UC Berkeley acceptance rate by major
UC Berkeley social sciences acceptance rate
UC Berkeley (UCB) admitted 1,758 of 20,627 first-year social sciences applicants for fall 2025, or 8.5%. That is 2.8 percentage points below the campus as a whole (11.3%).
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UC Berkeley social sciences, fall 2025
Admit rate
8.5%
Campus overall 11.3%
Applicants
20,627
Every residency
Admitted
1,758
788 enrolled
Admitted GPA, middle half
4.15 to 4.29
UC weighted, capped
How social sciences compares with UC Berkeley overall
It ranked 5th lowest of the 11 disciplines with a page at UC Berkeley that fall. In fall 2012, the first fall UC printed for this discipline here, 9,113 applied and 1,482 were admitted (16.3%). By fall 2025 applicants numbered 20,627. Across the 14 falls UC printed, the rate was lowest in fall 2022 (7.4%) and highest in fall 2017 (17.4%).
| Fall | Applied | Admitted | Admit rate | Whole campus | Admitted GPA, middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20,627 | 1,758 | 8.5% | 11.3% | 4.15 to 4.29 |
| 2024 | 18,816 | 1,683 | 8.9% | 11.0% | 4.16 to 4.29 |
| 2023 | 20,493 | 1,746 | 8.5% | 11.7% | 4.14 to 4.29 |
| 2022 | 21,782 | 1,604 | 7.4% | 11.3% | 4.16 to 4.31 |
| 2021 | 18,860 | 2,086 | 11.1% | 14.4% | 4.11 to 4.30 |
| 2020 | 13,490 | 2,185 | 16.2% | 17.5% | 4.09 to 4.29 |
| 2019 | 12,741 | 2,060 | 16.2% | 16.3% | 4.12 to 4.30 |
| 2018 | 12,493 | 1,823 | 14.6% | 14.8% | 4.13 to 4.30 |
| 2017 | 15,339 | 2,668 | 17.4% | 17.1% | 4.10 to 4.30 |
| 2016 | 13,635 | 2,266 | 16.6% | 16.9% | 4.09 to 4.30 |
| 2015 | 10,369 | 1,766 | 17.0% | 16.9% | 4.12 to 4.30 |
| 2014 | 9,753 | 1,529 | 15.7% | 16.0% | 4.07 to 4.29 |
| 2013 | 10,331 | 1,664 | 16.1% | 17.6% | 4.07 to 4.30 |
| 2012 | 9,113 | 1,482 | 16.3% | 18.0% | 4.00 to 4.28 |
Only the falls in which UC printed both applicants and admits for Social Sciences at UC Berkeley are shown (14 of 14). The whole-campus column is every first-year applicant to UC Berkeley that fall.
Social Sciences at other UC campuses, fall 2025
| Campus | Applied | Admitted | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley (this page) | 20,627 | 1,758 | 8.5% |
| UCLA | 24,248 | 2,220 | 9.2% |
| UC San Diego | 24,878 | 6,501 | 26.1% |
| UC Irvine | 20,261 | 6,409 | 31.6% |
| UC Santa Barbara | 33,738 | 12,720 | 37.7% |
| UC Davis | 18,584 | 8,775 | 47.2% |
| UC Santa Cruz | 10,831 | 7,308 | 67.5% |
| UC Riverside | 14,902 | 13,379 | 89.8% |
| UC Merced | 8,622 | 8,049 | 93.4% |
Does UC Berkeley admit by major?
Neither UC's discipline table nor any page from UC Berkeley that we have on file says whether UC Berkeley weighs the intended major in first-year review, so this page does not say either. Ask UC Berkeley's admissions office before reading this rate as the odds for one major.
UC counts an applicant under the broad discipline of the major they listed. These counts include applicants from California, other states and other countries together, so a California student’s own rate can differ.
UC Berkeley social sciences acceptance rate: questions
- What is the UC Berkeley social sciences acceptance rate?
- In fall 2025, UC Berkeley admitted 1,758 of 20,627 first-year social sciences applicants, 8.5%, by UC's own count of every applicant in state and out.
- Is social sciences harder to get into than UC Berkeley overall?
- In fall 2025 its rate was 2.8 percentage points below the campus as a whole (11.3%). It ranked 5th lowest of the 11 disciplines with a page at UC Berkeley that fall.
- Does UC Berkeley admit by major?
- Neither UC's discipline table nor any page from UC Berkeley that we have on file says whether UC Berkeley weighs the intended major in first-year review, so this page does not say either. Ask UC Berkeley's admissions office before reading this rate as the odds for one major.
- What GPA do UC Berkeley social sciences admits have?
- The middle half of admitted social sciences applicants had a UC weighted, capped GPA of 4.15 to 4.29 in fall 2025, against 4.15 to 4.29 for all of UC Berkeley. The range describes who was admitted; it is not a cutoff.
More on UC Berkeley
- UC Berkeley acceptance rate by major, every discipline
- How to get into UC Berkeley: GPAs, test scores and activities of admits
- UC acceptance rates by major at every campus
- UC acceptance rates for every California high school
Other majors at UC Berkeley: Architecture · Arts & Humanities · Computer Science · Engineering · Life Sciences · Other/Interdisciplinary · Physical Sciences/Math · Public Admin · Public Health · Undeclared
Weighing social sciences at UC Berkeley?
A Specialist can read your student’s file against these numbers and talk through which major and campus fit it.
Source: University of California Information Center, Freshman admission by discipline, fall 2012 to 2025. UC leaves a number blank when it is too small to print, and this page never fills one in. GPAs are UC’s weighted, capped GPA. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with the University of California.