UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley remains a powerhouse for prestigious graduate programs. More than 50 Berkeley programs are in the top 25 in their fields, according to the 2026 Best Graduate Schools rankings from U.S. News & World Report. Spanning from public health to education, more than 40 of those 50 Berkeley programs earned a spot in the top 10 of their fields. These rankings evaluate thousands of programs and disciplines from hundreds of universities around the country. Note: U.S. News last year ranked several Berkeley disciplines No. 1 in the Division of Social Sciences, as well as English in the Division of Arts & Humanities. It did not update those rankings this year, nor does it rank all programs every year. Though UC Berkeley Law does not actively participate in the U.S. News rankings process, several of its programs still scored highly. Link in bio: bit.ly/48i7Bmu #UCBerkeley #Rankings #USWNR

ICYMI, last week, professor emeritus John Clarke shared the Nobel Prize in physics with John Martinis and Michel Devoret, who worked alongside Clarke researching quantum tunneling while at Cal. And for chemistry, Professor Omar Yaghi was recognized for his work in developing metal-organic frameworks. Yaghi’s win brings UC Berkeley’s count to a total of 28 faculty members who have won a Nobel Prize. These researchers are among the five affiliated with the @uofcalifornia that were awarded Nobel Prizes this year. This is a record-breaking achievement, and four of those five researchers have UC Berkeley ties. These awards demonstrate how UC researchers are leading the way in advancing society through scientific inquiry and exploration. When we #SpeakUp4Science, we speak up for world-changing breakthroughs. #UCBerkeley #NobelPrize2025

You know together we’re glowing. Gonna be, gonna be goldеn. ✨🐻 UC Berkeley is the #1 public university in the country, according to recent 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings. This is the 16th time over the past two decades that Berkeley has claimed the top spot in the annual @usnews Best Colleges rankings. Berkeley has consistently been one of the highest-ranked public schools nationally since the magazine’s rankings began in 1983. Berkeley is routinely recognized as the nation’s top public university, most recently in @forbes ’ rankings of America’s Top Colleges and U.S. News’ Best Global Universities rankings. It also earned the distinction as the leading public university in North America in the @topunis University Rankings 2026 and topped the @pitchbookdata university rankings earlier this month for generating more startups founded by undergraduate alumni than any other university worldwide. 🔗 Read the full release at the link in our bio: http://bit.ly/4pBTMGs #UCBerkeley #Rankings #USWNR

Charles Long has been awarded the University Medal, given each year to UC Berkeley’s top graduating senior. At 43, Long is a double major in sociology and social welfare. Through his studies of policing and violence, he has harnessed his childhood struggle, time incarcerated and experience as a nontraditional student to positively impact those around him. In a letter of recommendation, Laleh Behbehanian, a continuing lecturer in the Department of Sociology, wrote that Long’s ability to blend theoretical, analytic and critical thinking placed him among the most outstanding students she’d encountered in her 23 years of teaching. Since his first days on campus, Long’s work as a mentor and teacher in juvenile halls and San Quentin State Prison has shaped his research and inspired him to improve the carceral system. “I once had my future taken from me by a system that called itself justice,” he wrote in his university medalist essay. “Berkeley gave me the credentials, credibility and restoration of spirit to return to those same systems — this time with tools, language and purpose.” 🔗 Full video linked in bio: https://bit.ly/490jHkO 
 [Video description: University Medalist Charles Long reflects on his educational journey — the challenges, the turning points and the community that carried him to graduation. Shot on the UC Berkeley campus, the video features iconic imagery of the campus and blends interview footage with campus life scenes, offering an inspiring look at second chances.] 
#UCBerkeley #CalGrad

Congratulations to the #Classof2026 graduates from @ucmerced and @ucberkeleyofficial who will cross the stage on May 16. Your hard work, resilience and the memories made along the way brought you here—from prospective students to graduates, and now UC alumni 🎓💙💛 🎥: @ona.manero @alexiarodrigueza @k1ttycath , @crxstinee.914 @xintli @huitronjasmin @heyzinahgrads , @Kateeic @Katecorlew @mariaatencoo @atencoomariaa Video Description: A compilation of student-posted clips featuring graduates from UC Merced and UC Berkeley wearing graduation regalia. Students pose for graduation photos, adjust their caps and gowns, smile with friends, and celebrate around campus in a variety of candid and posed moments.

