University of California Berkeley

The University of California—Berkeley is located about 15 miles from San Francisco in the Bay Area. Often called just Berkeley or Cal, this public university was established in 1868. Over 70% of its students are undergraduates, and the school is made up of 14 colleges and schools. Some of its top-ranked programs include the Haas School of Business, College of Chemistry, College of Engineering, School of Public Health, and School of Law. The academic year follows a semester system, and classes are taught in English.

UC—Berkeley provides around 350 degree programs. Popular majors among undergrads are electrical engineering and computer science, economics, political science, business administration, and psychology. About 25% of undergraduates live on campus, with nearly 95% of freshmen choosing campus housing. Many grad students live off-campus, though university housing is available. Around 15% of students are international, and tuition is higher for out-of-state students. Each year, roughly 3,000 international scholars come to Berkeley for temporary teaching or research roles.

Research at Berkeley happens not just in academic labs and research centers but also in the university’s museums and biological field stations. Studies in botany, zoology, ecosystems, and forestry take place at remote field sites. Berkeley researchers have even discovered elements on the periodic table, like californium and berkelium.

University Data

Total number of students: 39,991
Number of international students: 8,841
Total number of academic staff: 2,234
Number of international staff: 577
Number of undergraduate degrees awarded: 9,324
Number of master’s degrees awarded: 2,903
Number of doctoral degrees awarded: 1,185
Number of research-only staff: 1,100
Number of new undergraduate students: 8,588
Number of new master’s students: 2,329
Number of new doctoral students: 1,233

Rankings

The University of California, Berkeley, ranks #5 in Best Global Universities. Schools are evaluated based on widely accepted indicators of excellence.

Global Universities Rankings

#5 in Best Global Universities

Subject Rankings

#123 in Agricultural Sciences (tie)
#33 in Artificial Intelligence
#11 in Arts and Humanities
#5 in Biology and Biochemistry
#22 in Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology
#42 in Cell Biology (tie)
#155 in Chemical Engineering
#11 in Chemistry
#33 in Civil Engineering
#171 in Clinical Medicine
#10 in Computer Science
#52 in Condensed Matter Physics
#7 in Ecology
#5 in Economics and Business
#66 in Education and Educational Research
#72 in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (tie)
#64 in Energy and Fuels
#19 in Engineering
#116 in Environmental Engineering (tie)
#6 in Environment/Ecology
#30 in Geosciences
#147 in Green and Sustainable Science and Technology (tie)
#68 in Immunology (tie)
#98 in Infectious Diseases
#22 in Materials Science
#8 in Mathematics
#115 in Mechanical Engineering (tie)
#57 in Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
#19 in Microbiology
#26 in Molecular Biology and Genetics
#64 in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
#37 in Neuroscience and Behavior
#24 in Optics
#65 in Physical Chemistry (tie)
#3 in Physics
#11 in Plant and Animal Science
#27 in Psychiatry/Psychology
#38 in Public, Environmental and Occupational Health
#109 in Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging (tie)
#26 in Social Sciences and Public Health
#3 in Space Science
#38 in Water Resources

2024-2025 Indicator Rankings

Thirteen indicators determine the overall Best Global Universities ranking. Here’s how Berkeley performed in each:

Global Universities: #5 in Best Global Universities
Global score: 87.2
Global research reputation: #6
Regional research reputation: #3
Publications: #66
Books: #13
Conferences: #24
Normalized citation impact: #74
Total citations: #42
Number of publications among the top 10% most cited: #39
Percentage of total publications among the top 10% most cited: #34
International collaboration (relative to country): #147
International collaboration: #761
Number of highly cited papers in the top 1% most cited: #35
Percentage of highly cited papers in the top 1% most cited: #70