retention Center, or pursue internship opportunities to supplement their classroom experience. The Berkeley Career Center is another excellent resource for internships, both in the corporate and nonprofit arenas.
Arts and Cultural Events
As a Cal student, you can take advantage of an exciting variety of on-campus lectures, concerts, forums, seminars, festivals, plays, exhibits, and films offered by world-acclaimed scholars and performers—so many that you need to check the calendar of events to keep up. In addition, a host of arts, entertainment and sports activities are within minutes from campus in San Francisco, Oakland and other surrounding Bay Area communities. Downtown Berkeley, a short walk from campus, offers four movie theaters (22 screens), highly-regarded theater, live music, artist cooperatives, and many other cultural venues.
Cal Bear Athletics
Berkeley is a member of the PAC-10 Division I Conference and offers a full range of men's and women's intercollegiate sports. You can watch the Cal Bears fight it out on the football field, tennis court or track, or take advantage of the campus' extensive sports and recreational facilities yourself. Cal has a comprehensive intramural sports program, offering everything from coed flag football to martial arts.
College of Chemistry
Biochemistry – see Molecular and Cell Biology in the College of Letters and Science
Chemistry – also offered in the College of Letters and Science
Chemical Biology
Chemical Engineering
Joint Majors: only available to junior transfers
Chemical Engineering/Materials Science and Engineering
Chemical Engineering/Nuclear Engineering
College of Engineering
Bioengineering
Civil Engineering
Computational Engineering Science
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Computer Science - also offered in the College of Letters and Science
Engineering Mathematics and Statistics
Engineering Physics
Environmental Engineering Science
Engineering Undeclared: only available to freshmen
Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
Manufacturing Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Nuclear Engineering
Joint Majors: only available to junior transfers
Bioengineering/Materials Science and Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering/Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Materials Science and Engineering/Mechanical Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering/Nuclear Engineering
Nuclear Engineering/Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Nuclear Engineering/Mechanical Engineering
College of Environmental Design
Architecture
Landscape Architecture
Urban Studies
College of Letters and Science
African American Studies
American Studies
Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Art & Architecture
Anthropology
Art, History of
Art, Practice of
Asian American Studies
Asian Studies
Astrophysics (includes Astronomy)
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Cell and Developmental Biology
Celtic Studies
Chemistry – also offered in the College of Chemistry
Chicano Studies
Chinese
Classical Civilizations
Classical Languages
Cognitive Science
Comparative Literature
Computer Science
Dance and Performance Studies
Development Studies
Dutch Studies
Earth and Planetary Science (Atmospheric Science, Environmental Earth Science, Geology, Geophysics, Marine Science)
Economics
English
Environmental Economics and Policy - also offered in the College of Natural Resources
Environmental Sciences (biological, physical, social) - also offered in the College of Natural Resources
Ethnic Studies
Film
French
Gender and Women's Studies
Genetics, Genomics and Development
Geography
German
Greek
Hispanic Languages and Bilingual Issues
History
Iberian or Latin American Literatures
Immunology
Integrative Biology
Interdisciplinary Studies
Italian Studies
Japanese
Latin
Latin American Studies
Legal Studies
Linguistics
Luso-Brazilian
Mass Communications
Mathematics
Mathematics, Applied
Middle Eastern Studies
Molecular and Cell Biology
Music
Native American Studies
Near Eastern Civilizations
Near Eastern Languages and Literature
Neurobiology
Operations Research and Management Science
Peace and Conflict Studies
Philosophy
Physical Sciences
Physics
Political Economy of Industrial Societies
Political Science
Psychology
Public Health
Religious Studies
Rhetoric
Scandinavian
Slavic Languages and Literatures
Social Welfare
Sociology
South and Southeast Asian Studies
Spanish and Spanish American
Statistics
Theater and Performance Studies
Undeclared: only available to freshmen
College of Natural Resources
Conservation and Resource Studies
Environmental Economics and Policy - also offered in the College of Letters & Science
Environmental Sciences (biological, physical, social) - also offered in the College of Letters and Science
Forestry and Natural Resources
Genetics and Plant Biology
Microbial Biology
Molecular Environmental Biology
Molecular Toxicology
Nutritional Science
Society and Environment
Undeclared: only available to freshmen
Haas School of Business
Business Administration: only available to junior transfers; freshman applicants must apply to the College of Letters and Science, Undeclared—Pre-Business Administration
The University of California, Berkeley is one of the world’s leading academic institutions. Widely known as "Cal," the campus is renowned for the size and quality of its libraries and laboratories, the scope of its research and publications, and the distinction of its faculty and students. National rankings consistently place Berkeley’s undergraduate and graduate programs among the very best in a variety of disciplines.