Come along on a day in the life with graduating senior Angela, one of the social media interns for UC Berkeley’s official channels. “Interning for UC Berkeley’s central communications office has been one of the most special experiences of my life. From being out on the field during home football games, to attending some of the most niche DeCals, to filming at the Space Sciences Laboratory and Berkeley Wood Lab, I’ve gotten to see corners of Berkeley I never would have discovered otherwise. I am so grateful to my co-interns and managers for supporting my journey over the past 2.5 years and making this the coolest job ever. Thank you to my wonderful friends and family, my supportive peers and professors, and every crazy, brilliant, relentless person at Berkeley who has inspired me to dream bigger, reach higher, and do more than I ever thought possible.” - Angela Zhang, B.S. Business Administration and B.A. Cognitive Science ’26. Congratulations to the Class of 2026, and Go Bears! #UCBerkeley #CalGrad

At 17 years old, I packed my whole life into two suitcases and flew to California.  I grew up in Dubai with my mother and two sisters. After my parents’ divorce, my mother took complete responsibility for us and decided that I should go to school in the United States so that I could pursue a better education and build an independent life for myself, just like we both wanted. My personality comes from her resilience. In South Asian culture, it is uncommon for young women to move abroad for their studies. My mother married at a young age and gave birth to me around the same age I am now. She was determined to break that generational curse.  I arrived in the United States with no friends or family. Everything from opening a bank account to cooking a meal was foreign to me. I began my studies at De Anza College, then transferred to UC Berkeley in spring 2025. The second I received my acceptance letter to Berkeley, I knew I had to go. I called my mother immediately and, even though it was 4 a.m. for her, she celebrated with me. Berkeley’s acceptance was the culmination of what we both had worked for. Berkeley pushed me to find spaces where I could truly belong and contribute to. I joined the Muslim Tech Collaborative, where I was president for the 2025-26 academic year and I became the international student-appointed officer for the University of California Student Association. Berkeley also gave me tools to express my thoughts without feeling intimidated because I know the people around me are just as determined to grow. I’ve been privileged to be surrounded by future leaders. As a political economy major, I’m interested in how politics, culture and economics shape everyday life and affect societies in different communities.  After graduation, I plan on staying in the Bay Area and working at a startup in San Francisco; I hope to one day also work at the United Nations in international policymaking. I’ve worked hard the past four years building a life for myself in California and I’m excited to continue to grow, taking Berkeley’s mindset with me. More linked in bio: https://bit.ly/4eIdwW4  Grad photos courtesy of @812visions #UCBerkeley #CalGrad

UC Berkeley is the birthplace of a long line of world-changing computing technologies.  The College of Computing, Data Science, and Society supports a diverse array of researchers and scholars who are not only developing cutting-edge new computing and AI technologies, but also harnessing the power of these technologies to provide ethical solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.  Opening in time for the fall semester, the Barbara and Gerson Bakar Gateway building will bring these efforts together in a beautiful and functional new space, creating a dedicated campus hub for AI-driven discovery and interdisciplinary collaboration. 
“What I’m most excited about is how the Gateway will bring different fields together and make collaboration much more seamless,” said Rose Niousha, a third-year Ph.D. student and co-president of the Computer Science Graduate Entrepreneurs student group. “For me, that means faster iteration from research ideas to collaboration and real-world applications, and more opportunities to connect my work in human-centered AI with people across domains.” 🔗 Full story linked in bio: https://bit.ly/4fjqrxO #UCBerkeley #AI

