Undergraduate Admissions
Welcome to the College of Environmental Design! We’re excited you are considering joining our community. As the no. 1 public university in the nation for architecture and the built environment, the College of Environmental Design upholds UC Berkeley’s public mission: enhancing society and the greater good through research and design and providing pathways to success for students from all backgrounds.
CED offers the advantages of a small college experience paired with the opportunities available at a large public research university. We have four bachelor of arts degrees — a BA in Architecture, BA in Landscape Architecture, BA in Urban Studies, and a BA in Sustainable Environmental Design — with choices for additional study that lay the groundwork for a variety of professional directions. These liberal arts degrees arm you with skills in problem-solving and strategic and critical thinking, so you’ll be prepared for whatever the future has in store. Our graduates find success in a range of fields, using their CED educations to make a difference.
Begin your journey at CED
Explore our academic programs, learn about the admissions process, and discover what student life is really like by joining an info session or connecting with an Admissions Ambassador. Whether you apply as a first-year or a transfer student — you will find a home at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design. We look forward to meeting you soon in Bauer Wurster Hall!
2026 Undergraduate Admissions Events
Join the College of Environmental Design’s Admissions Ambassadors for a virtual prospective student information session! Learn about the student experience and our programs in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Environmental Design, and Urban Studies.
Tuesday, Oct. 13 | 1–2 PM | Register
Wednesday, Oct. 21 | 2–3 PM | Register
Monday, Nov. 2 | 1–2 PM | Register
Thursday, Nov. 5 | 2–3 PM | Register
Tuesday, Nov. 10 | 1–2PM | Register
Friday, Nov. 13 | 1–2 PM | Register
Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 1–2 PM | Register
Friday, Nov. 20 | 1–2 PM | Register
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions invites middle school, high school, and transfer students — and their families — to join us for College Information Day & UC Berkeley Showcase. CED Ambassadors will be tabling at the UC Berkeley Resource Expo from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and leading a building tour from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 24 | 9 AM–2 PM | Register
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
BA in Architecture
As an architecture major, you’ll join a community committed to collaboration, inquiry, experimentation, and design excellence. The major offers a broad, humanist introduction to the field of architecture, including theories of design, digital design and fabrication, the histories of places and peoples, and sustainable design practices. In this rigorous, hands-on, studio-based program, you’ll visit project sites, render your designs using the latest software, build models in the Fabrication Shop, discuss your work and ideas with local design professionals, and learn how transforming the built environment can be a catalyst for social change.
BA in Landscape Architecture
As a landscape architecture major, you’ll learn both the art of creating beautiful places as well as how to think critically about landscapes from the perspectives of ecology, climate resilience, social impact, and cultural meaning. The curriculum offers opportunities to engage with a range of landscapes, from community gardens to downtown plazas to wilderness areas, and encourages you to reimagine how collective public landscapes can contribute to the common good. In addition to creating in design studios and attending classroom lectures and seminars, you’ll wade through streams, survey urban vegetation, observe construction sites, and sketch Bay Area landscapes.
BA in Urban Studies
As an urban studies major, you’ll learn to lead change for better urban futures. The interdisciplinary curriculum introduces you to key issues in urban history, transportation planning, and housing. Lecture and seminar classes, plus a capstone experience, focus on cities as sites of economic development, civic participation, social transformation, and cultural imagination. At a time when the world is more urban than in other era in human history, you’ll graduate with tools and methods to make our cities more humane and resilient.
BA in Sustainable Environmental Design
As an SED major, you’ll delve deeply into policy and design solutions that meet today’s environmental challenges, including pollution, food waste, carbon emissions, and land inequities. Taking courses across disciplines enables you to develop a critical understanding of how sustainable environments emerge from the intersection of technology, design, economics, policy, and societal change. You’ll graduate with a multifaceted understanding of how to drive systems change to create resilient, resource-efficient, healthy, and socially just cities and metropolitan regions.
How to Apply
Admissions Process
Applications to the College of Environmental Design are made through UC Berkeley’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions. All prospective students must meet the minimum eligibility requirements defined by the University of California. Transfer students must also complete all of the CED’s lower-division requirements to be eligible for consideration. See important dates & deadlines for prospective undergraduates. Please note: A portfolio is NOT required for admission to CED.
First-Year Applicants
Incoming first-year students, including international applicants, can see a detailed list of admissions requirements on the UC Berkeley Office of Undergraduate Admissions website.
Transfer Applicants
We welcome applications from transfer students. Transfer students are admitted at the junior level only (90 quarter units or 60 semester units of transferable college credit) and must have completed all general education requirements and all lower-division major requirements.
International Applicants
We welcome applications from international students. See Berkeley International Office for more information. International transfer applicants should consult the UC Berkeley Office of Undergraduate Admissions website for additional information.
Getting Started
The CED Office of Undergraduate Advising and the CED Admissions Ambassadors hold virtual and in-person information sessions throughout the year for prospective students. Meet undergraduate advisers and current students, learn more about the college, majors, and admissions criteria, and get tips on maximizing your chances for admission.
- Talk with a CED student! Schedule an in-person, phone, or online video conference or chat with one of our undergraduate Admissions Ambassadors.
- Attend a prospective student information session in person or online.
- Come see us on Cal Day, UC Berkeley’s annual open house.
- Explore your many options with a CED undergraduate adviser.
- Resources
If you have taken community college courses, check our Articulation page to find out if your course credit will satisfy CED requirements.
Professional Resources