May 15, 2025
Meet the 2025 UC Berkeley Leadership in Graduate Diversity Award recipients.
A Powerful Collection of Today’s Top Students
Being a graduate student at Berkeley means being a part of an energetic, dynamic group of people who are passionate, curious and committed to their areas of study. And it shows. Berkeley has more recipients of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships and the Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships than any other public or private institution.
Berkeley is famed for the breadth, and depth of 200 graduate programs in 15 schools and colleges, awarding more than 4,000 master’s and professional degrees each year and close to 800 doctoral degrees each year.
Berkeley graduate students go on to join an impressive collection of alumni. Among them are:
- 35 Nobel Prize Winners
- 41 MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” Recipients
- 28 Recipients of the National Medal of Science
- 270+ Founders of Companies
What Sets Berkeley Apart
A Location Like No Other
The entrepreneurial spirit our region is known for emanates across our campus. With ready access to top experts, national labs, Silicon Valley, and cutting-edge companies, Berkeley is a hub of innovation and exploration. And the view of the San Francisco Bay from our scenic, 1,200 acre campus doesn’t hurt either.
A Diverse and Collaborative Community
Our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation is informed by a deep commitment to contributing to a better world. We take great pride in ensuring that our graduate students, who represent 129 countries and all 50 U.S. states, have a full yet balanced experience during their time here. Berkeley is committed to encouraging and supporting students of all backgrounds on campus and fostering a welcoming climate that lets everyone thrive. And our family-friendly policies make our graduate experience attainable for all admitted students.
Multidisciplinary Labs, Research Centers, Museums and Institutes All on One Campus
To name a few:
- Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing
- Institute of East Asian Studies
- Institute of Human Development
- Doreen B.Townsend Center for the Humanities
- Space Sciences Laboratory
- Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
- Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics
- Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research (BAIR)
- Center for Smart Infrastructure
- Center for Science, Technology, Medicine and Society
Unparalleled Resources and Opportunities
The University Library system, with 23 libraries and 11 million volumes and electronic journals, is the top-ranked research collection among public universities in the country.
Our students conduct research in every corner of the world — literally. International study and research opportunities include the Gump Field Station in French Polynesia; archeological expeditions to Jordan, Peru, Greece, Turkey and Israel; city planning projects in China; and archival research in India and Pakistan.
The reach of our students’ work doesn’t end at the lab or field station. We offer extensive resources to help Berkeley graduate students transfer their inventions and ideas to the marketplace. The QB3 Garage@Berkeley is a network of modern biotech labs, where entrepreneurs can lay the foundations for new industries, all with the help of faculty. Berkeley Skydeck is a technology entrepreneurship center established to incubate, accelerate and expand the pipeline of start-ups. Every year, 10 to 20 companies are founded based on innovations and people from the Berkeley campus.
Meet our students
April 14, 2025
In an exciting new development, U.S. News released their first round of 2025 rankings for graduate schools – identifying nearly 50 UC Berkeley graduate programs as Top 10 programs in the country.
April 2, 2025
Berkeley is a place where you can be independent. You can pursue whatever it is that you want to research. And so that’s very different from other schools.
Berkeley Graduate Student Profile
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.
Rankings and other measures of excellence
Overall UC Berkeley rankings can be found here.
U.S. News and World Report
Yet again U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Berkeley as one of the top public universities in the nation.
The new “Best Global Universities Rankings” of U.S. News & World Report placed UC Berkeley fifth in the world. Ranking higher than Columbia, Yale and UCLA.
In the new rankings, Berkeley’s graduate programs placed first in the world in Chemistry, Computer Science, English, History, Part-time MBA, Psychology, and Sociology. 14 other subject areas ranked in the top 10.
- 1st – Chemistry, Computer Science, English, History, Psychology, Sociology
- 2nd – Part-time MBA, Statistics
- 3rd – Engineering, Biological Sciences, Clinical Psychology, Earth Sciences, Mathematics, Physics
- 4th – Economics, Political Science, Public Affairs, Social Work
- 7th – Business, Biostatistics
- 10th – Public Health
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 2024 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, second in electrical and electronic engineering, fourth in physics and statistics, and fifth in economics and computer science & engineering. Honorable mentions include seventh in ecology and eighth in law.
