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On Saturday morning, the mood outside UC Berkeley’s California Memorial Stadium was effervescent. Some students blew soap bubbles into the air as they paraded, in a river of blue and gold, toward their 2025 campuswide commencement ceremony. Others sported sparkly stilettos, and some wore mortarboards with crocheted or bedazzled adornments. As they approached the amphitheater from Witter Rugby Field, many hugged and crowded together for photos.

Students in the UC Berkeley Class of 2025 worked against a backdrop of historic social and political instability. The University Medal finalists met challenges head-on, and their early accomplishments show the commitment and creative spirit of their class.

From using smartphone data to predict mental health relapses to leading French Club, Asher Cohen found community — and opportunities to serve others — in a myriad of corners of campus.

James B. Milliken was named the 22nd president of the University of California on Friday, May 2, 2025. Milliken "clearly has a wealth of valuable experience and expertise which will serve us well during a time of challenge and change," said UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons. 

"This is a very volatile time, ... I have a very solid underpinning in who Berkeley is as an institution, and ... I can help shepherd it through the storm," says Sparks, currently at University of Maine. She'll start her work at Berkeley on July 1. 

Philosopher Hannah Ginsborg will use the award to write a book about the relation between norms and reasons, while chemical engineer Markita del Carpio Landry will try to find molecules in little-studied plants that could treat neurological disorders.

Students, faculty, staff, key benefactors and the legendary Oski the Bear came together Monday for a festive celebration of the opening of the Grimes Engineering Center, a new hub on the north side of campus. UC Berkeley Engineering marked this exciting milestone — just two years after the building’s groundbreaking — with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Chancellor Rich Lyons.

Across a remarkable range of academic disciplines, Berkeley’s graduate programs are rated among the nation’s best in the magazine’s annual evaluation.

The rally was part of a nationwide day of action in support of federal funding for scientific research.

Over a thousand people crowded around UC Berkeley’s Savio Steps in Sproul Plaza on Friday (March 7) to protest ongoing or threatened cuts to federal research funds, part of a day of action organized by research scientists around the country.

Chancellor Rich Lyons responds to recent changes in federal policies and funding.

A tiny, elusive mammal native to a small stretch of the Sierra Nevada has been photographed for the first time by a team led by UC Berkeley student researchers.

Exercise is Medicine On Campus is an increasingly popular health, wellness and research initiative, providing hundreds of students consultations with coaches and mentors each year.

The Student Emergency Fund

Announced by President Joe Biden, the award honors the nation's technological trailblazers

More than a few major milestones marked UC Berkeley’s 2024 calendar: one chancellor’s retirement and another’s arrival, the successful end of a multi-billion-dollar fundraising campaign, the long-awaited start of construction at People’s Park and the opening of a novel apartment building for transfer students.

Prisha Bhadra said her journey to graduate from UC Berkeley began long before she set foot on campus. Her parents, who immigrated from India, “left behind familiarity, security, and every single loved one they had” to give her the chance to choose her own path. For students with immigrant roots, she said, “This moment feels bigger than just us. It’s the product of generations of hope. … This degree doesn’t just belong to me. It belongs to them.”