berkeley physics phd reddit

Graduate Admissions

Applying to UC Berkeley's Physics Graduate Program

The application deadline for Fall 2025 admission to the Berkeley Physics Ph.D. program is:

December 13 2024, at 8:59 PM (Pacific Standard Time)/11:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time)

Your application should be complete — meaning that all of your letters and supplemental materials should be uploaded — by this deadline. Application review commences immediately after the deadline; as such, we cannot guarantee that materials received after the deadline (including letters of recommendation) will be fully reviewed.

Apply for graduate admission online (click here to go to online application)

Updates for Fall 2025 graduate admissions

• Submission of a  Physics Subject GRE score is  OPTIONAL
• General GRE scores will  not be reviewed . Please do not submit your general GRE scores to Berkeley Physics.

At this time, no determination has been made if the GRE and/or Physics GRE scores will be required application materials for graduate admission in fall 2026 and beyond.

Our graduate admissions committee conducts a holistic evaluation of all applications, which takes into consideration recommendation letters, academic achievements, research experience, a record of leadership and outreach activities, efforts to promote diversity, personal history, and more.

We require a minimum of three letters of recommendation. You will invite your recommenders to submit their letters through the online application. All letters should be uploaded by the application deadline.

Please do NOT send updated transcripts, publications, etc. after the application deadline. Applications will not be updated after the December 11th deadline with transcripts showing fall grades. Letter writers are still able to upload letters of recommendation via the Slate submission links, but we cannot guarantee that the committee will have them available for review since the application deadline has passed.

Please read the application instructions thoroughly. All supporting materials, including your transcript(s), should be uploaded to your application. Your application will be reviewed with your unofficial transcripts. If you ultimately are admitted and enroll at Berkeley, you will submit official transcripts prior to matriculating.

You must submit a course and textbook list of all the third- and fourth-year physics, astrophysics, and mathematics courses that you have completed. Download our  "Course and Textbook List" form here  ( alternate link 1  /  alternate link 2 ). You may complete our form directly, or you may use our form as a template to create your own document; please save the completed document as a PDF and upload it to the Physics Program page in the online application.

We typically begin making offers of admission in mid-February. Our final offers of admission will be made no later than mid-March.

Please check our  frequently asked questions (FAQ) , compiled from inquiries by prospective graduate students. 

To contact our staff regarding graduate admissions, please email  [email protected] .