Should you be admitted to UC Berkeley, you may be asked to select a First Year Pathway. All of these pathways offer you high-caliber Berkeley, or transferable, courses, housing, and student activities that allow you to build pride, trust, and community with your peers, faculty, and staff. Please note some of the pathways have additional fees or costs associated.
If you are admitted from the waitlist, you may only be offered limited pathways. While this may cause initial concern or disappointment, the reality is that if you are admitted, you will still be among the roughly 15,000 admitted first-year students who competed successfully in UC Berkeley’s exceptional applicant pool. You will still receive the same status and privileges as all undergraduates.
Traditional Pathway
The traditional pathway allows you to have access to the traditional courses and the traditional first-year student experience when you start at Berkeley.
L&S First-Year Pathways
The L&S First-Year Pathways program is designed for first-year students in the College of Letters & Science looking to explore exciting topics, kick-start their academic journey, and make meaningful connections in their first semester at Berkeley. In L&S Pathways, students choose and enroll in a “cluster,” where they learn alongside the same small group of students in three different courses. There are over 20 clusters to choose from, and students can choose to explore compelling themes from multiple perspectives and/or build a foundation for a particular major or discipline. With L&S First-Year Pathways, students can pursue exciting topics within small cohorts, making real academic progress along the way.
- L&S First-Year Pathways is available to first-year students admitted to the College of Letters and Science
Global Edge
Start your first-year year in a unique way. Spend your summer at Berkeley, then fall semester in London. Through Global Edge you will join a small group of fellow freshmen for eight weeks of summer courses, getting a head start on the Berkeley experience. In the fall, your group travels to London to take Berkeley courses at the UC London Center. Return to campus for spring semester with many academic requirements completed and a new global perspective.
- Global Edge is available to students admitted to the College of Letters and Science and the Rausser College of Natural Resources
- Global Edge is mandatory for students admitted to the Global Management Program through the Haas School of Business.
Fall Program for First-Semester (FPF)
FPF is a small, collaborative learning community for first-year students in the College of Letters & Science (excludes transfers or returning students). The smaller class sizes allow for high-impact learning, proactive advising, and a strong network of relationships among peers, advisors, and instructors Over its 40-year history, FPF has become a cornerstone experience for new students to support their entry to UCB. Like other collegiate first-year programs, FPF equips students with a curated curriculum with thematic threads FPF is offered during the first semester with courses that explore intellectual themes to amplify the student experience.
- FPF is available to students admitted to the College of Letters and Science.