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Discover Your Future Here

Background image: Images from the Berkeley Discovery video

Welcome! Step into the Light.

It’s time to bring UC Berkeley’s motto of “Fiat Lux” - let there be light - to the forefront. The Discovery Initiative is taking UC Berkeley’s innovative spirit and turning it on higher education itself, creating engaged, inspired, and purpose-driven journeys of discovery for all students.

What is Discovery?

The hallmark of a Berkeley undergraduate education is to combine exceptional and innovative classroom learning with hands-on, immersive experience. We call this Discovery.

Discovery experiences such as internships, capstone projects, fellowships, study abroad, research, and creative endeavors give students the confidence and sense of direction that leads to a smoother launch into life after graduation. Our goal is for ALL students to have these kinds of transformative experiences - not just those who have historically been able to gain access to them.


For Students | How to Get Started with Discovery

The UC Berkeley campus is a treasure trove of opportunities to complement your academic experience, but how do you find them?  


See Discovery in Action | Student Stories

Hear how students connected to campus, immersed in engaging courses, and developed personalized culminating projects.  Watch more student stories >

Building a health education initiative

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Nilufar co-founded a health initiative by and for Afghans.

Interdisciplinary Design + Linguistics

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Adam started a company that sits at the confluence of design, sustainability, linguistic science, and accessibility.

Making waves

Yueyi helped build a data visualization tool to track ocean sound levels

Prisons and perspectives

Laura Rambo researches the economic implications of prison construction in rural counties in the 1980s and 90s.

Featured Campus Partner: Data Science Discovery Program

Berkeley Discovery brings together a robust ecosystem of campus partners, each offering high-impact, hands-on experiences to undergraduates. This month’s featured partner is the Data Science Discovery Program (DSDP).

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  • With 100 projects each semester, over 600 students per year bring multidisciplinary insights and solutions to real-life problems.

  • DSDP incubates and accelerates data science and AI research in academia, government, non-profit, and industry.

  • Returning DSDP students serve as program mentors, building leadership skills while they reinforce their own learning.

  • The Data Science Discovery Consultants, a vibrant team of UC Berkeley undergraduate students, support Data Science Discovery projects. Their rigorous training in research pedagogy, data analysis, and machine learning equips them to untangle complex data challenges encountered by students in the Data Science Discovery Program.