University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley (also referred to as UC Berkeley, Berkeley, and Cal  is a public research university located in Berkeley, California. Founded in 1868, Berkeley is one of the ten research universities affiliated with the University of California system and is ranked as one of the world's most prestigious universities and the top public university in the United States.

Established in 1868 as the University of California, resulting from the merger of the private College of California and the public Agricultural, Mining and Mechanical Arts College in Oakland, Berkeley offers approximately 350 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines.

In 1866, the private College of California purchased the land comprising the current Berkeley campus. Because it lacked sufficient funds to operate, it eventually merged with the state-run Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College to form the University of California, the first full-curriculum public university in the state.

Ten faculty members and almost 40 students made up the new University of California when it opened in Oakland in 1869.