How to apply to UC Berkeley for art: the Department of Art Practice offers one fine-arts BA and no commercial design; listing it as your intended major lets you declare without a portfolio — portfolio requirements and timelines for students in China, students in Canada and transfer students

At the University of California, Berkeley, undergraduate art is taught by the Department of Art Practice in the College of Letters and Science, which offers one undergraduate degree: the BA in Art Practice. Berkeley uses the University of California application and admits for fall. Here is what you need to know, based on official UC Berkeley information, for students at high schools in China (including A-Level, IB and AP students), students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver), and transfer students.

1. Know the focus: fine art, not commercial design

• Studio areas: painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture (wood, metal, ceramic and mixed media), digital photography, installation, performance, social practice and video, plus a few classes in comics, experimental animation and sound art.
• Not offered: the department says it does not specialise in commercial fields such as character animation, illustration, graphic design, logo design, fashion or UX design, and suggests students seeking those find another program.
• Courses: 12 courses in the major. Five lower-division: ART 8 Introduction to Visual Thinking, three lower-division studio courses and one lower-division art history course. Eight upper-division: ART 119 Global Perspectives in Contemporary Art, ART 185 Senior Projects / Professional Practices, one upper-division art history course focused on 20th-century or contemporary art, and five upper-division studio courses. Most upper-division studios include an exhibition component.
• Honors Studio Program: each semester nine senior majors are given studios.
• Total degree units and the full Letters and Science requirements were not checked here; see the department’s “How to Complete the Art Practice Major” checklist and the Berkeley catalog.

2. Getting into the major: two routes

Art Practice is a high-demand major, so not everyone who applies is accepted. For first-years entering from fall 2023 there are two routes:

• Art Practice chosen as your intended major on the UC application: after finishing the prerequisites, submit the Major Declaration Form from the Student Services Advisor by the start of the first semester of junior year. No portfolio or formal application is needed if you meet these conditions:
  • a 2.0 GPA in the prerequisites, each with a C- or better;
  • a 2.0 GPA in the semester you declare, each course C- or better;
  • a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
  The department warns not to declare another major first, as that removes “Applied HD Art Practice” from CalCentral.
• Art Practice not chosen at admission (Discoverer path): the same three GPA conditions, plus a portfolio review and formal application by the first semester of junior year; applications open at the start of fall and spring semesters. Students get one attempt, decisions are final, and a non-high-demand back-up major is required.
  • The department page still lists the “next application deadline” as Sunday 27 September 2026, 11:59pm, which has passed; the spring 2027 round deadline is not shown, so confirm with the Student Services Advisor.
  • First- and second-year students may apply as soon as they are enrolled in or have finished ART 8, one lower-division studio course and an art history course; the first semester of junior year is the last chance.
• Prerequisites: Reading & Composition requirements; ART 8 (required) and one Art Practice studio class (or a junior college equivalent), completed or in progress; one lower-division History of Art course, completed or in progress.
• Portfolio requirements: the Discoverer route requires a portfolio, but the number of works and format are in the department’s “How to Apply to the Art Practice Major” document, which is a Google document and was not read for this guide; check the department page.
• The pages differ: the degrees overview says declaring the major “requires passing a portfolio review”, while the BA page says intended-major students “do not need to submit a portfolio review or formal application”. The BA page is more specific, but confirm with the Student Services Advisor.
• Double majors: the department advises prioritising Art Practice first because its required courses are hard to get into.

3. First-year application: dates and requirements

• Dates: the UC application opens 1 August; submit between 1 October and 30 November; decisions at the end of March; accept by 1 May. Berkeley may also admit some waitlisted students to start in January.
• Minimum: a 3.0 GPA in A-G courses in grades 10 and 11, 3.4 for non-residents; meeting the minimum is often not enough.
• SAT/ACT: Berkeley is test-free; submitted scores are used only for placement or credit.
• Letters: only invited applicants may submit up to two letters, due 10 January; submission is voluntary.
• Portfolio: neither the Berkeley admissions pages nor the Art Practice pages read for this guide ask first-year applicants for an art portfolio.
• Fee: US$95 per UC campus.

4. International academic and English requirements

• Curriculum: IGCSE or O-Level alone is not enough; you also need the two-year A-Level program (at least three academic exams), the IB diploma or a similar curriculum, and admitted students submit their A-Level or other results.
• English (by 31 January; scores valid for two years from enrolment): TOEFL 90 (4.5 on the new scale), IELTS 6.5 or Duolingo 115; or AP English Language or Literature 3+; or IB English A SL 6+ or HL 5+.

5. Students at high schools in China

• Neither Berkeley nor UC publishes Gaokao requirements, or how provincial art exams or school-set art exams are used.
• A-Level students must complete two years with at least three academic exams; the IB diploma meets the curriculum requirement.
• If you want Art Practice, list it as your intended major so you can declare later without a portfolio.

6. Students at Canadian high schools

• Under UC’s country requirements, students outside Quebec (including BC) complete 12 years of schooling and the provincial graduation diploma; Quebec students complete the DES and the two-year CEGEP DEC.
• Berkeley does not publish grade requirements for Canadian provincial curricula.

7. Costs (US$)

• Tuition (Registrar, 2026-27 cohort): non-residents pay 31,275 a semester, including 19,635 nonresident supplemental tuition; the first semester for new students is 31,525 with a one-time document fee. The 2027-28 cohort rates are not yet published.
• Living costs: the 2026-27 admissions budget lists 23,640 for campus housing and food.
• Aid: the pages read do not describe aid or scholarships for international students; confirm with admissions or financial aid.

8. Transfer

• Letters and Science requirements: the UC 7-course pattern, at least 60 transferable semester units, major preparation as shown on ASSIST, and at least a 3.0 transferable GPA by the end of the fall term in which you apply.
• Direct admission to the major from fall 2027: admissions says transfer students admitted to L&S from fall 2027 are admitted directly into the major they selected, with no separate internal process.
• What the Art Practice page says: transfers can be admitted directly to the major if they indicate Art Practice on the UC application; undeclared (Discovery) transfers apply in their first semester, having taken at least one fine art studio class and one art history class at community college, and take ART 8 at Berkeley in their first semester. Admissions’ direct-admit note and the department’s Discovery route differ, so both are given; confirm the 2027 arrangements with the department.
• Credit: the department welcomes about 30 community college transfers a year with the same graduation requirements; up to four lower-division fine art studio courses transfer, but design, illustration, fashion and other commercial courses do not; transfers typically finish in four semesters. ART 8 and ART 185 must be taken at Berkeley.
• International transfers: same requirements; completing the 7-course pattern satisfies English proficiency.

Checklist

Students at high schools in China:

• Submit the UC application between 1 October and 30 November with Art Practice as your intended major
• A 3.4 A-G GPA is only the minimum; TOEFL 90 (4.5), IELTS 6.5 or Duolingo 115 by 31 January
• At Berkeley, take ART 8, a studio course and an art history course with a 2.0+ GPA, and declare by the first semester of junior year

Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver):

• Apply by 30 November; no SAT/ACT; if you want commercial design, this department is not the right fit

Transfer students:

• 60 semester units and a 3.0 GPA; choose Art Practice on the application; take fine art studio and art history classes at community college first

Sources: UC Berkeley and the University of California, Art Practice BA degree; Art Practice degrees overview; First-year applicants; Testing and letters policy; Requirements for international students; Dates and deadlines; Transfer requirements by college; Cost; Registrar fee schedule; UC requirements by country. This covers fall 2027 entry (fees are for the 2026-27 entering cohort); check the UC Berkeley and UC websites for the latest.