While most of our BGA visiting students are at the undergraduate level of study and will be taking undergraduate courses, it is possible to take some graduate-level courses as well. Undergraduate courses have course numbers 1-199 and graduate courses have course numbers from 200-999.
You may be able to take graduate-level courses through the Berkeley Global Access Program, but there are some restrictions. Certain majors and departments either limit enrollment or offer very few seats for visiting students. These include (but are not limited to): Arts and Humanities, Business, Data Science and Cybersecurity, Development Practice Graduate Group (DEVP), Economics, Environmental Design, Film, Physics, and Law and Legal Studies. Please note that this list is not comprehensive and may change over time. Additional considerations include:
- Electrical Engineering and Computer Science: Courses in EECS, COMPSCI, and ELENG are highly competitive due to strong demand from UC Berkeley degree-seeking students. While it’s still possible for visiting students to be approved, securing a spot in these courses can be challenging.
- Arts & Humanities, Data Science, Environmental Design, Law and Legal Studies: It is highly unlikely that visiting students will be able to enroll in Data Science (DATA and DATASCI) or Environmental Design courses, including Architecture (ARCH), City and Regional Planning (CYPLAN), Landscape Architecture (LDARCH), and Real Estate Development and Design (RDEV). For Arts & Humanities as well as Law and Legal Studies, class sizes are small, and seats are usually reserved for matriculated students.
- Business, Economics, Film, and Physics: The Department of Economics department, Haas School of Business, Department of Film & Media, and Department of Physics do not offer graduate course options to visiting students.
That said, many other departments have historically allowed visiting students to take graduate-level courses on a space-available basis, as long as prerequisites are met. The enrollment process can be more complex. In some cases, you may need to request special permission from faculty. If approved, the instructor will provide an enrollment code that you can use to register. As a BGA student, you’ll also have academic advisors to guide you through each step of the course enrollment process.