UC Berkeley is famed for the breadth, depth, and reach of more than 120 graduate programs in 15 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.
Overall UC Berkeley rankings can be found here .
Yet again U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Berkeley as the number 1 public university in the nation, tied with UCLA.
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.
New global rankings place UC Berkeley at the pinnacle of public universities on the U.S. and fifth overall in the world. The 2022 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.
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.
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 2023 list, Berkeley is the only public university among the top five schools overall.
UC Berkeley alumni are among the most accomplished in their fields. Below is just a snapshot of graduate alumni accolades:
The Berkeley Graduate Profile is produced by the Institutional Research and Communications units in the Graduate Division.
Among the 45,699 students at Berkeley, nearly 28% are pursuing doctoral and master’s degrees in more than 120 disciplines.
The fall 2023 incoming graduate class of 4,290 students was selected from more than 40,000 applicants.
| Enrollment (Fall 2023) | Doctoral | Master’s | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| New | 757 | 3,405 | 4,162 |
| Continuing | 4,295 | 4,164 | 8,787 |
| Overall | 5,052 | 7,569 | 12,621 |
| Applicant Age | |
|---|---|
| Average | 28 |
| Youngest | 19 |
| Oldest | 75 |
| Women | Underrepresented Minorities |
|---|---|
| 48% | 15% |
| Ethnic Diversity (United States) | Total |
|---|---|
| Asian | 2,739 |
| Black/African-American | 650 |
| Chicano/Mexican-American | 682 |
| Latino/Other Spanish-American | 485 |
| American Indian/Alaskan Native | 68 |
| Pacific Islander | 15 |
| White/Caucasian | 3,370 |
| Unknown | 582 |
| Total | 8,866 |
| International Graduate Students (Top 16) | Doctoral | Master’s | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 443 | 473 | 916 |
| India | 127 | 280 | 407 |
| Canada | 95 | 154 | 249 |
| Republic of Korea (South) | 115 | 64 | 179 |
| Taiwan | 77 | 74 | 151 |
| France | 24 | 71 | 95 |
| Japan | 24 | 67 | 91 |
| United Kingdom | 43 | 28 | 71 |
| Germany | 35 | 33 | 68 |
| Hong Kong | 18 | 39 | 57 |
| Singapore | 15 | 41 | 56 |
| Brazil | 26 | 28 | 54 |
| Mexico | 26 | 25 | 51 |
| Indonesia | 8 | 38 | 46 |
| Turkey | 32 | 6 | 38 |
| Australia | 14 | 21 | 35 |
| Total | 1,122 | 1,442 | 2,564 |
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 | 65 | 1,705 | 1,770 |
| Chemistry | 504 | 58 | 562 |
| Education | 136 | 101 | 237 |
| Engineering | 1,348 | 1,176 | 2,524 |
| Environmental Design | 69 | 416 | 485 |
| Journalism | — | 119 | 119 |
| Law | 63 | 1,284 | 1,347 |
| Letters & Science (all divisions) | 2,252 | 162 | 2,414 |
| Arts & Humanities | 554 | 26 | 580 |
| Biological Sciences | 457 | — | 457 |
| Mathematics & Physical Sciences | 561 | 72 | 633 |
| Social Sciences | 679 | 64 | 743 |
| Natural Resources | 364 | 50 | 414 |
| Optometry | 31 | 262 | 293 |
| Public Health | 150 | 694 | 844 |
| Public Policy | 11 | 255 | 266 |
| School of Information | 25 | 1,308 | 1,333 |
| Social Welfare | 26 | 193 | 219 |
| TOTAL | 5,040 | 7,788 | 12,828 |
| Degree Date | Doctoral | Master’s/Professional |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 – 07 | 895 | 2,351 |
| 2007 – 08 | 864 | 2,406 |
| 2008 – 09 | 863 | 2,385 |
| 2009 – 10 | 888 | 2,397 |
| 2010 – 11 | 906 | 2,481 |
| 2011 – 12 | 887 | 2,506 |
| 2012 – 13 | 936 | 2,552 |
| 2013 – 14 | 930 | 2,045 |
| 2014 – 15 | 1,066 | 2,764 |
| 2015 – 16 | 818 | 3,084 |
| 2016 – 17 | 765 | 2,991 |
| 2017 – 18 | 963 | 3,531 |
| 2018 – 19 | 887 | 4,538 |
| 2019 – 20 | 807 | 3,663 |
| 2020 – 21 | 794 | 3,238 |
| 2021 – 22 | 836 | 4,098 |
(Based on a survey of Ph.D. recipients who graduated between 2013 to 2017)
First positions of students who graduated between 2011 – 2020 (based on a survey conducted 12-18 months after graduation).
| Industry | Count | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| College or university* | 3,761 | 53% |
| Business (for profit) | 2,241 | 32% |
| National laboratory | 319 | 5% |
| Government | 227 | 3% |
| Other | 200 | 3% |
| K-12 school | 111 | 2% |
| Unknown | 82 | 1% |
| Self-employed | 62 | 1% |
| Hospital/clinic | 47 | 1% |
| Total | 7,058 | 100% |
*First positions taken by Berkeley Ph.D.s who went into academia:
| Type of Position | Count | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Postdoc | 2,200 | 28% |
| Tenure track faculty | 1,203 | 16% |
| Non-tenure track faculty | 540 | 7% |
| Other | 3,808 | 49% |
| Total | 7,751 | 100% |
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:
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
