The Berkeley Global Access Program offers a scholarship opportunity to all program applicants. Each semester, up to 10 scholarship applicants are selected for a one-time scholarship discount of up to USD$2,000.
In order to apply for the scholarship, you must upload a scholarship essay to your application before it is submitted. We will not accept scholarship essays after your application has been submitted. Your essay should address the prompt found here:
In 500–750 words (single spaced), please describe what qualifications or ambitions set you apart from your peers, what your goals are for your time at Berkeley and how you plan to apply this experience in the future.
You will also need an academic or professional contact to submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf. This person should be able to speak enthusiastically to your academic and/or professional accomplishments and abilities.
Before you start your application, please inform your recommender and verify their email address. Please strive to use your recommender’s academic or professional email address, such as one ending in .edu or an institutional domain, and ideally, which contains their name. We recommend confirming interest from your recommender and submitting their contact information well in advance of the final deadline to ensure your recommender has ample time to submit your letter.
In your application, indicate your interest in being considered for the scholarship. Upon moving to the next page of the application, you will be prompted to input your recommender’s information, including name and email address. After you submit their information, the recommender will receive an email invitation to upload a recommendation letter on your behalf. You will be able to track the status of their letter submission from the applicant portal after your application has been submitted. Additionally, you will receive an email confirmation when the letter is submitted.
For more information about how to apply to the scholarship, please carefully read and follow the instructions here.
To qualify for consideration, all your scholarship materials must be submitted before the final application deadline for that semester. It is the student's responsibility to ensure a letter of recommendation has been sent by their recommender.
Please note that the scholarship is only awarded once, so awardees who are studying for both semesters will receive the scholarship award once during their studies.
Scholarship decisions will be announced after the final deadline via email.
The Berkeley Global Access Program is not eligible for Financial Aid from the US Government. Visiting students generally self-fund their studies at UC Berkeley.
Please note that nominated and/or sponsored students from partner universities are not eligible for the Berkeley Global Access Program scholarship.