How to Apply to Life Sciences and Pre-Health Study at UC Berkeley: Biological Sciences Mostly in Letters & Science, Choose a Primary Major When You Apply (or Apply Undeclared), Public Health Is a High-Demand Major, and the Path for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

The University of California, Berkeley is a public university in the UC system. Its life-science and health-related majors sit in several colleges: the College of Letters & Science (L&S) “Biological Sciences” group, Rausser College of Natural Resources, and one or two programs in the College of Chemistry and the College of Engineering. There is no pre-med major in the United States, and Berkeley puts pre-health counseling in Career Engagement’s Health Careers Counseling. This guide summarises Berkeley’s published information for fall 2027 entry for U.S. applicants, international applicants and applicants from China, followed by transfer students. Berkeley’s undergraduate catalog (undergraduate.catalog.berkeley.edu) is hosted on a third-party platform and was not accessed; course requirements below come from departmental pages.

1. Relevant undergraduate majors

• L&S Biological Sciences (admissions majors list): Integrative Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology, Neuroscience, Public Health, and “Undeclared – Biological Sciences” (first-year applicants only).
  • Integrative Biology (IB): the biological sciences page lists a BA with two emphases: Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology; and Integrative Human Biology. The page says it also suits students heading to medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, physical therapy, nursing, pharmacy and other health professions.
  • Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB): a BA. MCB’s own page lists six emphases (Biochemistry, Biophysics & Structural Biology; Cell Biology, Development & Physiology; Genetics, Genomics, Evolution & Development; Immunology & Molecular Medicine; Molecular Therapeutics; Neurobiology). The Biological Sciences page and MCB’s high-school page say “five”, and the admissions majors list uses slightly different emphasis names. The sources contradict each other; use MCB’s latest page.
  • Neuroscience: offered by the Department of Neuroscience, combining biology, psychology, behavior and computation, with an optional senior capstone. The L&S page does not give a degree name for it; the page’s description of the Robinson program refers to a BA in Neuroscience.
  • Public Health: a BA offered through L&S in cooperation with the School of Public Health. The School of Public Health says it is a high-demand major in L&S.
  • Robinson Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship (LSBE) Program: a joint program of Haas and L&S in which students earn a BS in Business Administration plus a BA in MCB, Integrative Biology or Neuroscience; the admissions list marks it first-year applicants only.
• Rausser College of Natural Resources (BS): nine undergraduate majors in total, four of them in the biological sciences: Genetics & Plant Biology, Microbial Biology, Molecular Environmental Biology, and Nutrition & Metabolic Biology (NMB). NMB requires 60 lower-division units and 36 upper-division units, 15 of which must be in Rausser College courses; all major courses need C- or better. The page says it prepares students for research and for health careers such as medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacology or registered dietitian, and provides the prerequisites for the department’s Master of Nutritional Sciences & Dietetics. Students admitted from fall 2024 can no longer pursue the legacy Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology majors; anyone interested in nutrition must declare NMB.
• College of Chemistry and College of Engineering: Chemical Biology is in the College of Chemistry (listed as a BS on the transfer page) and Bioengineering is in the College of Engineering. Engineering is mentioned only briefly here.
• No nursing bachelor’s program appears in the admissions majors list. Whether these majors are STEM-designated, and whether a combined bachelor’s/medical-degree program exists, is not stated on the pages we read; ask admissions.

