Berkeley Graduate Student ProfileUC Berkeley is famed for the breadth, depth, and reach of more than 100 graduate programs in 14 schools and colleges. Our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation is informed by a deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Nearly all first-year students cite the outstanding reputation and quality of their graduate program as important in their decision to enroll at Berkeley. Typically, half of admitted applicants choose Berkeley over other offers. View our Graduate Student Profile brochure as a PDF. RankingsEnrollmentCareer OutcomesStudent FundingRankings Rankings and other measures of excellence Overall UC Berkeley rankings can be found here. U.S. News and World Report The new “Best Global Universities Rankings” of U.S. News & World Report placed UC Berkeley fourth in the world. Only Harvard, MIT, and Stanford ranked higher. In the new rankings, Berkeley’s graduate programs placed first in the world in biological sciences, computer science, economics, English, history, psychology, and sociology; second in chemistry, earth sciences, and mathematics and statistics. Nine other subject areas ranked in the top 10. 1st – Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Economics, English, History, Psychology, Sociology 2nd – Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics 3rd – Clinical Psychology, Engineering, Physics, Social Welfare 4th – Political Science, Public Affairs 7th – Business (#2 in Part-time MBA) 9th – Law Academic Rankings of World Universities New global rankings place UC Berkeley at the pinnacle of public universities on the U.S. and fifth overall in the world. The 2021 Academic Rankings of World Universities is an assessment of 500 top institutions around the globe by the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. Among 54 subject areas, Berkeley ranked first in the world in chemistry and sociology, second in materials science and statistics, and third in computer science and engineering and electrical and electronic engineering. In addition, Berkeley ranked fourth in economics, and fifth in computer science and engineering and ecology. Berkeley Stands Tall in World Reputation Rankings The six “most powerful global brands” in the U.K. publication’s annual World Reputation Rankings lists UC Berkeley in the Top 10 universities in the world with Oxford at the top, followed by Stanford, Harvard, California Institute of Technology, MIT, University of Cambridge and then Berkeley. Graduate Alumni Satisfaction Berkeley doctoral alumni, surveyed 5 to 45 years after graduation, report very high level of satisfaction with their graduate education and the value of their Ph.D.s: 90% overall (and 85% of those who pursued non-academic careers) say they were well prepared for their careers by Berkeley 95% overall (and 93% of those who pursued non-academic careers) would pursue a doctoral degree again 86% would select the same field of study 95% would choose graduate study at Berkeley if they could start again The Berkeley Graduate Profile is produced by the Institutional Research and Communications units in the Graduate Division. Additional Resources Faculty Excellence Research Centers UC Berkeley is at or near the top in recent rankings of universities in the U.S. and the world Enrollment2020-21 Graduate Student Enrollment Among the 42,515 students at Berkeley, nearly 27% are pursuing doctoral and master’s degrees in more than 100 disciplines. The fall 2020 incoming graduate class of 3,539 students was selected from more than 42,000 applicants. Enrollment (Fall 2020) Doctoral Master’s Total New 796 2,743 3,539 Continuing 4,493 3,516 8,009 Overall 5,289 6,259 11,548 Applicant Age Average 28 Youngest 19 Oldest 75 Women Underrepresented Minorities 46% 15% Ethnic Diversity (United States) Total Asian 2,389 Black/African-American 549 Latinx 1,086 American Indian/Alaskan Native 77 Pacific Islander 6 White/Caucasian 3,957 Unknown 569 Total 8,615 International Graduate Students (Top 16) Doctoral Master’s Total China 552 664 1,216 