UC Berkeley

Aerial view of the Campus.

A Spring Day as seen from inside the Valley Life Sciences Building. Sather Gate: gateway to UCB. The Campanile is one of UCB's notable trademarks.

UC Berkeley, or just 'Berkeley' ('Berserkeley' - coined by legendary SF Chronicle columnist Herb Caen, though now often devolved into 'Bezerkeley') or even 'Cal' for short, is located in the city of Berkeley in California's Bay Area. Berkeley was where the University of California was first founded in 1868, and is arguably the most famous UC. The campus always seems to be discovering some unknown element or snagging a new Nobel laureate. Academically, Berkeley is noted for its Humanities and its Engineering programs. Socially, Berkeley is known for its fervent political activism and ugly girls.

In recent years, Berkeley has been losing ground to UCLA and UCSD in selectivity. Both UCLA and UCSD consistently receive more freshman applications than Berkeley. UCLA has had a lower acceptance for the past few admissions cycles. In fact, more of California's top high school students have chosen not to attend Berkeley in favor of other UCs. This is mainly due to Berkeley's arguably inferior quality of life for students.

UC Davis and UC Berkeley share some bonds. At one time, Davis was the agricultural arm of the University of California, which also maintained a campus in Berkeley. (See Town History) Davis is now a separate university, but intercampus collaborative research and projects still occur between respective departments. You can still see the CA on our band, which stands for Cal Aggies. There is even a shuttle service that TAPS provides between the two campuses (UCD Shields Library to the Berkeley West Gate).

Classes here start on Berkeley Time, which is ten minutes after class is supposed to start. Berkeley's buildings are noteworthy for their Neo-Classical architecture such as the Hearst Greek Theatre, the Valley Life Sciences Building and the Main Library. The University owns a plethora of small pockets of land outside the main campus that can be difficult for visitors to draw a distinction between the UC Regent property and the city's.

Berkeley is organized into 14 colleges and schools.

• Haas School of Business
• College of Chemistry
• Graduate School of Education
• College of Engineering
• College of Environmental Design
• School of Information Management and Systems
• Graduate School of Journalism
• Law School (Boalt Hall)
• College of Letters and Science
• College of Natural Resources
• School of Optometry
• School of Public Health
• Richard & Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy
• School of Social Welfare

Additional Photographs

The all men's dormitory, Bowles Hall, is the oldest state owned Residence Hall in California, dating back to 1928. Memorial Glade: Dedicated to the Faculty and Students who served in the Second World War. The old and new towers of Unit 2 dormitories. UCB's main library is a prime example of Neo-Classical Architecture.