University of California—Berkeley is a public institution that was founded in 1868. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 30,574, its setting is city, and the campus size is 1,232 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. University of California—Berkeley's ranking in the 2019 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 22. Its in-state tuition and fees are $14,240 (2018-19); out-of-state tuition and fees are $43,232 (2018-19).

The University of California—Berkeley, often referred to as Cal, is situated overlooking the San Francisco. There are more than 1,000 student organizations, ranging from political groups to a hang gliding club and everything in between. Berkeley has 14 schools and colleges, including a number of graduate and professional schools, such as the School of Optometry and the Graduate School of Journalism. Other graduate programs offered include those in the highly ranked Haas School of Business, Graduate School of Education, College of Engineering and School of Law.

Notable alumni include former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley and actor John Cho, known for his role in the "Harold and Kumar" films. Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, who worked on the development of the atomic bomb as scientific director of the Manhattan Project during World War II, was a professor at Berkeley.