Berkeley offers a variety of scholarship programs that can help you fund your education. In addition, you can search for outside scholarships to help with your educational expenses.
Scholarships for Berkeley Students
Please see the following web pages for more information on both UC Berkeley scholarships and outside scholarships.
Some students wonder why they are receiving a request to thank donors several months after receiving the scholarship notification. This page explains the scholarship cycle and the critical role you play in ensuring that UC Berkeley is able to continue to provide deserving students like you with financial support in the form of scholarships.
Step 1. Donors create named scholarships (year-round)
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Donors create scholarships for Berkeley students and specify a purpose for the scholarship, such as for a specific major. These donor-named scholarships are pooled together into general scholarship funds, such as the Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship, Fiat Lux, or the Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholarship.
Step 2. Berkeley offers students financial aid packages (spring)
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In the spring, Berkeley makes admissions decisions and offers students a financial aid package. These packages are based on what is available in the total scholarship funding pool. At this time, specific, donor-named scholarships are not yet matched to each student. Students receive their financial aid disbursement just before the fall semester begins.
Step 3. FASO matches students with donor-created scholarships (early fall)
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In the fall, once students are enrolled and registered for classes, the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office (FASO) matches each student receiving a scholarship with specific donor-named scholarships. This match is done to ensure that donor funds are matched with students who meet the requirements of the scholarships.
Step 4. Scholar information shared with UDAR (fall)
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The office of University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR) works with the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office (FASO) once students are matched with named scholarships. UDAR is the central fundraising unit on campus and the connection point between scholars and the UC Berkeley donor community. FASO shares scholarship recipient information with UDAR, and UDAR reaches out to scholars to request a scholarship profile.
Step 5. Students create scholarship profiles (fall)
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From September through December, UDAR contacts scholarship recipients through email to invite them to fill out a short online scholarship profile. Each scholarship recipient writes a scholarship profile to express appreciation for the donors’ generosity and to help the donors feel connected to the students they are supporting.
Step 6. UDAR sends profiles to donors (winter and spring)
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UDAR lightly edits scholarship profiles for grammar, spelling, and sensitive information. UDAR sends donors the scholarship profile(s) of the student(s) they are supporting. Student profile and experiences matter to donors, and they appreciate seeing that their money is being well spent in support of students’ education.
Expressing Gratitude for Your Scholarship
It’s a tremendous achievement to receive a scholarship from UC Berkeley.
UC Berkeley is able to provide scholarships like the Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship, Fiat Lux, and the Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholarship because of hundreds of donors who want to see students achieve their full potential in college.
Giving Thanks to Our Donors
The university shows its appreciation to these generous donors by sending them each a thank-you letter along with a personal message from each scholarship recipient. The donors of these scholarships are genuinely interested in learning about you and want to know that they are making a real difference in the lives of students.
That’s why we ask every recipient of a donor-funded scholarship to fill out a scholarship profile. The scholarship profile is an easy and effective way for you to express your appreciation to the donors who made your scholarship possible. Here’s how it works.
The Scholarship Profile
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Your scholarship profile is a meaningful way for you to express appreciation to the donors who made your scholarship possible and to help them understand the impact of their generosity.
Step 1: Each fall (between September and December), you'll receive an email from Fund Stewardship & Compliance (fundstewardship@berkeley.edu) in University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR) inviting you to complete your scholarship profile.
Step 2: The email will include a link to scholarship.berkeley.edu, where you can complete your profile through an easy-to-use online form. The site includes a sample report to help guide you in writing your responses. You'll also receive a brief biography of your scholarship donor in the same email. In many cases, you can also view the scholarship fund description in the My Finances section of your CalCentral account. Learning a bit about who's supporting you, and why, can help you decide what you'd like to share in return.
Step 3: You will have the option to upload a headshot. This step is optional, but sharing a photo helps the donors feel more connected to you by putting a face to your name and story.
Step 4: You will then be asked to respond to three short-answer prompts. Please write at least three to five sentences per answer to help give your donor a meaningful sense of who you are, what you are passionate about, and how their support is helping you achieve your goals. The form typically takes 20 to 45 minutes to complete, depending on how much you choose to share. You can save your progress and come back later.
Step 5: After you submit your profile, it will be reviewed for spelling and grammar before being shared with your donor. You also may be contacted about other optional ways to stay involved, such as meeting donors, recording a short video, or being featured in UC Berkeley scholarship materials. These opportunities are completely voluntary.
Your participation matters. By completing your scholarship profile, you're helping build a culture of gratitude and generosity that keeps the Berkeley community strong. Thank you for taking the time to share your story and being part of this incredible tradition of student success.
