New Arrivals

WELCOME TO THE UC BERKELEY DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS!

Admission to the Ph.D. program is highly competitive. Congratulations on this impressive achievement, which reflects both your outstanding academic record and your potential for success in scholarly research. We are thrilled you will be joining us this fall!

This website will be regularly updated with deadlines and other pertinent information to help guide you through the transition to Berkeley and the beginning of your first semester.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Prepare to Enroll: You've accepted our offer, now take the next steps to create your CalNet ID and prepare for enrollment by clicking here.
International Arrivals: The Berkeley International Office (BIO) provides students services to international students across campus. BIO is responsible for issuing visa documents for students at UC Berkeley with F-1 or J-1 student visas. Click here to be redirected to BIO's website tailored to new international student arrivals.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Econ 204: Summer Session E, July 22 - August 9, 2024; Final Exam, August 14, 2024. Specific information on requests to waive the course can be in this handout.
Requests for Econ 204 Waivers: Requests to waive Econ 204 must be submitted by July 1, 2024. Please see below for procedures.
New Student Orientation: July 18 - New Student Orientation will be an 1 day event. More details to come!
Graduate Division's New Graduate Student Orientation: TBD, will be in August before the start of instruction.

SERVICES AND RESOURCES FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Where to Begin: A Guide for New Graduate Students
Campus Resources for Graduate Students - The links under "First Steps for New Students" may be particularly useful.
Campus Life at UC Berkeley
Graduate Housing
Berkeley International Office Housing Resources
University Health Services: New Student Medical Checklist
Cal Recreational Sports
Getting to Campus
Obtaining and Using your Cal 1 Card (Cal Student ID Card)
Learn more about your Class Pass - The Class Pass enables registered students to ride free of charge on AC Transit buses and Bear Transit shuttle buses throughout the semester. Please note that domestic students will not be registered until the official start of the fall semester (August 21, 2024).

Main Websites for Campus Resources:

Main Websites for Student Information:

CalCentral - UC Berkeley's new student information system. The campus is undergoing a transition from old systems to CalCentral. Please notify me as soon as possible if anything looks amiss; through this transition phase we will experience some bugs so we appreciate your patience.
UC PATH- Employment information, electronic funds transfer for employment

WHEN TO ARRIVE

Orientations and Receptions

The Department of Economics' New Student Orientation will be held July 18th. This will be a day program. More details to come!
Berkeley International Office Graduate Student Orientation will be held before the start of the Fall 2024 term, exact date will be updated here.
Graduate Division's New Graduate Student Orientation, TBD.

Beginning July 22, all new students (including course-work only, and exchange students) will be taking Econ 204 (see below) up to four hours a day Monday through Friday and studying a signficant amount of time outside of class. Consider arriving a few weeks to one month prior to July 22 to find housing, explore the area, and get yourself settled. Housing resources can be found in the links above.

Fall Courses Start Wednesday August 28! The Fall 2024 (and beyond) student calendar can be found here.

ACADEMICS

ECON 204: Mathematical Tools for Economists: This mandatory course begins prior to the official start of the Fall semester on Monday, July 22, 2024 and ends Friday, August 9, 2024, with the final exam on August 14th. Please see this year's Econ 204 summary for more information on course content, as well as the possibility of receiving a waiver. Instructions on how to enroll for Econ 204 will be emailed only to students permitted enrollment in the course.

*Important Note for International Students* Once international students apply for their I-20 or DS-2019, they are ineligible for the waiver. If international students apply for the waiver, they are encouraged to do so as soon as possible. If you are not enrolled in Econ 204 because you've been given a waiver, this means your earliest entry-date will be 30 days prior to August 27, as compared to 30 days prior to July 22.

Year 1 Course Requirements: During the first two semesters of study, students must take a set of eight core courses to satisfy requirements in mathematics, economic history, economic theory, and econometrics. Details on the first year can be found here: Year 1 Requirements.

REGISTRATION AND FEES

The following Econ 204 registration instructions apply only to our new Ph.D. students. If you are an exchange student visiting the department for a semester or year, you must consult an International Advisor with the International Concurrent Enrollment program through UC Extension for your early arrival and registration in Econ 204.

Registration (Applies for domestic students only): Registration for classes via CalCentral will take place the first week of August. You will receive an email from the Registrar's Office detailing your registration date and time near the end of July. International Ph.D. students will be registered for Econ 204 for the summer term and the fees will be paid by the Department of Economics.

Tuition and Fees: Fees for the 2024-2025 academic year will be be updated here.

Payment: Payment of fees will be due in mid-August (in full or first installment). Your statement will be available online in early August. Statements will reflect all Department of Economics fellowships.

DEPARTMENT INFORMATION

Navigating the Department:

The Department of Economics takes up the entire 6th floor of Evans Hall and part of the 5th floor, with the main office located in 530 Evans Hall. You will find faculty and staff in the outer offices along the main hallways and student offices, as well as a few meeting spaces, along the central hallway. The two main Econ classrooms located in the department are 648 Evans and 639 Evans with 648 being the larger of the two. 611 Evans Hall, The Peixotto (Pe-Show-Toe) Room is the student lounge which is open to students 24hrs a day; students use this area to meet and study. Graduate student mailboxes and some lockers are located in 612 Evans Hall where you will also find a microwave. Last but not least, the Graduate Student Services Office is located in 541 Evans Hall.

Graduate Economics Association (GEA): The GEA is a student association that organizes social activities for Economics graduate students. The main events are the skit party and the "Little Big Game" versus Stanford, which is a series of competitions (soccer, touch football, frisbee, and volleyball). The GEA also organizes productivity seminars, an Oakland A's baseball game in the summer, and a picnic for new students. All Economics Graduate students are by default, members of the GEA.

Building an Equitable Equilibrium (previously WEB): The group's goal is to increase representation in economics by dismantling barriers to participation in our field and confronting bias. They recognize that we operate within a discipline with a long history of systemic exclusion of students and scholars based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, or other historically oppressed identities. Making economics more inclusive will require breaking down these systems and building new ones that facilitate broader, more diverse, and more equitable scholarship.