Undergraduate Scholarships

The University offers many opportunities to establish undergraduate scholarships to ensure that every young person in California has equal access to the excellence of a Berkeley education.

Your gift to support Berkeley undergraduates can make a tangible difference for financially needy students by reducing the amount of money they would otherwise need to borrow. More than one-third of our undergraduates, for example, come from households with annual incomes of less than $40,000. Unlike our closest peer competitors in the Ivy League, Berkeley does not have adequate financial resources to provide full funding for large numbers of students in great financial need. To help defray their educational costs, many of these students must pay $8,000 annually through a combination of loans and work.

Your support will enable more high-achieving students to afford an education at one of the world’s preeminent teaching and research universities.

How can I support undergraduates?
The University’s flagship Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship Program reaches the broadest array of students.  Supported by many donor funds and bequests, some established nearly a century ago, these scholarships ensure that deserving undergraduates can afford to attend Berkeley. Programs that target more specific areas of funding are also available.

You can make an immediate-use gift to support Berkeley’s undergraduates by filling out a secure online giving form at the Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship donation site. Or, you may prefer to establish an endowment — the principal of which is held in perpetuity and invested to provide a steady stream of income for the purposes designated by the donor — to permanently support undergraduates.

What types of scholarships can I support?

The Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship Program
The largest program, the Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship Program, supports approximately 2,500 undergraduates. As the University’s primary scholarship program — bolstered by nearly 700 donor funds — it helps ensure that many of Berkeley's highly competitive undergraduates are able to attend UC Berkeley and graduate without incurring major debt. Many donors confer with school or college development staff to set up scholarships that, ultimately, are administered by the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office as a Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship. This ensures the greatest range of students will be considered to match the guidelines for each individual scholarship, and it allows the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office to match students with gender- and race-based scholarships.

Make a secure gift to the Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship fund.

The Berkeley Undergraduate Dream Act Scholarship
The Berkeley Undergraduate Dream Act Scholarship is a new scholarship made possible by the passage of Assembly Bill 130 (AB 130), part of the California Dream Act. The scholarship awards up to $8,000 per semester, depending on financial need, to students who are exempt from paying nonresident tuition under Assembly Bill 540 (AB 540) and who are ineligible for federal financial aid.

Make a secure gift to the Berkeley Undergraduate Dream Act Scholarship fund.

Cal Opportunity Scholarship
The Cal Opportunity Scholarship attracts high-achieving students, from 17 underserved high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, who have overcome challenging socio-economic circumstances. These renewable scholarship awards average $10,000, and fund the full cost of attendance for the neediest students.

Make a secure gift to the Cal Opportunity Scholarship fund.

Regents' and Chancellor's Scholarship
The Regents' and Chancellor's Scholarship is UC Berkeley's most prestigious scholarship awarded solely on academic merit. Selected by Berkeley's renowned faculty through a competitive interview process, each year 800 top scholars receive renewable scholarship awards ranging from $1,000 to the full cost of attendance.

Make a secure gift to the Regents' and Chancellor's Scholarship fund.