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Help empower our graduate students to make a difference

Gifts to graduate education ensure Berkeley’s legacy and help build a more resilient future. Your contribution  allows us to recruit and support the best and brightest minds to join our stellar community of more than 13,000 graduate scholars.

It provides mentoring, resources, and community support. This helps students be their best. It also helps them balance their personal lives and academic aspirations. Your gift gives us the means to deliver an inclusive, world-class experience to graduate students, so they can make a difference at Berkeley and beyond.

There are many ways you can support Berkeley’s graduate community.

  • Graduate Fellowship & Support Fund
  • Graduate Student Experience Fund  
  • Graduate Diversity Support Fund 
  • Inclusive Excellence Hub

Additional graduate giving opportunities target more defined areas from professional development to teaching skills. Our matching funds programs are a great way to increase your impact. We also welcome discussing special naming opportunities that can align with a specific area of need.

Private philanthropy is a critical component of several robust efforts to boost Berkeley’s finances. Whereas the State of California used to generously fund Berkeley, today it provides only about 14 percent of the university’s budget. This means that philanthropy, more than ever, is essential to ensuring critical support for the core elements that define Berkeley’s excellence.

Graduate Fellowships & Support Fund

Graduate students reflect the very best of Berkeley and are invaluable contributors to the teaching, research and public service mission of the university. Berkeley is committed to serving the public good, and recruiting a diverse and talented pool of graduate students is part of that mission. Faculty at Berkeley, so many of whom are world-renowned in their fields, often cite the high caliber of our graduate students as the top factor contributing to their work satisfaction. 

Make a Gift to the Graduate Fellowships & Support Fund

Graduate Student Experience Fund

Your gift impacts the Berkeley graduate student experience in meaningful ways.

  • Professional development resources and training that prepare students to succeed in graduate studies and beyond
  • Graduate student life social and financial support systems for parents and caregivers
  • Graduate student life social and cultural activities that enhance the overall well-being of our graduate student community

A groundbreaking survey of Berkeley Ph.D. alums spanning 40 years revealed that many students, particularly those in science and engineering, have for many years chosen careers outside of academia. Your support for Graduate Professional Development helps students recognize potential career paths. It also helps them set and achieve professional development goals, while  building skills vital to careers in education, industry, government, and more.

Make a Gift to the Graduate Student Experience Fund

Support for Graduate Diversity

In response to social injustices and racial unrest, the Graduate Division has developed a set of concrete efforts to change the status quo and move us toward becoming the anti-racist, truly inclusive institution we need to be. As the top public university, the changes in campus climate we create will serve as a model for institutions around the country.

Your support can help fund our:

  • Diversity and Community Fellows Program
  • Annual Diversity Admissions Fair
  • The Summer Research Opportunity Program
  • Path to the Professoriate Program
Diversity Giving Opportunities

Inclusive Excellence Hub

The Inclusive Excellence Hub will house innovative programs to support Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging for historically underrepresented graduate students. Your support for the Inclusive Excellence Hub means:

  • Amplifying Berkeley’s mission as a beacon of opportunity for promising students from all backgrounds
  • Attracting highly qualified, underrepresented prospective graduate students to bring their brilliance to Berkeley
  • Creating a space where programs focused on strengthening diversity thrive

To learn how you can help, contact Liz Moress, Executive Director of Development at [email protected]

Learn more about the Hub

Make your Gift Today

Browse our various funds using the lefthand navigation above, or make an online gift to support graduate fellowships using our giving link below.

If you’d like to talk through various giving options, contact our Executive Director for Development, Liz Moress, at (510) 643-5043 or [email protected].

Give now