University of California, Berkeley Best Programs & Majors 2026

University of California, Berkeley Best Programs & Majors for International Students 2026

University of California, Berkeley's strongest programs and what each is genuinely known for — beyond marketing copy. With BrightKey's view on which serves international students best.

University of California, Berkeley's strongest programs include EECS (Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences), Haas School of Business, Goldman School of Public Policy.

Notable programs

EECS (Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences)

Tied number one in US News graduate rankings 2025-26. Twenty-nine Turing Award winners affiliate with the department. Median CS starting salary of USD 150,000 two years post-graduation. Birthplace of BSD Unix and the Caffe deep learning framework.

Haas School of Business

Houses undergraduate business, MBA, PhD, and Master in Financial Engineering programs. Top employers include Adobe, Amazon, Deloitte, McKinsey, and Nvidia. Rich Lyons, current chancellor, served as dean from 2008-2018. The MFE program feeds quantitative finance and trading firms.

Goldman School of Public Policy

Consistently ranked number one or two nationally by US News. Robert Reich and other senior policy figures have taught here. Pipeline into government, NGOs, and policy research at the federal and state level.

College of Chemistry

Ranked number one nationally for graduate Chemistry by US News 2026. Houses both Chemistry and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. Jennifer Doudna won the Nobel Prize for CRISPR while on faculty here. Strong undergraduate research participation.

Berkeley AI Research Lab (BAIR)

Founded 2014, employs 50-plus faculty and 300-plus graduate students. Major contributions to reinforcement learning, robot learning, and LLM alignment. Affiliated centers include the Center for Human-Compatible AI and the Berkeley Robot Learning Lab.

College of Environmental Design

Number one public university for Architecture per QS 2026. Houses Architecture, City Planning, and Landscape Architecture programs. Strong pipeline into sustainable design, urban planning, and the architecture firms designing California's housing transformation.

Compare in the same discipline

Computer Science & Engineering in United States →Business & Management in United States →Natural Sciences in United States →

Common questions

What are University of California, Berkeley's best programs?

EECS (Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences): Tied number one in US News graduate rankings 2025-26. Twenty-nine Turing Award winners affiliate with the department. Median CS starting salary of USD 150,000 two years post-graduation. Birthplace of BSD Unix and the Caffe deep learning framework. Haas School of Business: Houses undergraduate business, MBA, PhD, and Master in Financial Engineering programs. Top employers include Adobe, Amazon, Deloitte, McKinsey, and Nvidia. Rich Lyons, current chancellor, served as dean from 2008-2018. The MFE program feeds quantitative finance and trading firms. Goldman School of Public Policy: Consistently ranked number one or two nationally by US News. Robert Reich and other senior policy figures have taught here. Pipeline into government, NGOs, and policy research at the federal and state level. College of Chemistry: Ranked number one nationally for graduate Chemistry by US News 2026. Houses both Chemistry and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. Jennifer Doudna won the Nobel Prize for CRISPR while on faculty here. Strong undergraduate research participation. Berkeley AI Research Lab (BAIR): Founded 2014, employs 50-plus faculty and 300-plus graduate students. Major contributions to reinforcement learning, robot learning, and LLM alignment. Affiliated centers include the Center for Human-Compatible AI and the Berkeley Robot Learning Lab.

What kind of student fits University of California, Berkeley?

California residents seeking elite-level education at public-university pricing, with 38 percent of students paying zero tuition after aid Aspiring CS and engineering professionals targeting Bay Area technology companies, where Berkeley graduates dominate hiring data over 25 years Future researchers and PhD candidates wanting access to 50 top-ten graduate programs, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and the Berkeley AI Research ecosystem