The University of California was chartered in 1868 and established at Berkeley in 1875. South Hall, an ivy-covered Gothic-revival building of red brick, is the only survivor of the nineteenth century campus buildings. Today, the Berkeley campus is the senior member of the nine-campus University of California System. Berkeley offers a full range of academic majors in programs. In a national survey published in fall 1992, Berkeley placed highest of all public universities in ranking that included five attributes: reputation, selectivity, faculty resources, financial resources, and student satisfaction. More students who earn bachelor's degrees at Berkeley complete Ph. D's than graduates of any other university in the country.

Undergraduate students can choose from more than 5,000 different courses and over 100 majors or they can design their own individual majors. The graduate division offers professional and academic degrees in more than 100 majors. Aiding students in their course work is a campus network of twenty-four libraries, including one especially for undergraduates. There are also many support facilities and services available, such as the Student Learning Center,

financial aid counseling, housing assistance, graduate and professional school advising, and career placement assistance. The 1, 200-acre campus stretches from downtown Berkeley through wooded hills that overlook San Francisco Bay. The city of Berkeley (population 105,000) offers the lively background of one of America's more culturally diverse and politically adventurous small cities. The surrounding San Francisco Bay area provides an abundance of recreational and cultural events.