Berkeley Stands Tall in World Reputation Rankings
For the seventh year in a row, UC Berkeley ranks sixth in the world when it comes to its reputation among its peers, according to new rankings from Times Higher Education.
The six “most powerful global brands” in the U.K. publication’s annual World Reputation Rankings vary little from year to year, with Harvard at the top, then MIT, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, and then Berkeley.
Berkeley Again Shines as Top U.S. Public University in Forbes Rankings
New rankings from the financial publication Forbes, again place Berkeley at the very top of the list of public universities in the United States.
On the new Forbes Top Colleges 2024-25 list, Berkeley is the only public university among the top five schools overall.
Graduate Alumni Accomplishments
UC Berkeley alumni are among the most accomplished in their fields. Below is just a snapshot of graduate alumni accolades:
- 31 faculty Nobel Prize winners, Berkeley Inspire 2024
- 35 alumni Nobel Prize winners; Berkeley Inspire 2024
- 80 Fellows from 1981 to 2024; MacArthur Fellows
- 30 National Medal of Science Recipients; The President’s National Medal of Science: Recipient Search
- 1895 Active Patents (as of 2023); UC Inventions at a Glance
The Berkeley Graduate Profile is produced by the Institutional Research and Communications units in the Graduate Division.
Additional Resources
2024-25 Graduate Student Enrollment
Among the 45,882 students at Berkeley, 28% are pursuing doctoral and master’s degrees in more than 130 disciplines.
The fall 2024 incoming graduate class of 4,290 students was selected from more than 40,000 applicants.
| Enrollment (Fall 2024) | Doctoral | Master’s | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| New | 4,217 | 4,207 | 8,424 |
| Continuing | 802 | 3,586 | 4,388 |
| Overall | 5,052 | 7,793 | 12,812 |
| Applicant Age | Years |
|---|---|
| Average | 28 |
| Youngest | 17 |
| Oldest | 84 |
| Women | Underrepresented Minorities |
|---|---|
| 47% | 15% |
| Ethnic Diversity (United States) | Total |
|---|---|
| Asian | 2,929 |
| Black/African-American | 682 |
| Chicano/Latino | 1,179 |
| American Indian/Alaskan Native | 73 |
| Pacific Islander | 19 |
| White/Caucasian | 3,343 |
| Unknown | 553 |
| Total | 8,866 |
| International Graduate Students (Top 20) | Doctoral | Master’s | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 412 | 532 | 944 |
| India | 120 | 245 | 365 |
| Canada | 103 | 163 | 266 |
| Republic of Korea (South) | 119 | 68 | 187 |
| Taiwan | 73 | 64 | 137 |
| Japan | 28 | 62 | 90 |
| United Kingdom | 49 | 35 | 84 |
| Germany | 32 | 38 | 70 |
| France | 21 | 43 | 64 |
| Brazil | 26 | 33 | 59 |
| Indonesia | 8 | 45 | 53 |
| Mexico | 18 | 31 | 49 |
| Hong Kong | 15 | 33 | 48 |
| Singapore | 17 | 24 | 41 |
| Turkey | 26 | 7 | 33 |
| Chile | 13 | 19 | 32 |
| Nigeria | 4 | 27 | 31 |
| Italy | 24 | 6 | 30 |
| Australia | 11 | 15 | 26 |
| Columbia | 8 | 18 | 26 |
| Total | 1,127 | 1,508 | 2,635 |
Graduate majors (Fall 2024 Enrollment)
Berkeley offers more than 130 graduate majors (master’s, professional, and doctoral), 94 of which grant doctoral degrees.
