Apply

Interested in applying to the Berkeley MDes?

First, review this page to get information about MDes application requirements and key dates. 

Then, visit the other Admissions pages on our website including Admissions FAQs, check out upcoming Admissions events, and visit the Berkeley Graduate Division’s Admissions page to learn more.

If you have additional questions, you can book an appointment with a MDes Admissions Advisor. 

Finally, start your application on the Berkeley Graduate Division website and submit it by the application deadline (see below).

Key Dates for Next Admissions Cycle

Below are the specific admissions dates for applicants interested in starting the program in Fall 2026:

• September 10, 2025: Application opens
• January 6, 2026, 8:59 PM PST: Application closes
• February 2026: Final candidates will be asked to submit a short video response and invited for an online interview with a faculty member to explain their qualifications, motivations, and goals for the program
• March 2026: Applicants notified of results
• April 15, 2026: Deadline for admits to submit their Statement of Intent to Register (SIR)
• August 2026: Admitted students start at UC Berkeley

Applicant Eligibility

All applicants to the Berkeley MDes must meet the requirements for graduate admission to UC Berkeley, which are described on the Graduate Division’s Admissions Requirements page.

Beyond the Graduate Division’s basic admissions requirements, the MDes program welcomes applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences; to learn more, visit our Admissions overview page.

Application Materials

See below for the materials that are required for your MDes application and links to the Graduate Division’s guidance on preparing your materials. Make sure to review further guidance specific to MDes applicants under Application Material Guidance. 

Required Materials

^{Click each section to view further details}

• Academic Records
• Statement of Purpose
• Personal Statement
• Three Letters of Recommendation
• Project Portfolio
• Evidence of English Language Proficiency (if applicable)
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae
• Application Fee

Optional Materials

^{Click each section to view further details}

• Opportunity Grant Essay
• Audio/Visual Uploads
• Supporting Materials

Not Required Materials

• MDes does not require nor review GRE scores
• See additional information in our Admissions FAQ page

Application Material Guidance

Academic Records

Applicants with degrees from domestic institutions:

• Please submit both your Cumulative and Advanced GPA.
• Your Cumulative GPA includes all coursework in your undergraduate degree.
• Your Advanced GPA includes all coursework completed after the first 2 years of the undergraduate degree up to the degree conferral. High school/AP courses are not included in the calculation.
• You should leave the other GPA fields blank.

Applicants with degrees from international institutions:

• Please submit just your Cumulative GPA, which includes all coursework in your undergraduate degree.
• If your GPA is not based on a 4.0 scale (common for students that attended non-U.S. schools), do not calculate or convert your GPA or input WES evaluations. Instead, enter your cumulative GPA, as it appears on your transcript and without conversion, in the “Other Scale GPA” section.
• You should leave the other GPA fields blank.

Other GPA considerations:

• For applicants whose undergraduate trajectory was not a standard 4 years at one institution, simply use your last two years of your Undergraduate degree.
• If you have a graduate degree, there is a separate box for you to enter your graduate degree GPA.

If you need a GPA calculator, we recommend this online resource. For Advanced GPA, submit your grades after the first 2 years.

For additional guidance, please see the Graduate Division’s Admissions Requirements page.

Statement Of Purpose

Your Statement of Purpose should describe your relevant academic and professional experience and accomplishments, your future professional goals and interests, why you are drawn to the MDes program, and why you believe the MDes would be a good fit for you and your goals. 

In particular, the Statement of Purpose should address the following questions:

• How do you envision contributing to advancement of design and technology over the course of your career? 
• Why do you believe Berkeley MDes can help you to achieve these goals?

There is no word limit specified for the Statement of Purpose, but we echo the Graduate Division’s advice on essay length: “An ideal essay should say everything it needs to with brevity. Approximately 500 to 1000 well-selected words (1-2 single space pages in 12 point font) is better than more words with less clarity and poor organization.” 

For additional guidance, please see the Graduate Division’s Writing the Statement of Purpose page.

Personal Statement

The Personal Statement provides an opportunity for the admissions committee to get to know you better on a personal level. Content should not duplicate what has been shared in the Statement of Purpose.

