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University of California-Berkeley: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

1994 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
11% Acceptance Rate

University of California-Berkeley is a public institution in Berkeley, California enrolling 33,068 undergraduates. It accepts 11% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 93%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #8 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.

Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.

How Is University of California-Berkeley Ranked?

University of California-Berkeley ranks #8 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.

#8 Best Colleges in Nation
#2 Best Colleges in CA
University of California-Berkeley ranking badge

2027 Rankings

College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.

University of California-Berkeley was awarded 1994 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

UC Berkeley is ranked #8 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!

UC Berkeley also holds the #2 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.

See all of the rankings for University of California-Berkeley.

Is It Hard to Get Into University of California-Berkeley?

11% Acceptance Rate
13% Of Accepted Are Women

Acceptance Rate

With an acceptance rate of 11%, UC Berkeley is one of the most selective schools in the country. Good grades and high test scores alone may not be enough to get you into the school, so do your best to submit a stellar application.

Learn more about University of California-Berkeley admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at University of California-Berkeley?

18 to 1 Student to Faculty
70% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at University of California-Berkeley is about average at 18 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.

The full-time faculty percentage at University of California-Berkeley is 70%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  70 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at University of California-Berkeley?

97% Freshmen Retention
93% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

University of California-Berkeley has a freshmen retention rate of 97%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  97 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at UC Berkeley for first-time, full-time students is 93%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  93 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at University of California-Berkeley.

How Diverse Is University of California-Berkeley?

33,068 Undergraduate Students
66.6% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
55.7% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 33,068 undergraduates at UC Berkeley.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at University of California-Berkeley.

How Much Does University of California-Berkeley Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
17% Take Out Loans
$21,520 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of UC Berkeley is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.

Net Price by Income Group for UC Berkeley

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$5,311 $6,501 $9,693 $15,074 $34,529

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of UC Berkeley, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At UC Berkeley, approximately 17% of students took out student loans averaging $5,380 a year. That adds up to $21,520 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.8%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for University of California-Berkeley.

How Much Do U of California-Berkeley Graduates Earn?

$92,446 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from University of California-Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $92,446 in their early years. This is good news for future University of California-Berkeley graduates since it is 88% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for University of California-Berkeley Graduates

See which majors at University of California-Berkeley make the most money.

Where Is University of California-Berkeley Located?

California State
33,068 Undergraduate Students
Midsize City Campus Setting

University of California-Berkeley is an public institution found in Berkeley, California. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of University of California-Berkeley.

Location of University of California-Berkeley

Get in touch with University of California-Berkeley can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 200 California Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
Phone: 5106426000
Website: www.berkeley.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Berkeley
Facebook: www.facebook.com/UCBerkeley
Twitter: twitter.com/UCBerkeley

What Majors Does University of California-Berkeley Offer?

24 Majors With Completions
32,914 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 24 majors graduated from University of California-Berkeley. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 16,457 NA
Computer Information Systems 1,126 NA
Computer Science 1,109 $125,250
Economics 834 $71,330
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 813 $36,987
Electrical Engineering 720 $126,367
Information Science 652 NA
Management Sciences & Methods 542 NA
Mechanical Engineering 475 $84,164
Natural Resources Conservation 459 $43,631

Learn more about the majors offered at University of California-Berkeley along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does UC Berkeley Offer Online Classes?

19% Take At Least One Class Online
0% Take All Classes Online

6,293 students took at least one online class at University of California-Berkeley.

Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.

Learn more about online learning at University of California-Berkeley.

Curious how schools stack up against UC Berkeley? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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