…and the school is doing really well across a variety of US-only and Global rankings:
| United States - College Rankings |
US Public University (Rank) |
US Overall University (Rank) |
| U.S. News & World Report – 2026 Best Colleges (National Universities) |
No. 1 |
No. 15 |
| Wall Street Journal/Pulse – 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. |
No. 1 |
No. 7 |
| Forbes – 2026 America’s Top Colleges |
No. 1 |
No. 5 |
|
|
|
| Global University Rankings |
US Public University (Rank) |
World University (Rank) |
| Times Higher Education – 2025 World University Rankings |
No. 1 |
No. 8 |
| Times Higher Education – 2025 World Reputation Rankings |
No. 1 |
No. 6 |
| Shanghai Ranking – 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities |
No. 1 |
No. 5 |
| QS World University Rankings – 2026 Top Global Universities |
No. 1 |
No. 17 |
| U.S. News & World Report – 2025-2026 Best Global Universities |
No. 1 |
No. 6 |
| BlueSky – 2025-2026 Ranking of University Rankings |
No. 1 |
No. 6 |
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As a Cal alumna and now Cal parent, it’s always nice to see (even if I don’t put too much stock in rankings).
Berkeley is a great institution and just about any subject you want to study is likely going to be very well regarded in academic circles and/or professional fields.
The facilities are fairly dated and I was surprised how run down some of the older buildings were. The facilities team clearly has a tough time keeping up with the campus maintenance needs. I was originally going to attend the University of Notre Dame until a difficult family situation forced a change of plan and I attended UC Berkeley instead. It was noticeable how much nicer the facilities were at a private school like ND vs a state school like Berkeley which gets less and less funding each year from the CA state legislature.
In my experience, there was not much hand-holding for undergrads, but for academically motivated students, all you needed to do was show interest and professors were generally very helpful with coursework, assisting you with research jobs in labs, writing recs, etc. But you had to take the initiative, which was fine for most undergrads who came in with good time management skills, but a few people I knew struggled to balance school with social life.
One knock I hear a lot about Berkeley is that it’s “so competitive.” High school students seem to believe that claim. That was not my experience at Cal – students were cooperative not competitive. I loved my time at Berkeley and it will always be a special place to me.
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Cal has long been one of the top few research universities in the world.
Whether that is a compelling reason to choose it for your undergrad program is personal and contextual. But obviously it is at least good to know.
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