Berkeley Graduate Student Profile
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 Stanford, Harvard, and MIT ranked higher.
Berkeley starred as the top U.S. public university in U.S. News’s “Top Public Universities Rankings.
In the new rankings, Berkeley’s graduate programs placed first in the world in chemistry, computer science, economics, English, psychology, and sociology; second in physics and statistics; and third in earth sciences,
engineering, math, and social welfare. Six other subject areas ranked in the top 10.
| Place | Subjects |
|---|---|
| 1st | Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Economics, English, Psychology, Sociology |
| 2nd | Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Math, Statistics |
| 3rd | Engineering, Physics, Social Welfare |
| 4th | History, Political Science |
| 6th | Public Affairs |
| 7th | Business |
| 9th | Law, Public Health |
Academic Rankings of World Universities
UC Berkeley is again the No. 1 U.S. public university in the Academic Rankings of World Universities, an assessment of 500 top institutions around the globe by Shanghai Ranking.
In the ARWU’s rankings of broad fields of study, Berkeley is the top university in the world in natural sciences, which encompass physics, mathematics, chemistry, earth sciences and ecology.
Berkeley also place third globally for social sciences, seventh for life and agricultural sciences and eighth for engineering. Lacking a medical school, Berkeley wasn’t ranked in the fifth broad field, medical sciences.
Within those fields, 52 subjects were evaluated. Berkeley was ranked the best in the world in chemistry and electrical and electronic engineering.
The campus took second place globally for physics, earth sciences, computer science and engineering and materials science and engineering; and third place in economics, statistics, biotechnology and transportation science and technology.
Altogether, Berkeley placed in the top 10 in 20 of the 52 subjects ranked.
Berkeley Shines in the ‘Times Higher Ed’ Reputation Rankings
Again, UC Berkeley joins five other world universities in a cluster known as the “elite six,” in newly released 2017 reputation rankings by The Times Higher Education.
These rankings are just seven years old, and this is the seventh time Berkeley has placed in the “elite six” — all of which scored far higher than the other ranked universities. The reputation rankings are based on a THE survey of more than 10,000 academics worldwide.
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
Graduate Student Enrollment
Among the 40,894 students at Berkeley, nearly 28% are pursuing doctoral and master’s degrees in more than 100 disciplines.
The fall 2017 incoming graduate class of 3,998 students was selected from among 41,500 applicants.
| Term and Year | Applications |
|---|---|
| Fall 2007 | 32,289 |
| Fall 2017 | 41,500 |
| Enrollment (Fall 2017) | Doctoral | Master’s | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 5,335 | 6,000 | 11,335 |
| Incoming class | 897 | 3,101 | 3,998 |
| Applicant Age | |
|---|---|
| Average | 28 |
| Youngest | 18 |
| Oldest | 66 |
| Women | Underrepresented Minorities |
|---|---|
| 46% | 12% |
| Ethnic Diversity | Total |
|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaskan Native | 60 |
| Black/African-American | 393 |
| Chicano/Mexican-American | 490 |
| Chinese/Chinese-American | 847 |
| East Indian/Pakistani | 347 |
| Japanese/Japanese-American | 108 |
| Korean | 181 |
| Latino/Other Spanish-American | 414 |
| Other/Unknown | 882 |
| Pacific Islander | 11 |
| Pilipino/Filipino | 110 |
| Thai/Other Asian | 225 |
| Vietnamese | 136 |
| White/Caucasian | 4,110 |
| Total | 8,314 |
| International Graduate Students | Doctoral | Master’s | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 434 | 500 | 934 |
| India | 116 | 346 | 462 |
| Canada | 85 | 74 | 159 |
| Korea | 92 | 55 | 147 |
| France | 27 | 75 | 102 |
| Taiwan | 48 | 43 | 91 |
| Mexico | 32 | 44 | 76 |
| Germany | 47 | 15 | 62 |
| Brazil | 29 | 27 | 60 |
| Chile | 29 | 27 | 56 |
| Japan | 20 | 29 | 49 |
| Singapore | 19 | 29 | 48 |
| United Kingdom | 33 | 13 | 46 |
| Iran | 38 | 5 | 43 |
| Turkey | 25 | 13 | 38 |
| Thailand | 22 | 14 | 36 |
| Israel | 26 | 9 | 35 |
| Colombia | 18 | 17 | 35 |
| Italy | 20 | 14 | 34 |
| Australia | 20 | 13 | 33 |
| Spain | 15 | 14 | 29 |
| Peru | 13 | 16 | 29 |
| 84 other countries | 190 | 227 | 417 |
| Total | 1,398 | 1,623 | 3,021 |
Graduate majors (Fall 2017 Enrollment)
Berkeley offers 101 graduate majors (master’s and doctoral), 93 of which grant doctoral degrees.
| School/College | Doctoral | Master’s/ First Professional |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration | 67 | 1,507.5 | 1,574.5 |
| Chemistry | 454 | 36 | 490 |
| Education | 194.5 | 96 | 290.5 |
| Engineering | 1,332.5 | 797.5 | 2130 |
| Environmental Design | 77 | 327.5 | 404.5 |
| Journalism | — | 109 | 109 |
| Law | 69 | 1,163.5 | 1232.5 |
| Letters & Science (all divisions) | 2,528.5 | 101 | 2,629.5 |
| Arts & Humanities | 622 | 13 | 635 |
| Biological Sciences | 479 | 4 | 483 |
| Mathematics & Physical Sciences | 604.5 | 52 | 656.5 |
| Social Sciences | 823 | 32 | 855 |
| Natural Resources | 379.5 | 80 | 459.5 |
| Optometry | 41 | 288 | 329 |
| Public Health | 134 | 523.5 | 657.5 |
| Public Policy | 12.5 | 216.5 | 229 |
| School of Information | 19.5 | 579 | 598.5 |
| Social Welfare | 23 | 175 | 198 |
| Individualized Major | 3 | – | 3 |
| TOTAL | 5,335 | 6,000 | 11,335 |
Degrees Granted
| Degree Date | 2005 – 06 | 2006 – 07 | 2007 – 08 | 2008 – 09 | 2009 – 10 | 2010 – 11 | 2011 – 12 | 2012 – 13 | 2013 – 14 | 2014 – 15 | 2015 – 16 | 2016 – 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctoral | 753 | 895 | 864 | 863 | 888 | 906 | 887 | 936 | 930 | 1,066 | 818 | 765 |
| Master’s/Professional | 2,337 | 2,351 | 2,406 | 2,385 | 2,397 | 2,481 | 2,506 | 2,552 | 2,045 | 2,764 | 3,084 | 2,991 |
Career Outcomes
Top 5 academic institutions that hire Berkeley Ph.D.s
- University of California System
- Stanford
- University of Michigan
- MIT
- Harvard
Long-term employment trends
(Based on a survey of Ph.D. recipients who graduated between 1968 and 2008)
- 57% of Berkeley doctoral alumni (and 78% arts and humanities Ph.D.s) work in 4-year academic institutions compared to 41.4% nation-wide
- 23% work in the private for-proft sector
- 13% work in the non-profit sector or for the state, local or national government
- 7% 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) | 666 | 27% |
| College or university* | 1,377 | 55.7% |
| Government | 86 | 3.4% |
| Hospital/clinic | 13 | .5% |
| K-12 school | 33 | 1.3% |
| National laboratory | 115 | 4.7% |
| Self-employed | 25 | 1% |
| Other/unknown | 146 | 6.4% |
| Total | 2,462 | 100% |
*First positions taken by Berkeley Ph.D.s who went into academia
Sources of financial support for graduate students (2016 – 2017)
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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.
- 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