2. Admission: choose a primary major when you apply

• Applying: through the UC application. Berkeley says you can choose a primary major and an alternate major, but Berkeley only guarantees review of the primary major and does not review the alternate. If you are sure of a major, Berkeley advises selecting it as primary. The alternate can be any major in any college.
• Undeclared is allowed: first-year applicants may select Undeclared as primary or alternate; Berkeley says it does not affect admission. L&S undeclared options are by division (for example “Undeclared – Biological Sciences”), and Rausser College also admits students as undeclared, who must declare by the end of their fourth semester.
• Changing after you submit: use the Contact Us form; Berkeley says to expect an email decision in five to seven days, and no new major changes are considered after January.
• L&S high-demand major policy (first-year students admitted fall 2023 and after): if you select a high-demand major as your primary major and are admitted to L&S, you are guaranteed a spot, subject to completing the prerequisites, maintaining good academic standing and filing a declaration form. If you change into a high-demand major after arriving, you get one opportunity, through review rather than a minimum GPA alone; opportunities are “extremely limited” and you must have an alternate plan for a non-high-demand major. In the pages we read, only the School of Public Health states that Public Health is high-demand; the full list is not given on the pages we read (check the L&S pages).
• Changing majors after enrolling: the application FAQ says it is usually possible, but high-demand majors such as engineering or the social sciences are harder to enter, and changing within the same college is easier.
• Declaration conditions (conditions to declare after you enrol, not conditions of admission):
  • Molecular and Cell Biology: MCB says it is “not an impacted major” and accepts students who meet the minimum course and GPA requirements and can finish the major in their remaining time. You need Biology 1A (with 1AL; a C or better on the first Bio 1A midterm) or an AP Biology score of 4 or 5; Chem 3B (past the early drop deadline); a 2.0 GPA in the major and in upper-division major courses; and a chosen emphasis. Declare by the end of the sixth semester, or the semester before your graduating term if that comes earlier.
  • Integrative Biology: 2.0 GPA in the major and in upper-division major courses; enrolled in or completed IB 77A or 77B (you can declare in your first semester); meet a staff advisor. Meeting a faculty advisor is strongly recommended (the page has a struck-through note that for fall 2026 it is required only if the major or upper-division GPA is below 2.5).
  • Neuroscience: completed Chem 1A/1AL and the calculus sequence (10A+10B, 51+52 or an approved sequence), enrolled in or completed Bio 1A and Physics 8A, and 2.0 GPAs in the major and upper-division major courses; for students admitted fall 2026 and after, C- or better in lower-division requirements. Students admitted fall 2025 and after must declare before the end of the fifth semester.
  • Public Health: see the prerequisites in section 4; the declaration form is due by the end of the fifth semester, with windows of 17 December–1 January and 17 May–1 June.
  • Rausser College: for students already in the college, Part A of Reading and Composition, a 2.0 cumulative GPA and C- or better in all courses required for the major.
• Departments’ declaration rules are not uniform and several pages carry effective-date notes (“fall 2026”, “fall 2025”). Use the version that applies to your entry year.

3. The pre-med path

• Office: Career Engagement’s Health Careers Counseling. It says its 30-minute appointments are open to currently registered students and eligible alumni, in person, by video or by phone, booked only through Handshake (more slots are released each week). Quick questions go to prehealth@berkeley.edu, and you can subscribe to a weekly “Health and Medicine” CareerMail through Handshake.
• Its pages list dental, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant and veterinary medicine as health professional schools, and one page lists international health volunteer, internship and study-abroad programs, including UC Education Abroad courses in molecular, cellular, developmental and medical biology.
• What departments say: MCB’s high-school page calls its program an excellent preparation for medical school, health professional schools and graduate school; Integrative Biology and Neuroscience say they prepare students for health professions such as medicine and dentistry; Nutrition & Metabolic Biology says many required pre-medicine and pre-health courses are part of its curriculum. MCB also says AP courses “do not delve into the details of the material in the way our courses at Cal do”, and so does not recommend using AP credit to waive prerequisites even though it accepts the scores.
• A recommended pre-health course list, medical school acceptance statistics, a statement on pre-health advising for international students, and any BS/MD program: not stated on the pages we read, not published there; contact prehealth@berkeley.edu or see Health Careers Counseling.