Our high-acclaimed faculty currently includes: 7 Nobel Laureates, 131 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 229 members of the Academy of Arts & Sciences, 28 MacArthur Fellows, 76 Fulbright Scholars, 85 members of the National Academy of Engineering, 383 Guggenheim Fellows, 14 National Medal of Science Awardees, 92 Sloan Fellows, and 3 Pulitzer Prize winners. It was here that two professors discovered plutonium in 1941 as well as numerous other elements, including berkelium and californium. Berkeley faculty are quoted daily in newspapers and journals throughout the world.
But Berkeley is also about extraordinary students! While most of our 23,500 undergraduates are Californians, every state and more than 100 foreign countries are represented on campus. The student body can best be characterized by its talent and its diversity; in fact, there is no single ethnic majority here. Berkeley students represent all age groups, economic, cultural, ethnic and geographic backgrounds. This dynamic mix produces the wide range of opinion and perspective found on the Berkeley campus.
Overlooking San Francisco Bay, UC Berkeley is a lush and tranquil 1,232 acre campus—yet close to many urban opportunities. It is bordered by wooded, rolling hills and the City of Berkeley, one of America’s most lively, culturally diverse, and politically adventurous municipalities. Cal students are also just minutes away from the many cultural, recreational and culinary resources of Oakland, San Francisco, and other Bay Area communities.
Prospective freshman international students should read the information provided for all students on our website and in our Freshman Admission flyer
Who is an International Applicant?
You are considered an international applicant if you need a visa in order to reside and study in the United States. If you are a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, refugee or asylee, you will be considered a domestic applicant even if you currently reside outside the U.S.
Applying as a Freshman
You are a freshman applicant if you have completed secondary school and have not enrolled in a regular session at any college or university.
Academic Requirements:
To be considered for admission to UC Berkeley, international students must have completed secondary school and have earned a certificate of completion which enables the student to be admitted to a university in the home country.
Students from countries that require entry into military service upon completion of secondary education should not apply until that obligation has been met. UC Berkeley does not defer admission to a later term.
All freshman applicants are required to take the following tests:
Test Requirements:
The ACT Assessment plus the new ACT Writing Test or the new version of the SAT Reasoning Test with critical reading, mathematics and writing scores from the same sitting; and two SAT Subject Tests in two different subject areas:
−English (literature)
−History/social studies
−Mathematics (Level 2 only; Level 1 will no longer be accepted)
−Science
−Languages (other than English).
Applicants to the Colleges of Chemistry and Engineering are strongly encouraged to take the SAT Subject Test: Math Level 2 and a science test (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) that is closely related to the applicant’s intended major.
You must complete all tests no later than the December examination dates of the year in which you file your application. For information about the SAT, contact the College Board SAT Program, website www.collegeboard.com, e-mail sat@ets.org, or write to College Board SAT Program, P.O. Box 6212, Princeton, NJ 08541-6212-USA, phone: 609-771-7600
Language Requirements:
A proficiency in English will be critical to your success. UC Berkeley requires one of the following proficiency exams from all international students coming from non-English speaking countries:
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) −a score of 7 or higher on the academic module
or
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) −a score of 220 or higher on the computer-based exam or 550 on the paper-based exam
• Internet-based TOEFL (IBT) −a score of 83 or higher
Test results must be received in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions no later than January prior to the fall semester in which the student wishes to enroll. A bulletin containing information and an application form is available at most United States Consulates and Information Service Offices. If local information is not available, you may contact Educational Testing Services, P.O. Box 6151, Princeton, NJ 08541-6151, USA. You may also call 609-771-7100, e-mail toefl@ets.org, or obtain information on-line at http://www.ets.org/toefl/.
