Dear Student:

Welcome to Berkeley and congratulations on your outstanding academic record and personal achievements. As a Professor of Public Health, and Energy and Resources, and more recently as Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning, Academic Planning and Facilities, I’ve spent twenty five years as part of the Berkeley community. I’d like to share my thoughts about what makes this campus extraordinary and why it might just be the place for you.

Curricular Breadth and Depth
Berkeley is consistently ranked by our peers as the leading public university in the United States and among the very best research universities in the world. As a student at Cal, the possibilities are limitless. You’ll have access to courses in an amazing range of fields, including some you’ve never encountered before. No matter how focused you are, you’ll have a chance to experiment with new interests and explore unexpected directions. You might learn one of the fifty-five ancient and modern languages we teach or investigate cutting edge interdisciplinary fields like bioengineering or digital art and new media. You might discover treasures in the Bancroft Library or study impacts of climate change by exploring collections in one of the natural history museums. Every Berkeley student participates in our unique American Cultures (AC) curriculum, which spans more than forty departments and has been recognized as a national model for its integrative and comparative analyses of race, culture and ethnicity in the United States.  This breadth of curricular choice and resources is matched by depth—so once you find your intellectual passion, you’ll be able to pursue advanced level coursework in your chosen field.

World Class Professors
Berkeley’s faculty are engaged scholars. Research and inquiry are embedded in our approach to educating our students. Engaging our students in research and helping students pursue their own intellectual interests are central to our enterprise. Our professors are recognized as the best in their fields. Our current faculty includes eight Nobel laureates, 30 MacArthur “Geniuses,” and 219 members of the prestigious National Academies of Sciences and of Engineering. Our renowned Freshman Seminar Program allows you to take a course with one of these professors (with no more than fifteenstudents) in your very first year. Our Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP), one of our many undergraduate research programs, pairs students and professors who work together on cutting edge research. Some of our large courses will be the most inspiring you take; look, for example, for courses taught by recipients of our Distinguished Teaching Award, recognized by their colleagues as the very best teachers on the campus. Outside of class, you’ll be able to have one-on-one conversations with your professors during their office hours to get additional guidance and mentoring.

The Cal Community
Faculty, staff, Cal alumni and friends as well as your fellow students are part of the Cal community.Your undergraduate experience goes beyond the classroom and your contact with professors. An essential part of youreducation is your interaction with your fellow students.  It’s a cliché to say that the Berkeley community is diverse, but few peoplerealize how rich and complex that diversity is! The campus boasts over 600 registered student groups. Whether youwant to work on a student-run science journal, humor magazine, literary or law review; perform in a play, jazz band, or choral ensemble; teach a student-initiated course, tutor in the Student Learning Center, or form a study group; run track, swim, or play basketball; you’ll find yourself surrounded by stimulating peers who are just as curious, motivated, and talented as yourself. Cal students represent a range of political viewpoints, cultural backgrounds, and intellectual interests—there’s not just one type of Cal student. Cal students share a respect for difference as an enriching part oftheir experience. Connect to the Cal community through internships, work study and campus activities, working side by side with other students, staff or alums. Or collaborate on one of the many projects focused on creating a sustainable campus, through energy efficiency projects, green dorms, or local and sustainable food in the dining halls.

The Bay Area and Beyond
Cal isn’t an “ivory tower” campus. Students, faculty and staff are fully engaged with the world beyond the campus park. We are situated in one of the most vibrant, exciting and beautiful metropolitan areas in the world. Berkeley students have access to world-class cultural events and areas of extraordinary natural beauty, a combination that makes the Bay Area one of the most desirable places to live. Through the Cal Corps Public Service Center, many Cal students engage with the larger community, for example, working as literacy tutors with incarcerated youth or participating in environmental restoration on an alternative Spring break. Or you can choose from dozens of service-learning courses in a wide range of departments that link academic coursework with real world experience. For those who crave even wider horizons, our Education Abroad Programs and the UC in DC internship programs offer opportunities to take your Cal education on the road for a semester or more. Nearly four hundred students have declared the Global Poverty Program minor and are engaged in study and field experience across the globe.

Building Your Future
At Cal, you’ll begin to make the important connections that will carry you through life. Many services exist at Cal to support your education whether it is through our Student Learning Center, our wide range of advising services, or our Career Center. The Career Center connects you to experiential learning and internships on and off campus, as well as a full range of services to help you take the next steps beyond Cal when graduation time comes. While that may seem far in the future, your successful journey begins right now as you converse with professors, staff members, and college advisors who will help you navigate and make the most of the extraordinary breadth of opportunity that characterizes the Berkeley experience.
For more information on these and many other opportunities at Cal, please visit www.berkeley.edu/students  I wish you success in all your future endeavors.

Go Bears!

Catherine P. Koshland
Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning, Academic Planning and Facilities
Wood-Calvert Professor in Engineering
Professor of Public Health, and Energy and Resources