4. High-school preparation

• University-wide minimum (UC): 15 A-G college-preparatory courses (at least 11 before the last year of high school), each with a C or better: history 2 years, English 4, mathematics 3 (4 recommended), laboratory science 2 (3 recommended; fundamental knowledge in two of biology, chemistry or physics), language other than English 2 (3 recommended), visual and performing arts 1, college-preparatory elective 1. The GPA in A-G courses taken in 10th and 11th grade must be at least 3.0, 3.4 for nonresidents.
• The admissions pages we read do not state separate high-school math, chemistry or physics requirements for life-science majors; not stated there. MCB’s high-school page only “encourages” a strong background in math, chemistry, biology and physics for anyone considering a science major and says most first-semester freshmen take Math 10A and Chem 1A/1AL.
• First two years (departmental pages):
  • MCB: calculus (51+52 or 10A+10B), Chem 1A/1AL, organic chemistry 3A/3AL and 3B/3BL, Biology 1A/1AL and 1B, Physics 8A; Physics 8B is no longer required for students whose expected graduation term is fall 2026 or later. AP Calculus cannot replace the math requirement.
  • Integrative Biology: two math courses from lists A, B and C (A: 10A, 16A or 51; B: 10B, 16B or 52; C: Stat 2, 20, 21 or Data C8; at most one per list), Chem 1A/1AL, Biology 1A/1AL and 1B, Physics 8A (7A may substitute), and IB 77A or 77B. The page says standardized-test credit such as AP cannot satisfy major requirements.
  • Neuroscience: Chem 1A/1AL, Bio 1A/1AL, Physics 8A and 8B, and a calculus sequence; a data science, statistics or programming course is recommended.
  • Public Health: one lower-division course (Data C8); prerequisites are two biological science courses, a full year of math (one course from Part I and one from Part II), and two social science courses from two different subjects, each with C- or better, plus a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
• AP / IB / A-Level for prerequisites (what the pages say; departments differ): MCB accepts AP Chemistry 4 or 5 for Chem 1A/1AL and AP Biology 4 or 5 for Bio 1A/1AL and 1B; IB Chemistry 5, 6 or 7 for Chem 1A/1AL and IB Biology 5, 6 or 7 for Bio 1B only; A-Level Chemistry grade A for Chem 1A/1AL and Biology grade A for Bio 1A/1AL only. Neuroscience: AP Chemistry 5 for Chem 1A/1AL, AP Biology 5 for Bio 1A/1AL, IB HL Chemistry 7 for Chem 1A/1AL, and A-Level Chemistry or Biology grade A for the matching courses. Public Health: AP Biology 4 or 5 counts for one biological science prerequisite, and IB biology scores are not accepted at this time. Integrative Biology: not accepted. MCB, Neuroscience and Integrative Biology do not agree with one another.

5. Rounds, deadlines and materials

• One round: Berkeley says it does not offer early action or early decision. The UC application opens 1 August; Berkeley’s page gives a filing period of 1 October–30 November with a 30 November deadline (UC’s dates page lists the filing period for fall 2027 admission; Berkeley’s page prints no year, so check that it is fall 2027 entry).
• Later dates: receipt confirmation by early December; first-year decisions at the end of March; deadline to accept the offer 1 May; FAFSA and California Dream Act applications open 1 October and close 2 March (U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens only). A small number of students, mostly Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholarship nominees, are notified in February. Some applicants may be offered January (spring) entry, which Berkeley says does not affect financial aid, though campus library and University Health Services access is not available in the fall term. Late applications are not accepted.
• Testing: Berkeley is “test-free”: it does not use SAT or ACT scores in any part of the process; submitted scores may be used only for placement or subject credit after admission. AP, IB and similar subject tests are used as “value added” but are not required.
• Letters of recommendation: only invited applicants may submit them (up to two, at least one from a core-subject teacher); unsolicited letters are not accepted, not submitting one does not hurt, and the deadline is 10 January. Portfolios and senior-year grades are not accepted either.
• Essays: the UC Personal Insight Questions; the number and wording are not given on the pages we read, so see the UC pages.
• Interviews: no alumni or admissions-officer interviews; international applicants may submit an optional InitialView interview by 30 November.
• Transcripts: do not send transcripts with the application; admitted students see “Conditions of Admission” listing the official documents required.
• Application fee: UC’s application page says fee waivers can be requested from your family information and cover up to four campuses; the amount of the fee is not stated on the pages we read, so see the UC application.
• Review: holistic review. The main academic factors Berkeley lists include weighted and unweighted UC GPA, planned 12th-grade courses, pattern of grades over time, and the number and rigor of college-preparatory, AP, IB, honors and transferable college courses; the criteria carry “no pre-assigned weights”.

