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 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, psychology, and sociology; second in chemistry, earth sciences, and math. Nine other subject areas ranked in the top 10.
| Place | Subjects |
|---|---|
| 1st | Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Economics, English, Psychology, Sociology |
| 2nd | Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Math |
| 3rd | Clinical Psychology, Engineering, Physics, Public Affairs, Social Welfare |
| 4th | History, Political Science |
| 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 2020 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.
The full rankings can be viewed here, and the full subject rankings are posted here.
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
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 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
Sources of financial support for graduate students (2018 – 2019)
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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