Dear Berkeley undergraduate student,
We invite you to take the first Student Pulse Survey of the fall semester. These confidential, three-minute Pulse Surveys capture your feedback so UC Berkeley can better support you. As a token of our appreciation, if you complete the survey, you will have a chance to win a $100 gift card of your choice.
The Fall 2025 Pulse Survey #1 is now open
This Pulse Survey asks for your thoughts on your experiences around recreational facilities, the Student Learning Center, belonging, basic needs, degree completion, and mental health. A link to the Pulse Survey is below and appears as a task in CalCentral. The survey results are private and will only be displayed in the aggregate. The last day to submit your responses is Friday, September 19, 2025.
Take Fall 2025 Pulse Survey #1
Results from Spring 2025 Pulse Survey #1
- January and February were the most popular months for students to begin searching for housing for the Fall 2025 semester (43% of those looking for housing).
- UC Berkeley Housing typically opens applications for continuing students in early February and will use this feedback to best meet the needs of students for future years.
- Most students learn about housing options through websites (62%) and recommendations from peers (49%).
- UC Berkeley Housing provides details for on-campus housing while UC Berkeley Off-Campus Rental Services provides a robust search tool for off-campus housing.
- 55% of students are interested in using generative AI tools in the context of their study/research.
- Learn how Berkeley is already using AI in research and always consult your class syllabus to understand if/how AI is permitted for each class. If AI is permitted, find free generative AI tools available through UC system-wide and UC Berkeley licensing.
- Students would like to learn more about generative AI in various ways, including courses in their program (62%), UC Berkeley workshops (41%), seminars (39%), and training in a lab or research group (38%).
- The university has developed a new AI Hub website. This is a rapidly developing area, so expect the website to evolve over time.
- To get Cal Student Central information, 42% of students use the Department/Cal Student Central Websites, and 27% use Online Cases.
- 27% of students experienced barriers or did not get what they needed when getting Cal Student Central information through Department/Cal Student Central Websites. Students getting Cal Student Central information through Department/Cal Student Central Websites faced barriers such as: unclear or inconsistent guidance/responses to questions or inquiries (51%); as well as not knowing who to contact, or where to go about their concern (47%).
- Cal Student Central is using this feedback to make updates to their website to provide a better student experience.
Survey Drawing Winners
Congratulations to the following recipients of $100 gift cards from Spring 2025 Pulse Survey #1:
- Xavier Velazquez Bermudez, College of Letters & Science undergraduate student
- Suzu Seko, CDSS Computer Science undergraduate student
- Name withheld, Economics undergraduate student
- Name withheld, Data Science undergraduate student
- Praj Prabhu, School of Information graduate student
- Shuwakitha Chandrasekaran, School of Law graduate student
Additional information about the Pulse Survey, including results from previous surveys, is available on the Undergraduate Education website. If you have any questions or concerns with the Pulse Survey, please contact UE_DataTeam@berkeley.edu.
Thanking you in advance for your participation in the survey and wishing you every success this semester.
Fiat Lux,
Oliver M. O’Reilly (he/him)
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
Lisa García Bedolla (she/her/ella)
Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate Division
Stephen C. Sutton (he/him)
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
This message was sent to all UC Berkeley undergraduate students.