For his honors thesis, Charles Long wanted to know about power and prisons: “What happens when people are placed in supportive roles instead of positions of power and domination?”  Drawing on both his own and others’ experiences, he concluded that empathy is a skill that must be practiced.  “Like any other muscle, if you don’t use it, it atrophies.” Long, 43, has overcome many obstacles that “could have soured him,” as one of his professors explained. He graduated from Milpitas High School, but an arrest right before he was supposed to leave for the Navy to study nuclear engineering changed the course of his life. Though he maintains his innocence, this triggered a multi-year cycle in and out of jail. Once his parole ended, Long wanted to start anew. He was “surviving,” he said. But after his daughter was born, he wanted to do more. This led him to Berkeley.  “Every day is a new opportunity. Every minute is a new opportunity. Every second is an opportunity,” Long said.  Inspired by his parents’ perseverance and motivated by the example he wanted to set for his daughter, Long sought to use his experience to improve the lives of others. He returned to the Bay Area and embraced Berkeley. Sociology and social welfare put into words many of the things Long had observed in his life. He came to see social systems in a new light — as well as the ways to change them.

“Through academia, I’ve learned to make sense of both the systems around me and the experiences that shaped me,” he said. “But more importantly, I’ve learned to affect them.” Today, Long works with Underground Scholars, a campus program supporting formerly incarcerated and system-impacted students. He also joined the Teach in Prison program, tutoring incarcerated men at San Quentin, and became a leader in Incarceration to College, mentoring justice-involved youth in Bay Area juvenile halls.

“It just makes me feel like I’m fulfilling my purpose,” Long said.

See his full story at the link in bio: https://bit.ly/42zrd2j  #UCBerkeley #CalGrad

One more day down, one more day closer to the big day 🎓 Graduating Bears: If you haven’t seen it already, here’s what you need to know about the campuswide ceremony this weekend. We’ll see you there! #UCBerkeley #CalGrad #Graduation #Commencement Video description: A series of slides with instructions and tips for any grad participating in UC Berkeley’s Campuswide Spring Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 16. Information includes check-in, road closures, ADA accommodations, and a basic run-of-show for the ceremony and after the ceremony.

The University Medal is the highest honor given to a graduating senior at UC Berkeley. Candidates must have achieved a GPA of 3.96 or higher while overcoming significant challenges and making a positive impact on others’ lives. Each finalist who was considered for the 2026 University Medal embodies UC Berkeley’s core values: remarkable academic achievement and a deep commitment to public service. This year, these four come from the realms of science. Two work in fields related to space exploration. One has applied bioengineering to conditions of hearing loss, and another has led initiatives to improve care for vision-impaired people, seniors and those with substance abuse disorders. Although not selected as this year’s University Medalist, the university recognizes the finalists’ outstanding achievements and dedication to serving the public. This year’s finalists are: Madeleine Bardy, BS Aerospace Engineering ‘26 Emma Berman, BS Bioengineering; BA Spanish and Portuguese, with a focus on Spanish linguistics ‘26 Eli Gendreau-Distler, BA Astrophysics, BA physics and BA Applied Mathematics ‘26 Mye Pinmada Makornwattana, BA Molecular and Cell Biology ‘26 Full story at the link in our bio: https://bit.ly/4u1u2Fl #UCBerkeley #UniversityMedal #CalGrad

And all of a sudden, the time had flown by 🤧 Spring Commencement is this weekend! Grads, are you ready to take the next step into your future? #UCBerkeley #CalGrad Video description: A series of clips set to soft music of different points in time, including shots of the Campanile, Cal Memorial Stadium, and Doe Library. Other shots include Cal Band, Rally Comm, and Cal Cheer team at different events on campus. Text on screen says “And suddenly, ‘in a few years’ turned into ‘this weekend,’” referencing Spring Commencement happening this weekend.