| School/College/Division | Doctoral | Master’s/ First Professional |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arts & Humanities | 546 | 12 | 558 |
| Biological Sciences | 419 | 16 | 435 |
| Business | 76 | 1,832 | 1,908 |
| Chemistry | 483 | 129 | 612 |
| Data Science and Society | 103 | 76 | 179 |
| Education | 127 | 82 | 209 |
| Engineering | 1,288 | 1,219 | 2,507 |
| Environmental Design | 72 | 390 | 462 |
| Information | 29 | 1,215 | 1,244 |
| Journalism | 0 | 113 | 113 |
| Law | 63 | 1,288 | 1,351 |
| Math and Physical Sciences | 513 | 2 | 515 |
| Natural Resources | 380 | 97 | 477 |
| Optometry | 35 | 261 | 296 |
| Other | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Public Health | 145 | 655 | 800 |
| Public Policy | 11 | 270 | 281 |
| Social Sciences | 720 | 67 | 787 |
| Social Welfare | 21 | 179 | 200 |
| TOTAL | 12,812 |
Degrees Granted
| Degree Date | Doctoral | Master’s | Professional |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 – 10 | 891 | 2,005 | 394 |
| 2010 – 11 | 918 | 2,044 | 372 |
| 2011 – 12 | 892 | 2,120 | 372 |
| 2012 – 13 | 937 | 2,154 | 367 |
| 2013 – 14 | 936 | 2,215 | 351 |
| 2014 – 15 | 826 | 2,343 | 339 |
| 2015 – 16 | 818 | 2,636 | 392 |
| 2016 – 17 | 818 | 2,578 | 364 |
| 2017 – 18 | 869 | 2,954 | 371 |
| 2018 – 19 | 877 | 3,235 | 395 |
| 2019 – 20 |
806 | 3,269 | 397 |
| 2020 – 21 | 794 | 2,849 | 391 |
| 2021 – 22 | 836 | 3,679 | 423 |
| 2022-23 | 840 | 3,977 | 405 |
| 2023-24 | 824 | 3,853 | 455 |
Career 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 from 2019 – 2020 to 2021 – 2022 (based on a survey conducted 12-24 months after graduation).
| Employer Type | Count | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| College or university* | 1,281 | 47% |
| Business (for profit) | 970 | 35% |
| Government | 101 | 4% |
| National laboratory | 91 | 3% |
| Non-profit Organization | 77 | 3% |
| Self-employed | 26 | 1% |
| K-12 school | 23 | 1% |
| Other | 22 | 1% |
| Unknown | 157 | 6% |
| Total | 2,748 | 100% |
*First positions taken by Berkeley Ph.D.s who went into academia:
| Type of Position | Count | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Postdoc | 681 | 25% |
| Tenure track faculty | 454 | 17% |
| Researcher | 430 | 16% |
| Engineer | 283 | 10% |
| Analyst | 216 | 8% |
| Non-tenure track faculty | 540 | 7% |
| Manager | 85 | 3% |
| Admin | 65 | 2% |
| Entrepreneur | 40 | 2% |
| Consultant | 35 | 1% |
| Programmer | 24 | 1% |
| Teacher | 14 | 1% |
| Writer | 14 | 1% |
| Other | 42 | 2% |
| Unknown | 262 | 10% |
| Total | 2,748 | 100% |
Sources of financial support for graduate students
Most admitted doctoral students are funded in full for the majority of their study. In some cases that funding includes teaching and research appointments which are covered by collective bargaining agreements and come with many benefits of employment.
Funding packages
Berkeley offers multi-year funding packages to most entering doctoral students, including those who will enhance the diversity of the graduate student population. Recipients are selected by their departments at the admissions stage.
Multi-year packages typically include:
- 2 years of fellowship funding
- 2-3 years of departmental funding: combination of GSI (teaching) or GSR (research) appointments and/or fellowship
- and/or 1 year of Doctoral Completion Fellowship*
Departmental funding often includes funding from a variety of sources, including university fellowships, departmental fellowships, training grant awards, GSI (teaching) appointments, and GSR (research) positions. Note that GSI and GSR positions, and all terms and conditions of employment, are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
External multi-year fellowships, such as the NSF GRFP, NDSEG (DoD), Hertz, and others, are integrated into 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
Ready to Join?
Explore our application process to discover how you can become part of a vibrant academic community!