Jacobs Design Studio
Design animates all corners of our campus and is part of many interdisciplinary projects in research, education, and public engagement. Explore Berkeley’s campus programs where teaching, analysis, creation, exhibition, and presentation of design are core activities.

Academics

Berkeley Master of Design (MDes)

The Master of Design (MDes) is a professional graduate program in design for emerging technologies that emphasizes critical design and social practice to address the new realities of emerging technologies in the 21st century. 

College of Environmental Design

CED stands among the nation’s top environmental design schools. It is one of the world’s most distinguished laboratories for experimentation, research, and intellectual synergy. The first school to combine the disciplines of architecture, planning, and landscape architecture into a single college, CED led the way toward an integrated approach to analyzing, understanding, and designing our built environment.

Design Innovation

The Berkeley Certificate in Design Innovation assumes that innovation will not come from any one discipline, but rather from the meaningful integration of methods, technologies, knowledge, and thought from a wide range of different disciplines. As such, the certificate connects the design approaches and disciplines from four schools (College of Engineering, College of Environmental Design, College of Letters and Science – Arts and Humanities Division, and the Haas School of Business) to ensure that students know how to innovate. The program trains students to take responsibility for the entire life cycle of innovation, from idea to execution and beyond.

Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership

The Fung Fellowship is shaping a new generation of entrepreneurial leaders focused on transforming health and wellness. Throughout the two-year fellowship program a diverse cohort of undergraduate students participate in a cross-disciplinary, experience-based curriculum that integrates design thinking and an immersive community experience. Fellows work in teams to develop technology solutions to address the real-world public health challenges facing at-risk populations.

Haas Innovation Design

Haas Innovation Design supports students in exploring how design thinking skills fit into business, and how business skills fit into the design world. We are a collaborative and diverse student community that encourages creativity, empathy, and weirder ways of looking at the world.

Mechanical Engineering

Faculty in the Design field of Mechanical Engineering work on problems affecting the analysis, synthesis, design, automation, fabrication, testing, evaluation, and optimization of mechanical systems.

School of Information

The School of Information is both UC Berkeley’s newest and its smallest school. Located in the center of campus, the I School is a graduate research and education community committed to expanding access to information and to improving its usability, reliability, and credibility while preserving security and privacy. This requires the insights of scholars from diverse fields — information and computer science, design, social sciences, management, law, and policy.

Centers

Berkeley Institute of Design

The Berkeley Institute of Design (BiD) is a research group that fosters a deeply interdisciplinary approach to design for the 21st century, spanning human-computer interaction, mechanical design, education, architecture and art practice.

Center for New Music and Audio Technologies

The Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT) houses a dynamic group of educational, performance and research programs focused on the creative interaction between music and technology. CNMAT links all of UC Berkeley’s disciplines dedicated to the study or creative use of sound, such as music, architecture, mathematics, statistics, mechanical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, psychology, physics, space sciences, the Center for New Media, and the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies.

CITRIS Invention Lab

The CITRIS Invention Lab supports faculty, student and community innovation by providing the knowledge, tools and support to rapidly design and prototype novel interactive products, embedded sensing systems and integrated mobile devices. This facility is a vital piece of the CITRIS pipeline running from the minds of researchers through CITRIS laboratories, and into the markets, industries, and streets of the world. 

CITRIS Tech Museum

Located on the main floor at the CITRIS and the Banatao Institute Headquarters, the Tech Museum features projects and research from the CITRIS and the Banatao Institute community including prototypes, hands-on displays, and interactive demos. Exhibit themes include energy efficiency technologies, smart devices for infrastructure and health care, and sensor systems to reduce traffic and improve fuel efficiency.

Creative Lab

Creative lab is a resource for the entire east bay community, located right here on the UC Berkeley campus. Situated in the ASUC Student Union, a major hub of student activity on campus, the lab offers marketing opportunities to companies, campus departments, and student organizations.

Digital Humanities

Digital Humanities at Berkeley is a partnership between the Office of the Dean of Arts and Humanities and Research IT in the Office of the CIO. It is supported by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.

Future Histories Lab

Future Histories Lab is a UC Berkeley program that aims to reveal hidden histories and help us imagine and build better futures. We work with community organizations to research issues of interest to them and present the research publicly–through websites, exhibitions, installations, and other means.

Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation

The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation is Berkeley’s interdisciplinary hub for learning and making at the intersection of design and technology. The institute offers courses, extracurricular programs, makerspaces and labs, and more.

Venues

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive

The UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) is the visual arts center of UC Berkeley presenting more than 20 art exhibitions and 450 films annually. BAMPFA's mission is to inspire the imagination and ignite critical dialogue through art and film.

Berkeley Natural History Museums

A consortium of the natural history collections and field reserves at the University of California, Berkeley, they represent the integration of historic biological and cultural repositories and cutting edge informatics and research. Together, the six natural history museum collections represent over 12 million voucher specimens in anthropology, botany, entomology, herpetology, mammalogy, ornithology, and paleontology. 

CITRIS Tech Museum

Located on the main floor at the CITRIS and the Banatao Institute Headquarters, the Tech Museum features projects and research from the CITRIS and the Banatao Institute community including prototypes, hands-on displays, and interactive demos. Exhibit themes include energy efficiency technologies, smart devices for infrastructure and health care, and sensor systems to reduce traffic and improve fuel efficiency.

Lawrence Hall of Science

University of California, Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science is the country’s only science center that is part of a top-tier, public research university. This distinctive affiliation allows the Hall to partner with world-class scientists, engineers, educational leaders, and teachers, with the goal of developing and disseminating the most innovative and effective science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs available today. Our mission is to inspire and foster science learning for all—especially for those with limited access to science.

Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology

With over 3.8 million objects from around the world spanning 2 million years, the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology produces engaging and timely exhibitions, cultural programs, and training opportunities for campus and community members of all ages.

UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley

The 34-acre UC Botanical Garden is one of the most diverse landscapes in the world with over 10,000 types of plants, including many rare and endangered species. Organized geographically, the Garden features 9 regions of naturalistic plantings from around the world, including a major collection of California native plants. The Garden was established in 1890 and this living collection provides invaluable resources for international research and conservation, as well as a beautiful place of tranquility.

University Libraries

The UC Berkeley Library connects students and scholars to the world of information and ideas. With a daily commitment to excellence and innovation, the libraries select and create, organize and protect, provide and teach access to resources that are relevant to our campus programs and pursuits. The Library consists of twenty-three libraries and special collections. 

Student Clubs

ASUC - Arts and Design Groups

The Associated Students of the University of California is the official representative organization of students at UC Berkeley. Founded in 1887, it is one of the largest and most autonomous students' associations in the nation.  ASUC is  passionate about student voice and student self-governance on the UC Berkeley campus and throughout our communities.

BARE

BARE Magazine is UC Berkeley’s premier fashion, lifestyle, and art publication.

Berkeley Innovation

Berkeley Innovation is a human-centered design group. Our members come from a wide range of disciplines, but share a love of design thinking and innovation.

Blueprint

Blueprint is a non-profit organization aimed at bringing technologies to local nonprofit organizations that are making social change.

CED Students Of Color

CED Students of Color aims to develop and expand the academic and social support, mentorship, career networking, and advocacy efforts for students of color and other underrepresented students within the College of Environmental Design. Students of color include those who identify themselves as African-American, Native American, Asian American, Latina/o, and Pacific Islander, however CED-SOC is inclusive and embraces all forms of diversity including LGBTQ students, low-income students, and allies who value and work for equity and justice within low-income communities and communities of color.

Chicano Architectural Student Association

The Chicano/Latino Architecture Student Association, better known by the acronym CASA, is dedicated to providing outreach, support, and a professional network post-graduation for all students at Cal interested in any major in the College of Environmental Design. In addition, CASA is committed to working with other professional student organizations in the campus community to help raise more community awareness amongst ourselves and within the professional realm. CASA board members encourage all students to join, in the hope that CASA becomes for you what it is for us: great friends, great networking, and great support — a family.

DeCal

The DeCal Program (or just DeCal) is an aggregate of student-run courses at the University of California, Berkeley – here, students create and facilitate their own classes on a variety of subjects, many of which are not addressed in the traditional curriculum.
 

Design Engineering Collaborative

DEC aims to create a collaborative maker community by connecting people with diverse skills, equipping them with resources, and educating them through workshops.

Design For America

Design For America teaches human-centered design, collaborating community partners and implements innovative solutions based on insights into human needs, rapid prototyping, and user-testing.

Engineering World Health

We design and build low-cost medical devices, resources, and technologies for underdeveloped or developing nations.