Application Self-Report and Academic Records
Each UC campus has an International Admission Specialist who is familiar with the educational systems of other countries. You should fill out the educational history section of the application completely, and list the marks you received exactly as they were given by your school. See the Application for Undergraduate Admission and Scholarships for further details. Please do not send your academic record unless it is requested.
Personal Statement
The Personal Statement is an important part of your application for admission and is required of all applicants. The University uses your statement to learn more about you as an individual—your talents, experiences, achievements and points of view. You may use the Personal Statement to discuss your recent interest and goals, significant experiences in your life, or unusual circumstances, challenges or hardships you have faced. Transfer students should discuss their interest in the intended major and how this interest in the field developed. See our Personal Statement flyer
Application Procedure and Notification
UC Berkeley accepts applications for the fall semester only. Applications are available from late September until late November for the following fall semester. Applications are available in paper format and on-line. For information on requesting an application or using the online application, see How to Apply.
The application filing period is November 1 through November 30 for the following fall semester. Applications must be postmarked or received by November 30. The application review and selection process begins in January. Freshman admission decisions are mailed (and posted on our website) in late March.
California Residency for Tuition Purposes
International students with F-1 visas cannot be classified as California residents for tuition purposes. Information for students who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents is available at the Registrar website.
UC Berkeley does not defer admission to a later semester. If you choose not to enroll for the semester you are admitted to, you must re-apply for admission to a later fall semester. If you are from a country that requires military service upon the completion of secondary education, you should not apply until that obligation has been met.
Tuition, Fees, and F-1 Student Visa Information
Please consult our Berkeley brochure
All international students who are admitted will be required to complete a Non-immigrant Information Form (NIF) which requires a guarantee by the applicant's financial sponsor that sufficient funds will be available for the first year of study. Upon receipt of the completed NIF, Services for International Students and Scholars (SISS) will issue the document required to apply for a student visa.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
In general, UC Berkeley does not have scholarships or financial aid available to entering undergraduate students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States. International applicants are encouraged to explore scholarship opportunities from private sources.
Housing
The University offers a variety of housing choices, and guarantees one year of housing in the campus residence halls to new students admitted to the fall term who meet the housing application deadline. Housing information is sent to all applicants who are offered admission. The Housing and Dining Services Web site is http://www.housing.berkeley.edu.
Second Bachelor’s Degree Applicants
Applicants who have already earned a degree that is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree are not accepted by the College of Letters and Science, the College of Environmental Design, the College of Natural Resources, or the Haas School of Business; and they are rarely accepted by the College of Engineering or the College of Chemistry. To be considered by the College of Engineering or the College of Chemistry, applicants who have a bachelor's degree must meet the lower division prerequisites for admission to these colleges.
Summer Session
Students who would like to have the experience of studying at Berkeley on a short term basis should consider attending Summer Session. Formal admission to the University is not required. The Summer Session offers five sessions between May and August. Inquiries should be directed to the Summer Session Office, 1995 University Ave., Berkeley, CA 94720, or check their website.
How to Apply
UC Berkeley accepts applications for the fall semester only. The fall term begins in August.
The Application for Undergraduate Admission and Scholarships is available on the Internet at the University of California Application website. The University of California admissions website includes comprehensive information for prospective UC students about undergraduate education and admission.
PDF (Portable Document Format) versions of the application form and application booklet are available on the Web at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/apply/. Follow the prompts to download and print the form and instructions. You may submit a form you have downloaded and printed.
The application filing period for is November 1-30. Applications must be postmarked or received by November 30. Paper applications should be sent to the address below:
University of California Undergraduate Application Processing Service
P.O. Box 4010
Concord, CA 94524-4010
USA
