UC Berkeley College of Engineering


The College of Engineering is one of 14 schools and colleges at the University of California, Berkeley. Established in 1931, the college is considered among the most prestigious engineering schools in the world, ranked third by U.S. News & World Report and with an acceptance rate of 9%. Berkeley Engineering is particularly well known for producing many successful entrepreneurs; among its alumni are co-founders and CEOs of some of the largest companies in the world, including Apple, Boeing, Google, Intel, and Tesla.
The college is currently situated in 14 buildings on the northeast side of the central campus, and also operates at the 150 acre Richmond Field Station. With the Haas School of Business, the college confers joint degrees and advises the university's resident startup incubator, Berkeley SkyDeck. There are over 57,000 living graduates of Berkeley Engineering, living in all 50 states and nearly 100 countries.

Departments

The College of Letters and Science also offers a Bachelor of Arts in computer science, which requires many of the same courses as the College of Engineering's Bachelor of Science in EECS, but has different admissions and graduation criteria. Berkeley's chemical engineering department is under the College of Chemistry.

Students

There are approximately 3,200 undergraduates in the College of Engineering, representing all departments. Undergraduate admissions to the College of Engineering is the most selective in the university as a whole. For the 2016-2017 application cycle, the acceptance rate has continued to stay at a low 8.4%, largely a result of increased nonresident interest. The campus as a whole had a 17.5% acceptance rate that year. Applicants apply directly to one of the departments and enter as declared majors within their department. It is also possible to apply as Engineering Undeclared and enter the college; major declaration is required at the end of sophomore year. Once within the college, it is possible to change majors with the approval of Engineering Student Services. It is extremely difficult for undergraduates in other colleges at UC Berkeley to change college into Engineering, as they can only be admitted if a current engineering undergraduate drops. The College of Engineering accepts junior transfer applications for those who have completed at least 60 semester units at another college or university. Preference is given to students at California Community Colleges. Only 9.2% of the over 2,300 junior transfer applicants were admitted for the 2015–16 academic year. Dean Shankar Sastry has stated that the disparity between the college's and the university's acceptance rates is due to the university's failure to respond to the rise in demand for engineering degrees.
85% of undergraduates admitted to the college graduate from the college, and 91% graduate from some college at UC Berkeley. The college has a 4-year graduation policy, with extra semesters approved only in certain cases. Engineering Student Services provides academic advising, peer tutoring, and career services to engineering students. Various student organizations are run in conjunction with the college, including Pioneers in Engineering, Hackers @ Berkeley, Berkeley Engineers and Mentors, and the Open Computing Facility. Many students belong to the student chapters of their corresponding professional organizations.
Graduate admissions in the College of Engineering is administered by department. In Fall 2015, there were 492.5 master's and 1,337 doctorate students in the college.
The college's enrollment is approximately 26% women. Although the proportion of women has increased over time, issues of gender disparity in the college remain. According to a 2011 survey, female engineers reported a high number of instances of passive harassment, discrimination, and judgment. The college's administration has taken steps to prevent this sexism. The Society of Women Engineers is one of the student groups representing women in the college.

Research units

All research facilities are managed by one of five Organized Research Units :