Engineers Without Borders

We work with two communities in Peru to identify and implement technologies that reduce the level of arsenic in ground water to acceptable levels, or identify alternative drinking water sources.

Gamecraft

GameCraft seeks to expose students to the processes and joy of game design, development, and art. We aim to give students the path and resources to create their own game through all disciplines.

Global Architecture Brigades

Global Architecture Brigades is a student-led, volunteer, design/build organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life in underserved nations through the design and construction of socially responsible and sustainable architecture solutions. Global Architecture Brigade's current emphasis is to help villages of Latin America. Beyond the brigade, the activist culture bred in the organization will function as a connective strand between the Bay Area architectural academic and professional community, and inspire local engagement in volunteer design/build initiatives.

Ground Up Journal

Ground Up is the student journal of the Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning at University of California at Berkeley and an examination of a critical theme arising from the tension between contemporary landscape architecture, ecology and pressing cultural issues.

Her Campus At Berkeley

Her Campus is the #1 new-media brand for the empowered college woman. Written entirely by the world's top college journalists – with 7,000+ contributors and counting – HerCampus.com features national Style, Beauty, Health, Love, Life, Career, Entertainment, News, DIY, LGBTQ+, High School, and After College content supplemented by local content from 300+ campus chapters nationwide and in eight countries.

Humans Of Berkeley

Humans of Berkeley is a continuous social project uncovering the stories behind the diverse student body at Berkeley & advancing a multiculturalist approach in understanding the implications of that diversity through one-on-one storytelling & publishing.

Innovative Design

Innovative Design is a family of designers, photographers, web developers, and videographers united by the goal of making Berkeley beautiful. And in that process, we grow by collaborating, inspiring, and educating one another.

Maganda Magazine

{m}aganda is the longest running Filipino-American literary arts publication in the nation. They come from a heritage of Filipino / Fil-Am artists and cover a variety of topics. 

Open Computing Facility

The Open Computing Facility is an all-volunteer student organization located at the University of California, Berkeley. They are passionate about open source and free software.

Pioneers In Engineering

Pioneers in Engineering is a STEM outreach group that seeks to create engaging STEM experiences for East Bay students by providing mentorship to them as well as an exciting robotics competition every spring.

Planning Students Association

The Planning Students Association (PSA) is the student group for graduate students in the Department of City and Regional Planning. PSA supports the program professionally (through events such as alumni mixers, and helping gather and distribute professional resources), socially (through trips and other social events), and through advocacy for students (acting as a liaison between students and the department or broader university).

Right Angles

Right Angles is a student club and a magazine that highlights the often overlooked creative community and culture at UC Berkeley. 

Robotics At Berkeley

Robotics at Berkeley is an undergraduate robotics club that supports student-led projects, organizes robotics-related events, and serves as an informational hub for robotics opportunities on campus.

Room One Thousand

Room One Thousand is dedicated to interdisciplinary research and discourse around the topic of architecture. they are based in the College of Environmental Design at Berkeley.

Spoon University At Berkeley

Spoon University at Berkeley is an on-campus e-publication that will create weekly food articles online and host several food-related events throughout the semester. Our publication will give students a way to share, learn, & teach each other about food.

Virtual Reality at Berkeley

Virtual Reality at Berkeley is a student group dedicated to bringing virtual reality to the campus community. Our club provides students with access to virtual reality equipment and training and charters project teams to explore the applications and implications of virtual reality in diverse fields through research and development. By providing access to hardware and expertise, we aim to lower the barriers to experiencing and developing virtual reality technology. We are partnering with established labs on campus to investigate virtual and augmented reality as tools for robotics control systems, visualization of complex data, and as an interface for the future. We engage with the campus community through public demo days and infosessions.

Virtual Reality at Berkeley

Virtual Reality at Berkeley is a student group dedicated to bringing virtual reality to the campus community. This club provides students with access to virtual reality equipment and training and charters project teams to explore the applications and implications of virtual reality in diverse fields through research and development. By providing access to hardware and expertise, they aim to lower the barriers to experiencing and developing virtual reality technology. They are partnering with established labs on campus to investigate virtual and augmented reality as tools for robotics control systems, visualization of complex data, and as an interface for the future. Virtual Reality at Berkeley engages with the campus community through public demo days and infosessions.

Words Of The Watershed

Words of the Watershed is an undergraduate journal of local environmental writing and art, which will be published annually in print and online