University of California, Berkeley

Founded in 1868, the University of California, Berkeley is a public university. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 33,405 (Fall 2023) and a 1,232-acre campus located in the city. The university operates on a semester-based academic calendar. UC Berkeley is ranked 17th among national universities in the 2025 edition of Best Colleges. In-state tuition and fees are $16,832 and out-of-state tuition and fees are $51,032.

The University of California, Berkeley, often referred to simply as the University of California, is located on the San Francisco Bay. Typically, 95% or more of Berkeley's freshmen choose to live on campus. There are more than 1,000 student organizations, ranging from political groups to gliding clubs. Greek life also thrives at Berkeley, with dozens of fraternity and sorority chapters. The Cal Golden Bears, Berkeley's athletic teams, compete in the Pac-12 Conference and are known for their traditional archrivalry with Stanford University.

Berkeley has 14 schools and colleges, including many graduate and professional schools such as the School of Optometry and the Graduate School of Journalism. Other graduate programs include the highly ranked Haas School of Business, the Graduate School of Education, the School of Engineering and the School of Law.

Berkeley is known as a center of liberal student activism: the Free Speech Movement, a 1964 student protest against the government's ban on political activity at Berkeley, attracted widespread attention. Notable alumni include former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley, and actor John Cho, best known for his role in Harold and Kumar. Dr. Robert Oppenheimer served as scientific director of the Manhattan Project during World War II, working on the atomic bomb.