ersity of California, Berkeley, and Berkeley College (Yale), were both inspired by the intellectual contributions of the western philosopher, George Berkeley. Academics[edit] Secondary s

ce erupted.[25][26] Modern students at Berkeley are less politically active, with a greater percentage of moderates and conservatives.[27][28] Democrats outnumber Republicans on the faculty by a ratio of 9:1.[29]
Various human and animal rights groups have recently conflicted with Berkeley. Native Americans conflicted with the school over repatriation of remains from the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology.[30] Animal-rights activists have threatened faculty members using animals for research.[31] The school's response to tree sitters protesting construction caused controversy in the local community.[32]
As state funding has declined,[33] Berkeley has turned to private sources: BP donated $500 million to develop biofuels, the Hewlett Foundation gave $113 million to endow 100 faculty chairs, and Dow Chemical gave $10 million to research sustainability.[34][35] The BP grant has been criticized for diverting food production to fuel production.[36][37]
The original name University of California was frequently shortened to California or Cal. UC Berkeley's athletic teams date to this time and so are referred to as the California Golden Bears, Cal Bears, or just Cal. Today, University of California refers to a statewide school system. Referring to the University of California, Berkeley as UCB or University of California at Berkeley is discouraged[38] and the domain name is berkeley.edu. Moreover, the term "Cal Berkeley" is not a correct reference to the school, but is occasionally used. Berkeley is unaffiliated with the Berklee College of Music or Berkeley College. However, UC Berkeley does share academic ties with Yale University; not only were many original Berkeley founders Yale graduates (see below), but the names, University of California, Berkeley, and Berkeley College (Yale), were both inspired by the intellectual contributions of the western philosopher, George Berkeley.
Academics[edit]



Secondary seal adopted by the campus in 1996[39]
Berkeley is a large, primarily residential research university with a majority of enrollments in undergraduate programs but also offers a comprehensive doctoral graduate program.[40] The university has been accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission since 1949.[41] The university operates on a semester academic calendar with Fall semester running from late August through early December and Spring semester running from mid-January through mid-May.[42] Berkeley offers 106 Bachelor's degrees, 88 Master's degrees, 97 research-focused doctoral programs, and 31 professionally-focused graduate degrees.[43] The university awarded a total of 7,526 Bachelor's, 2,164 Master's, and 1,264 Doctoral degrees in 2012.[44]
Undergraduate programs[edit]
The four-year, full-time undergraduate program has a focus on the arts and sciences with a high level of co-existence in undergraduate and graduate programs. Freshman admission is selective but there are high levels of transfer-in.[40] 106 Bachelor's degrees are offered across the Haas School of Business (1), College of Chemistr

Category ›

View from Mem

4 Organization and administration
4.1 University finances
4.1.1 Financial aid and scholarship programs
4.2 Student body
4.3 Library system
5 Student life and traditions
5.1 Student housing
5.1.1 University housing
5.1.2 Cooperative housing
5.1.3 Fraternities and sororities
5.2 Student-run organizations
5.2.1 Student government
5.2.2 Communications media
5.2.3 Student groups
5.3 Athletics
5.3.1 California – Stanford rivalry
5.3.2 National championships
6 Notable alumni, faculty, and staff
7 See also
8 Notes and references
9 Further reading and viewing
10 External links
History[edit]



View from Memorial Glade of Sather Tower (The Campanile), the center of UC Berkeley. The ring of its bells and clock can be heard from all over campus.
Main article: History of the University of California, Berkeley
In 1866, the land comprising the current Berkeley campus was purchased by the private College of California. Because it lacked sufficient funds to operate, it eventually merged with the state-run Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College to form the University of California, the first full-curriculum public university in the state.
Ten faculty members and almost 40 students made up the new University of California when it opened in Oakland in 1869.[14] Andrew Gabrielson was a trustee of the College of California and suggested that the college be named in honor of the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley.[15] In 1870, Henry Durant, the founder of the College of California, became the first president. With the completion of North and South Halls in 1873, the university relocated to its Berkeley location with 167 male and 222 female students and held its first classes.[16]
Beginning in 1891, Phoebe Apperson Hearst made several large gifts to Berkeley, funding a number of programs and new buildings, and sponsoring, in 1898, an international competition in Antwerp, Belgium, where French architect Émile Bernard submitted the winning design for a campus master plan. In 1905, the University Farm was established near Sacramento, ultimately becoming the University of California, Davis.[17] By the 1920s, the number of campus buildings

