University of California, Berkeley Scholarships for International Students 2026

Yes, but mostly through specific online programs rather than one universal scholarship for every online course.

Generally, UC Berkeley scholarships can connect to a very wide range of subjects because Berkeley has more than 130 academic departments at the undergraduate level and more than 200 graduate programs. That means scholarships and funded opportunities can appear in engineering, business, law, STEM fields, humanities, social sciences, environmental studies, public health, data science, cybersecurity, and many interdisciplinary areas.

For personal examples from Berkeley recipients, Jeyhun Khalilov studied Technology Law, Elishba studied business through the MBA, and Ahmed Abubakari studied public health in Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health.

UC Berkeley does not operate from one simple nationality-only list for all scholarships. In practice, Berkeley welcomes students from many countries, and its graduate population includes large international groups from countries such as China, India, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Brazil, Indonesia, and Mexico.

For undergraduate international scholarships, Berkeley automatically considers first-year and transfer international students for some programs, but several are targeted. Outside scholarships can be even more nationality-specific, which is exactly what happened in the Berkeley recipient stories: Elishba came through Fulbright from Pakistan, Ahmed Abubakari through the Mastercard Foundation as a Ghanaian applicant, and Jeyhun Khalilov through Azerbaijan’s state scholarship program.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. For undergraduate international first-year applicants, Berkeley accepts several ways to prove English, including TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, certain AP or IB English scores, certain ACT or SAT English scores, or 3 or more years of English-language instruction. For international transfer applicants, TOEFL and IELTS are usually not required if English proficiency has already been satisfied through the UC 7-course pattern.

For graduate admissions, Berkeley normally requires TOEFL or IELTS unless you qualify for an exemption through prior English-medium study. This matches the recipient stories closely. Jeyhun Khalilov said, “I got a waiver from the language requirement,” and Ahmed Abubakari wrote, “I didn’t take the GRE or IELTS,” because his earlier study was in English.

Yes, there is a minimum, but competitive applicants are usually far above it. For undergraduate admission, Berkeley says applicants should meet the UC minimum GPA rules, including a 3.4 GPA for non-residents in A-G courses. However, Berkeley also makes clear that meeting the minimum is usually not enough to be competitive. Recent admitted first-year students had a much stronger profile, with a middle 50% unweighted GPA of 3.89 to 4.00, while admitted transfers had a middle 50% college GPA of 3.61 to 3.96.

For graduate admission, Berkeley usually expects at least a 3.0 GPA. The recipient stories also show the level many funded applicants reach: Elishba graduated in the top 10% of her class, and Jeyhun Khalilov explained that his external scholarship required an 80+ GPA.

There’s no general Berkeley-wide maximum age limit for admission or scholarships. The Berkeley recipient stories also feel reassuring here because they are not all traditional straight-from-school cases. Jeyhun Khalilov was already a lawyer, Elishba entered Berkeley through the MBA route after professional experience, and Ahmed Abubakari came as an obstetrician-gynecologist moving into public health.

For undergraduate admission and scholarship consideration, a strong background usually means finishing secondary school, meeting the A-G pattern, clearing English proficiency, and presenting grades that are comfortably above the UC minimum for international applicants. For graduate study, the baseline is normally a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, usually at least a 3.0 GPA, and enough training or professional experience to succeed in the chosen field. Some programs can also require GRE, GMAT, or MCAT scores.

The recipient stories show that strong Berkeley scholarship candidates are not just academically solid but also purposeful and distinctive. Elishba wrote that “academics matter,” but she also stressed personal narrative and impact beyond the classroom. Ahmed Abubakari paired medical training with grassroots advocacy for vulnerable women, and Jeyhun Khalilov combined law study with journals, AI policy work, and Berkeley leadership experience.

For undergraduate applications, Berkeley uses the UC application and expects you to self-report your academics from your transcripts rather than upload transcripts at the start. For first-year applicants, the application includes academic history, activities and awards, exams if relevant, scholarship categories, and four personal insight question responses chosen from eight. For transfer applicants, it includes all colleges attended and four personal insight question responses, with one required and three chosen. Berkeley says it does not ask applicants for transcripts, portfolios, or other supporting documents during the initial review, but official records are checked later if you enroll. International admits also complete visa-related items such as the Non-immigrant Information Form and proof of funding.

For graduate applications, you should usually expect unofficial transcripts from every post-secondary institution, degree certificates for international applicants, certified translations or WES ICAP if needed, English proficiency proof unless exempt, letters of recommendation, a Statement of Purpose, a Personal History statement, and any extra program essays or tests required by the department. This lines up with the recipient stories too: Elishba highlighted “letters of recommendation” and essays, while Jeyhun Khalilov and Ahmed Abubakari both benefited from English-instruction waivers instead of submitting IELTS.

Yes. For undergraduate applications, the fee is $80 per UC campus, or $95 for international and non-immigrant applicants. For graduate applications, the general Berkeley Graduate Division fee is $135 for U.S. citizens or permanent residents and $155 for all others, although some graduate programs may have fee exemptions. So for most international scholarship applicants, the usual numbers are $95 for undergraduate applications and $155 for graduate applications.