India 132 395 527 Canada 113 102 215 South Korea 120 67 187 France 38 33 71 Taiwan 55 51 106 Mexico 47 36 83 Brazil 26 37 53 Germany 39 17 56 Japan 25 45 70 Singapore 18 26 44 United Kingdom 34 20 54 Chile 28 15 43 Iran 25 14 39 Italy 24 16 40 Colombia 28 8 36 Total 1,304 1,546 2,850 Graduate majors (Fall 2020 Enrollment) Berkeley offers more than 100 graduate majors (master’s and doctoral), 93 of which grant doctoral degrees. School/College Doctoral Master’s/ First Professional Total Business Administration 68.5 1,723 1,791.5 Chemistry 481 26 507 Education 132.5 75 207.5 Engineering 1,424.5 694 2,118.5 Environmental Design 67 348 415 Journalism — 95.5 95.5 Law 61 1,129 1,190 Letters & Science (all divisions) 2,332.7 158.8 2,491.5 Arts & Humanities 575.2 26.3 601.5 Biological Sciences 462 — 462 Mathematics & Physical Sciences 568 71 639 Social Sciences 727.5 61.5 789 Natural Resources 362.7 94.8 457.5 Optometry 33.5 267.5 301 Public Health 142.5 554 696.5 Public Policy 12.5 182.5 195 School of Information 23 834 857 Social Welfare 27 197.5 224.5 Individualized Major – – TOTAL 5,168 6,379 11,548 Degrees Granted Degree Date 2006 – 07 2007 – 08 2008 – 09 2009 – 10 2010 – 11 2011 – 12 2012 – 13 2013 – 14 2014 – 15 2015 – 16 2016 – 17 2017 – 18 2018 – 19 2019 – 20 Doctoral 895 864 863 888 906 887 936 930 1,066 818 765 963 887 807 Master’s/Professional 2,351 2,406 2,385 2,397 2,481 2,506 2,552 2,045 2,764 3,084 2,991 3,531 4,538 3,663 Career OutcomesCareer Outcomes Top 5 academic institutions that hire Berkeley Ph.D.s University of California System Stanford Princeton MIT Harvard Long-term employment trends (Based on a survey of Ph.D. recipients who graduated between 2013 to 2017) 54.1% of Berkeley doctoral alumni (and 78% arts and humanities Ph.D.s) work in 4-year academic institutions compared to 41.4% nation-wide 31.4% work in the private for-profit sector 3.4% work in the non-profit sector or for the state, local or national government 3.9% are self-employed or have other employment Career placement of doctoral degree recipients First positions of students who graduated between 2011 – 2016 (based on a survey conducted 12-18 months after graduation). Industry Count Percent Business (for profit) 1052 31.4% College or university* 1,811 54.1% Government 114 3.4% Hospital/clinic 17 0.5% K-12 school 63 1.9% National laboratory 143 4.3% Self-employed 29 0.9% Other/unknown 119 3.6% Total 3,348 100% *First positions taken by Berkeley Ph.D.s who went into academia Student FundingSources of financial support for graduate students (2018 – 2019) Funding for Doctoral Study University multi-year fellowships Berkeley offers prestigious multi-year awards to the most highly qualified entering doctoral students, including those who will enhance the diversity of the graduate student population. Recipients are nominated by their departments and selected through a competitive process. Humanities/Social Sciences multi-year packages include: 2 years of fellowship funding 2 years of departmental funding: combination of GSI (teaching) or GSR (research) appointments and/or fellowship 1 year of Doctoral Completion Fellowship* Sciences/Engineering multi-year packages include: 2 years of fellowship funding 3 years of departmental funding: combination of GSI or GSR appointments and/or fellowship Departmental multi-year funding packages: Departmental funding offers often include funding from a variety of sources, including departmental fellowships, training grant awards, GSI (teaching) appointments, and GSR (research) positions. External multi-year fellowships, such as the NSF GRFP, NDSEG (DoD), Hertz, Ford, and others, are integrated into university and departmental funding packages. *The Doctoral Completion Fellowship provides one year of fellowship funding to students in certain Humanities and Social Science disciplines, for use after advancement to doctoral candidacy. Other Campus Funding Opportunities Conference Travel Grants Parent Grants Research Grants/Fellowships (from Institutes/Centers and others) Training Grant Programs