6. U.S. applicants

• In-state and out-of-state: the A-G GPA minimum differs for residents and nonresidents (3.0 and 3.4). The fee schedule is per semester; for new students in 2026-27: tuition $7,101, Student Services Fee $693, Berkeley Campus Fee $936, Transit Fee $236, Instructional Resilience & Enhancement Fee $141, Health Insurance Fee $2,533 and a $250 Document Management Fee. The California resident total is $11,890 per semester; nonresidents also pay Nonresident Supplemental Tuition of $19,635, for a total of $31,525 per semester. The admissions “Cost” page separately lists 2026-27 estimates for living in a residence hall: tuition and fees $18,214, living expenses $23,640, Student Health Insurance Plan $5,066, total direct costs $46,920 and total cost of attendance including personal expenses $54,674 (the page does not say whether that is for residents or nonresidents). The pages we read state no extra fee for biology-related majors; not published there.
• Residency: Berkeley says residency for admission and residency for tuition are separate, tuition residency is not decided by admissions (see the Registrar), and a nonresident undergraduate under 24 whose parents are not California residents will “most likely” remain nonresident for the whole degree. Two full years of California high school, or a parent or guardian with a permanent California address, may establish residency for admission.
• In-state priority: UC says that a California resident who meets the minimums, is not admitted to any campus applied to and ranks in the top 9% statewide or in the local context will be offered a spot at another campus with space; this is a UC-wide rule and does not guarantee Berkeley. For transfer, Berkeley says California community college applicants have priority.
• Aid: Berkeley says about two-thirds of students receive some aid and 38% pay nothing out of pocket for tuition because of grants and scholarships.
• Research and lab opportunities: MCB’s pages list undergraduate research, an honors program and the Harris Research Discovery Program; Integrative Biology’s honors program asks for a 3.3 overall and major GPA; Neuroscience offers an honors research course; Public Health offers an honors thesis and a “4+1” MPH. Places and application rules are on the departments’ pages and were not read in full.

7. International applicants

• Who counts: anyone who needs a visa to study in the United States or will graduate from a high school outside the U.S. A U.S. citizen or permanent resident living abroad is a domestic applicant with foreign credentials but must still show English proficiency.
• Credentials: you must finish secondary school and earn a certificate that allows admission to a university in your home country or country of graduation. Students who have only completed IGCSE or O-Levels have not yet met the requirement; they need two years of A-Levels (at least three academic exams), the IB Diploma or a similar curriculum. Applicants from countries with required military service are told not to apply until the obligation is met, because Berkeley does not guarantee deferred admission. Enter your grades exactly as on your school records and do not convert them; there is no pre-approved course list outside California. Exam results needed for further certification (French Baccalaureate, IGCSE, A-Levels, ATAR and so on) must be submitted after admission.
• English: TOEFL 90 (4.5 on the new scale) or better, IELTS 6.5 or better, or Duolingo English Test 115 or better; alternatively AP English Language or Literature 3, 4 or 5, IB Standard Level English A 6 or 7 or Higher Level 5, 6 or 7, ACT English Language Arts 24 or higher, or SAT Writing and Language 31 or higher; or three or more years of English as the language of instruction (mixed languages of instruction do not count). English must be satisfied by 31 January and scores must be valid for two years. The ETS code for TOEFL/SAT is 4833. An InitialView interview cannot replace a required English score.
• Proof of funds: handled by the Berkeley International Office after admission. Before a U.S. consul grants a visa you must prove sufficient funds and explain their source; every admitted international student completes a Non-immigrant Information Form (NIF) with a guarantee from the financial sponsor covering the first year, after which the Office issues the document needed for the visa application.
• International scholarships: Berkeley says federal, state and need-based university aid are generally not available to international students. Admitted undergraduate international students are automatically considered for the institutional scholarships they are eligible for, with no separate application: the Regents’ & Chancellor’s Scholarship (first-year and transfer international students), the Robinson International Scholars Program (refugees or stateless students, or graduates of secondary schools in Sub-Saharan Africa or developing nations as defined by the UN), the International Leaders Scholarship (need-based, up to four years, priority to students with Peruvian residence) and the Swaniker Scholars Program (students from across the African continent).
• Whether international students face limits in laboratory or clinical placements: not stated on the pages we read, not published there.

8. Applicants from China

• Credentials: UC’s country page says students following the Chinese national curriculum should list all courses and marks from grade 9 (year 3 of lower middle school) through grade 12 (years 1–3 of upper middle school) exactly as on official records, and be ready to submit the upper middle school Graduation Certificate and official lower and upper middle school academic records if admitted. Students following IGCSE/GCSE/GCE must complete at least five O-Levels and at least three academic A-Levels; IB students have separate instructions.
• Gaokao: the pages we read do not say how the Gaokao is used in Berkeley’s review; not published there, so contact admissions or see UC’s country page.
• Huikao (academic proficiency exam): not mentioned on the pages we read; not published there.
• English, interviews and funds: as in the previous section; Chinese-curriculum students without three years of English-medium instruction need TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo or another accepted evidence.
• Berkeley gives no separate math or science expectations for the Chinese curriculum on the pages we read; follow section 4 and confirm with admissions.

