The University of California, Berkeley, (also referred to as UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, Cal Berkeley, and California) is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, UC Berkely transcript. Founded in 1868, Berkeley is the oldest of the ten research universities in the University of California system, and is often cited as 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.

The Dwinelle Bill of March 5, 1868 (California Assembly Bill No. 583) stated that the “University shall have for its design, replacement transcript, to provide instruction and thorough and complete education in all departments of science, literature and art, industrial and profession pursuits, and general education, and also special courses of instruction in preparation for the professions… .”