Category ›

ams, who studied at Wadham College and was later a Canon Professor at Christ Church.[20][160] Religious reformer John Wycliffe was an Oxford scholar, for a time Master of Balliol College. John Colet, Christian humanist, Dean of St Paul's, and friend of Erasmus, studied at Magdalen College. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, studied at Christ Church and was elected a fellow of Lincoln College.[161] Other religious figures were Mirza Nasir Ahmad, the third Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, and Shoghi Effendi, one of the appointed leaders of the Baha'i faith

ic community and was awarded an honorary degree.[134] Notable scientists who spent brief periods at Oxford include Albert Einstein[135] developer of general theory of relativity and the concept of photons; and Erwin Schrödinger who formulated the Schrödinger equation and the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment.
Literature, music, and drama[edit]
The long list of writers associated with Oxford includes John Fowles, Theodor Geisel, Thomas Middleton, Samuel Johnson, Robert Graves, Evelyn Waugh,[136] Lewis Carroll,[137] Aldous Huxley,[138] Oscar Wilde,[139] C. S. Lewis,[140] J. R. R. Tolkien,[141] Graham Greene,[142] V.S.Naipaul, Philip Pullman,[20] Joseph Heller,[143] Vikram Seth,[20] the poets Percy Bysshe Shelley,[144] John Donne,[145] A. E. Housman,[146] W. H. Auden,[147] T. S. Eliot, Wendy Perriam and Philip Larkin,[148] and seven poets laureate: Thomas Warton,[149] Henry James Pye,[150] Robert Southey,[151] Robert Bridges,[152] Cecil Day-Lewis,[153] Sir John Betjeman,[154] and Andrew Motion.[155]
Composers Hubert Parry, George Butterworth, John Taverner, William Walton, James Whitbourn and Andrew Lloyd Webber have all been involved with the university.
Actors Hugh Grant,[156] Kate Beckinsale,[156] Dudley Moore,[157] Michael Palin,[20] and Terry Jones[158] were undergraduates at the University, as were Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck[20] and filmmakers Ken Loach[159] and Richard Curtis.
Religion[edit]
Oxford has also produced at least 12 saints, and 20 Archbishops of Canterbury, the most recent being Rowan Williams, who studied at Wadham College and was later a Canon Professor at Christ Church.[20][160] Religious reformer John Wycliffe was an Oxford scholar, for a time Master of Balliol College. John Colet, Christian humanist, Dean of St Paul's, and friend of Erasmus, studied at Magdalen College. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, studied at Christ Church and was elected a fellow of Lincoln College.[161] Other religious figures were Mirza Nasir Ahmad, the third Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, and Shoghi Effendi, one of the appointed leaders of the Baha'i faith.
Economics and philosophy[edit]
Economists Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, E. F. Schumacher, and Amartya Sen all spent time at Oxford.
Oxford's philosophical tradition started in the medieval era, with Robert Grosseteste[162] and William of Ockham,[162] commonly known for Occam's razor, among those teaching at the university. Thomas Hobbes,[163][164] Jeremy Bentham and the empiricist John Locke received degrees from Oxford. Though the latter's main works were written after leaving Oxford, Locke was heavily influenced by his twelve years at the university.[162]
Philosophy returned in the 20th and 21st century. Figures include Gilbert Ryle,[162] author of the influential The Concept of Mind, who spent his entire philosophical career at the university. Another is Derek Parfit, who specialises in personal identity and related matters. Other commonly read modern philosophers to have studied at the university include A. J. Ayer[162] and Thomas Nagel, known for his essay "What Is it Like to Be a Bat?". John Searle, presenter of the Chinese room thought experiment, studied and began his academic career at the university.[165]
Sport[edit]

