The University of California is one of the world’s leading academic institutions. The school, known throughout the world as “Cal”, is truly a prototype of a contemporary university. It attracts what many consider the finest applicant pool in the country, generates an ethnically and culturally diverse student population on campus, and provides one of the finest undergraduate and graduate learning experiences in the world today.

The Berkeley campus is renowned for the size and quality of its libraries and laboratories, the scope of its research and publications, and the distinction of its faculty and students. National rankings consistently place Cal’s undergraduate and graduate programs among the very best. The faculty includes eight Nobel Laureates, 124 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 MacArthur Fellows, 77 Fulbright Scholars, three Pulitzer Prize winners and more Guggenheim Fellows (133) than any other university in the country.

The quality of Cal's diverse and independent student body complements the stature of the faculty. More than 31,000 students annually enroll at Cal. Of these, about 22,000 are undergraduates, while about 9,000 are graduate students. Students come to Berkeley from all over California, in addition to every state in the union and more than 2,000 students from 75 countries around the world.

The undergraduate student body can best be characterized by its diversity; there is no one racial or ethnic majority. Students reflect all age groups, and economic, cultural and geographic backgrounds. This dynamic mix produces the wide range of opinion and perspective essential to a great university.

“Races are not won on race day.”

— Jim Lemmon