University of California - Berkeley Reviews

"I am currently in the Masters of Landscape Architecture program. It is a highly competitive program and it has many benefits to force your creativity. However, the program should strive to be more competitive and seek to have a bigger focus on the global community. The studio environment is very beneficial for students to engage with fellow peers as well as faculty members. This should be reinforced constantly and should be praised as an asset to our education."

"It was an amazing journey. The city and the campus were beautiful and I met some incredibly intelligent and thoughtful people. However, the academics were extremely stressful and support for students was haphazard at best. Expectations were often unclear and you compete for help from not only the professor but also the graduate student instructors with many students."

"Pros: Good Network. Awesome Peers. Great University and facilities. Cons: The core subjects in the MIMS program of I-School, especially 202, 203, and 205 are completely unnecessary for real jobs and really heavy from the course workload point of view."

"Teaching load is heavy if you don't have a fellowship. Hard to find a research group as a theorist. Lots of course requirements."

"Rhetoric admits very smart students. Last year's admitted cohort was the smartest: they all declined their offers! Professors are all "too swamped" to meet with (let alone advise) students. The reason the average time to completion is 8 years is that faculty advisors (if you're lucky enough to get anyone to advise you) drag out the process, delaying comps, the prospectus, submission, defense. The students are too miserable and stressed to build a welcoming community, and the cost of living is so high that grad students end up sharing bedrooms and getting side jobs to survive in the Bay Area. Females should definitely think again before coming, given the University's horrific record of refusing to protect students from sexual assault or harassment."

"I feel that the art history graduate program is an excellent program. They offer good funding and a diverse variety of courses. The faculty is very well rounded and comprised of many excellent and exciting professors. I'm very happy to be in the program. There could be more money available to graduate students for conference travel. Berkeley can be unsafe for graduate students at times but is a vibrant and exciting city nonetheless. I have very much enjoyed my time at Berkeley."

"Pros: The research I do is funded. Cons: classes we teach can be limited in funding."

"Pros: The definite principles of Berkeley-Haas are more than just words on a page. The community is incredibly inclusive and students are curious, talented, and humble. As a student interested in social ventures, I feel supported and welcomed. The Bay Area is also a great ecosystem for testing entrepreneurial ideas. Cons: Berkeley is the only public school among the Top 10 MBA programs and there are limitations that come along with that for funding, staffing, programming, etc."

"Excellent culture, diversity, and education in the heart of an extraordinary place of beauty and opportunity: the Bay Area. Haas' location, culture of humility and societal-awareness, and class size differentiate it from its MBA peers. The class size truly enables one to get to know all of their peers and to build a tight-knit network."

"The cost of living here in the Bay Area is ridiculously high and especially for students who are too busy with grad studies to find a job. But Berkeley's journalism program is wonderful, the faculty is extremely helpful in helping everyone discover their passion in reporting and a niche in the journalism scene. Classes are interesting and there are too many we want to take, only complaint is that the unit restrictions (14.5 per semester) isn't enough! We want to learn!!"

"The faculty in my department, in particular, were outstanding. I truly enjoyed the academic aspects of my time at Berkeley. The area in general (and the university in particular) has a unique culture, and you are sure to meet a variety of people there - whether the experiences are good or bad, they are illuminating sources of personal growth. Students at the campus keep the spirit of protest and thoughtful critique alive on campus, which I believe to be invaluable."

"A small college within a large university with a committed faculty, intelligent students, and an incredibly diverse class load. I came into Berkeley not knowing what Rhetoric was, and now I can't imagine having studied anything else."

"UC Berkeley is everything that I could have wanted and more. I would go back in a heartbeat."

"Cal has a reputation of having very tough classes that focus a lot more on theory rather than as much practical design compared to other schools. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not, as on one hand it is hard to learn such theory once you leave school and you can hone practical design afterwards, but on the other theory is useless without applications. Outside of class both Cal and the city in general is a very socially accepting place (no one judges me for being a Celtic folk listening, anime watching, competitive Pokemon battling board gamer who sings loudly to himself as he walks down streets) with a plethora of restaurants serving a broad span of cuisines around campus."

"Very large, requires students to be confident and self-motivated in reaching out to professors and departments."

"An EECS degree from UC Berkeley is the perfect start to a career in tech in the Bay Area."

"Great college town, will take time to get used to Berkeley's unique-ness, academics are top-notch"

"Brilliant people, socially active campus, and a great location are three reasons for attending Cal. Both student life and academic life are excellent here."

"The LL.M. program is intense and challenging, but insightful and eye-opening! The learning environment and networking is amazing. Social life is thrilling and the weather is simply great!"

"Berkeley will open many doors as it is the best public university in the US. The diverse coursework and student population will prepare every student for post-college life."