Category ›

ifferent arrangements. Notable alumni and academics[edit] Main article: List of University of Oxford people Throughout its history,

llegiate life, for many students their college JCR (Junior Common Room, for undergraduates) or MCR (Middle Common Room, for graduates) is seen as more important than OUSU. JCRs and MCRs each have a committee, with a president and other elected students representing their peers to college authorities. Additionally, they organise events and often have significant budgets to spend as they wish (money coming from their colleges and sometimes other sources such as student-run bars). (It is worth noting that JCR and MCR are terms that are used to refer to rooms for use by members, as well as the student bodies.) Not all colleges use this JCR/MCR structure, for example Wadham College's entire student population is represented by a combined "Students' Union" and purely graduate colleges have different arrangements.
Notable alumni and academics[edit]

Main article: List of University of Oxford people
Throughout its history, a sizeable number of Oxford alumni, known as Oxonians, have become notable in many varied fields, both academic and otherwise. Forty-seven Nobel prize-winners have studied or taught at Oxford, with prizes won in all six categories.[20]
Alumni range from T. E. Lawrence, British Army officer known better as Lawrence of Arabia[113] to the explorer, courtier, and man of letters, Sir Walter Raleigh, (who attended Oriel College but left without taking a degree);[114] and the Australian media mogul, Rupert Murdoch.[115]
More information on famous senior and junior members of the University can be found in the individual college articles. An individual may be associated with two or more colleges, as an undergraduate, postgraduate, and/or member of staff.
Politics[edit]
26 British prime ministers have attended Oxford, including William Gladstone, Herbert Asquith, Clement Attlee, Harold Macmillan, Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair[20] and most recently David Cameron.[116] Of all the post-war Prime Ministers, only one was educated at a university other than Oxford.[117]
Over 100 Oxford alumni were elected to the Hous

Category ›

Further information: University of Oxford undergraduate admissions statistics The matriculation ceremony, at which new students officially become members of the university, takes place in Mich

ct choose one college, then students who named that college may be reallocated randomly to under-subscribed colleges for the subject. The colleges then invite shortlisted candidates for interview, where they are provided with food and accommodation for around three days in December. Most applicants will be individually interviewed by academics at more than one college. Students from outside Europe can be interviewed remotely, for example, over the Internet.
In 2007, the colleges, faculties and departments published a "common framework" outlining the principles and procedures they observe.[92]
Offers are sent out shortly before Christmas (exceptionally, in early January for the 2012-13 admissions round), with an offer usually being from a specific college. One in four successful candidates receive offers from a college that they did not apply to. Some courses may make "open offers" to some candidates, who are not assigned to a particular college until A Level results day in August.[93][94]
Access[edit]
Further information: University of Oxford undergraduate admissions statistics


The matriculation ceremony, at which new students officially become members of the university, takes place in Michaelmas Term.
The University states that its admissions policies avoid bias against candidates of certain socioeconomic or educational backgrounds.[95] However, the fairness of Oxford admissions has attracted public controversy through episodes such as the Laura Spence Affair in 2000.[96] Gaining places at Oxford and Cambridge remains a central focus for many private and selective state schools — much more so than most state schools — and the fact that the social make-up of undergraduates at the university differs substantially from the social make-up of society at large remains controversial.[97]
In 2007, the university refined its admissions procedure to take into account the academic performance of its applicants' schools.[98]


Hertford College's Bridge of Sighs. Hertford was one of the first colleges to encourage applicants from state schools through the Hertford Scheme.
Students who apply from state schools and colleges have an acceptance rate broadly comparable to those fr

Category ›