9. Transfer

• Deadlines: fall entry only; submit the UC application by 30 November; UC Transfer Academic Update (TAU) 31 January (priority); Berkeley mandatory forms 31 January; decisions at the end of April; deadline to accept the offer 1 June. Transfer applicants cannot submit letters of recommendation. The pages print no year; check that the dates are for fall 2027 entry.
• Minimums: at least 60 UC-transferable semester units by the end of the spring term before entry, an overall GPA of at least 3.0 in transferable college coursework (3.5 for Engineering), and lower-division major preparation courses. Requirements vary by college and major. L&S and the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society no longer require IGETC; applicants complete the UC 7-course pattern. Berkeley says that effective fall 2027 transfer students admitted to L&S are admitted directly into the major they selected, with no further internal application.
• Biology majors: Integrative Biology’s page says that effective fall 2026 transfer students are admitted directly to IB and only need to submit the online declaration form to choose an emphasis. This differs in timing from the admissions office’s “fall 2027”; check the latest pages. IB recommends finishing all lower-division courses before arriving. MCB’s page says prospective transfer students should plan to complete all lower-division prerequisites at their current institution, since failing to do so may affect admission; in general at least two semesters (three quarters) each of general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, calculus and calculus-based physics; calculus can be any two-semester combination of Math 1B, 53, 54, 55 and Stat 2 or 20; physics is not required to declare and can be taken at Berkeley; an introductory statistics course is strongly recommended. MCB says more than 75 transfer students join each year and advises students who have not finished a prerequisite series to postpone admission. Rausser College also requires 60 units, a 3.0 GPA and the major preparation courses; IGETC does not fully satisfy its lower-division requirements.
• Credit: up to 70 semester (105 quarter) units are granted for lower-division coursework; applicants over 80 semester (120 quarter) units (89 semester for Engineering) are ineligible; AP, IB and A-Level units are not counted in the limit. A second bachelor’s degree is not accepted except in Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the College of Chemistry. For international transfers, no TOEFL or IELTS is needed because the 7-course pattern is taken as proof of English; the institution must be recognized by your country’s ministry of education or a U.S. regional accreditor, and remedial or purely vocational courses are not transferable. Final credit decisions come after you enrol; report all post-secondary coursework in the application.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Submit the UC application from 1 October to 30 November (check the year); choose the right primary major, since only it is reviewed; SAT/ACT are not used
• Complete 15 A-G courses; nonresidents need a 3.4 A-G GPA; know the resident and nonresident fee difference

International applicants (including China):

• English reference points: TOEFL 90, IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 115, satisfied by 31 January; enter grades as on your records, without conversion
• Chinese curriculum: list all grade 9–12 courses and marks; confirm how the Gaokao is used with admissions; the International Office handles proof of funds after admission

Transfer students:

• Apply by 30 November; 60 units and a 3.0 GPA; finish the prerequisites first, and MCB advises postponing if they are unfinished

Sources: UC Berkeley, Majors list; L&S high-demand major policy; Biological Sciences undergraduate programs; Molecular and Cell Biology; MCB requirements; MCB declaring; MCB for high school students; MCB transfer; Integrative Biology requirements; Integrative Biology declaring; Integrative Biology transfer; Neuroscience requirements; Neuroscience declaring; Public Health undergraduate; Public Health curriculum; Public Health declaration; Rausser College majors; Nutrition and Metabolic Biology; Microbial Biology; Declaring in Rausser College; L&S declare or change a major; Health professional schools; Health Careers Counseling; International health opportunities; First-year applicants; First-year policies (testing, letters); Dates and deadlines; Application FAQs; UC first-year requirements; A-G subject requirement; UC dates and deadlines; UC application instructions; International students; Requirements for international students; Additional information by country (incl. China); Transfer students; Transfer requirements by college; Cost; Residency requirements; 2026-27 fee schedule; International student scholarships; Financial aid for international students. Information is for fall 2027 entry (costs are 2026-27 figures); check Berkeley’s website for the latest.