To study at Berkeley, apply for the major you want to finish. Some are hard to switch into later.

Who needs it: You need it unless you’ve had three or more years of instruction in English. Instruction in a mix of languages doesn’t count. U.S. citizens and permanent residents who studied abroad follow the same rule.

Berkeley’s minimum scores: TOEFL 90 (or 4.5 on the scale used from January 2026), IELTS 6.5, or Duolingo English Test 115. Berkeley’s TOEFL code is 4833.

Other ways to meet it: A 3 or higher in AP English Language or AP English Literature, a 6 or higher in IB English A at Standard Level or a 5 or higher at Higher Level, 24 or higher in ACT English Language Arts, or 31 or higher in SAT Writing and Language.

What doesn’t count: UC doesn’t accept TOEFL MyBest scores, IELTS One Skill Retake, or the digital SAT as proof.

Timing: UC says English tests should be completed by December of your final school year. Berkeley’s deadline for meeting the requirement is January 31.

Who counts as international: Berkeley treats you as an international applicant if you need a visa or will graduate from a school outside the U.S. U.S. citizens and permanent residents abroad apply as domestic students with foreign credentials.

Your courses and grades: You need a secondary education that would let you enter university at home, plus 15 yearlong academic courses with at least a 3.4 GPA: two of history, four of composition and literature in your language of instruction, three of math, two of science, two of a second language, one of the arts, and one more academic course. Your own country’s history can replace U.S. history. Report your grades exactly as your school gives them, without converting them.

Country rules: From India, UC asks for both the Class X and Class XII examinations, from a state board or the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), with average marks above 60. From Brazil and most other countries, it looks for rigorous university-preparatory subjects, a finished secondary education, and eligibility for a competitive university at home. At a bilingual or international school, the rule follows your curriculum, not just where the school is.

Records and translations: If you’re admitted, you send records from every school since grade 9. School records generally need a translation only if they use a non-Roman alphabet, but university records not in English need a certified translation.

Your student visa: After you accept, you complete Berkeley’s Nonimmigrant Information Form (NIF) with your passport, status, family, and funding documents. Berkeley then issues the I-20, the form you need for an F-1 student visa, or a DS-2019 for a J-1 exchange visa. A visa for a new student can be issued up to 365 days before your program starts, and you can enter the U.S. up to 30 days before it begins. If you’re Canadian or Bermudian, you generally won’t need a visa, but you still need the I-20.

Proof of funding: Bank statements must be less than three months old and show the account holder, bank, currency, and balance, in funds you can use right away. Unofficial English translations are fine. A private sponsor also signs a Guarantee of Financial Support, and a loan application alone isn’t enough. Ask the Berkeley International Office for the fall 2027 amount you must show.

Hardship aid: Don’t count on it to fund your degree. The Berkeley International Office helps with a serious, unexpected change in your finances, and only after you’ve completed two consecutive semesters at Berkeley in your current visa status, not counting summer.

Health insurance: Berkeley enrolls every student in its Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP), international students included, unless it approves a waiver for comparable coverage, which you apply for each year.

Management, Entrepreneurship, & Technology (M.E.T.): A dual degree in business and engineering. Its supplement, an essay and a video, is due December 14, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time. Confirm the date with M.E.T. before you plan around it. M.E.T. looks for curiosity, motivation, and an interest in solving problems, and the video should show you speaking naturally, unscripted. If you don’t complete both parts, the College of Engineering still considers you.

Spieker Business program: An essay and an uploaded video. Spieker has to be your primary major, and if Spieker doesn’t admit you, Berkeley won’t consider you for another program on that application. Confirm the deadline with Haas.

Global Management Program (GMP): An essay on your interest and a required video, due in early January 2027. You study in Cape Town in fall 2028. If GMP doesn’t admit you, Berkeley may consider you for Letters and Science, undeclared.

Sciences Po dual degree: A separate supplement: an English essay, an English résumé, and up to two optional recommendations in English or French. It’s due November 30, the same day as your UC application and your English test. Invited interviews run in January and February, decisions come in February, and you reply by May 1.

University of Hong Kong dual degree: Submit the UC application first, then HKU’s supplement and its English essay. Both are due November 30, and so is your English test. HKU decides in March, and you reply by May 1.

Letrado’s advice: Compare the fallbacks before you choose a business route. If GMP turns you down, Berkeley may still consider you for Letters and Science, but a no from Spieker ends that application.

Changing your application: You can’t add new grades, activities, or answers after you submit. You must tell Berkeley at once if something you reported stops being true, such as a dropped course or a changed grade. A request to change your major may be considered before February.

Your deposit: Accepting an offer normally includes a $250 deposit that counts toward tuition and isn’t refundable. A deposit waiver puts the charge off rather than removing it. Check the terms in your own offer.

The waitlist: It’s unranked, and you have to opt in. Berkeley doesn’t want extra letters or materials. Offers depend on space and can continue through the summer, and you have seven days, counting the day you’re told, to accept. For fall 2026 entry, the opt-in deadline was April 15 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time.

Deferring your start: Berkeley grants a deferral only for a compelling reason. For fall 2026 admits, requests were due between May 1 and June 1.

Starting in January: Berkeley may offer some waitlisted students a January start instead. It isn’t a separate spring application round, and taking college courses that fall needs Berkeley’s approval. Ask about housing before you accept one.