In particular, your personal statement should answer the question:

• What do the other documents in your application not fully capture about you?
• These “other documents” would include items such as your portfolio, your CV, and your academic transcript.

Please describe how your background and life experiences have influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree at this time. This may include formative experiences, values, or motivations that have influenced your academic and/or professional path. 

In this section, you may also include any relevant information on the following:

• Any educational, familial, cultural, economic or social experiences or opportunities that have shaped your academic journey.
• Challenges or responsibilities you have navigated in pursuit of your educational goals, and how you responded to or overcame them.
• Significant barriers or hardships you have faced, and how they have contributed to your growth and shaped your perspective.
• Leadership experiences, community outreach, service initiatives, or research projects you have participated in or plan to pursue that aim to positively impact others or the broader community.
• Ways in which your perspectives, experiences, or aspirations have aligned with UC Berkeley’s Principles of Community.

There is no specific word limit specified for the Personal Statement, but we echo the Graduate Division’s advice on essay length: “An ideal essay should say everything it needs to with brevity. Approximately 500 to 1000 well-selected words (1-2 single space pages in 12 point font) is better than more words with less clarity and poor organization.” 

For additional guidance, please see the Graduate Division’s Writing the Personal Statement page.

Letters of Recommendation

The MDes accepts letters of recommendation from both academic and professional sources. You should select recommenders who can provide detailed, authentic responses regarding your potential to succeed in the MDes, which may include speaking to your intellectual ability; your design, technical, or professional skills; your character; the quality of your work; or alignment of your interests and goals with the program. We understand that the ideal people to provide such recommendations will be different for each applicant, so we do not have a strict requirement or preference for whether recommenders are academic, professional, or a mix of both.

For additional guidance, please see the Graduate Division’s Application Requirements page.

Portfolio

MDes applicants must submit a portfolio that demonstrates their creative and technical proficiency. 

As a program open to a broad range of disciplinary practitioners, the admissions committee is interested in understanding the unique strengths and perspectives that you would bring to the cohort. Depending on your experience, your portfolio might feature examples of visual design work, software systems, interactive electronics, videos, 3D models, or any number of other creative or technical pursuits.

Collaborative work is welcome, but you must credit all authors and explain your individual contributions to any group work. Academic, professional, and personal work are all welcome; please provide context in the portfolio about the nature of the project.

A strong portfolio will:

• Describe a limited selection of projects in depth, rather than account for a large breadth of projects superficially. We suggest curating a selection of 3–5 of your most compelling projects.
• Showcase your technical skills, disciplinary strengths, and clearly communicate your experience and perspective.  
• Demonstrate your interest and ability to move beyond your “home” discipline (i.e., if you are a mechanical engineer, do you have any projects showing your exploration of other engineering fields, design fields, and/or a synthesis of your skills from different disciplines?).
• Include both images and supporting text to fully explain your visual artifacts.
• Convey the context in which the projects were developed (e.g. did the project come from a class, work, personal exploration, etc.?) and the lens through which to understand and critique the work. 
• Present final outcomes, as well as accounts of the design process and samples of earlier design iterations/stages. 
• Be legible to a general audience of designers and technologists; remember the admissions committee are an interdisciplinary group from various design and engineering backgrounds.
• For additional guidance, we invite applicants to watch the recording of the Portfolio Preparation admissions event attached below, that was offered on November 9, 2023.

Click the above image to watch a recording of the portfolio info session

Formatting guidelines:

• File type : a single PDF (Web-based portfolios are not accepted or reviewed)
• Max file size : 20MB
• Max page limit : 20pages (including title page & table of contents)
• Max resolution : 150dpi for all images or entire PDF.
• Recommended page size : 12” x 18” A3 format
• Font size limit : larger than 10pt
• Portfolios that are submitted in excess of this page and/or size limit will not be reviewed by the admissions committee.
• While the PDF portfolio will be viewed as the primary document, you may optionally include up to two minutes of supplementary time-based media (audio/video). See the Audio/Visual Uploads section of the page for more detail.
• Do not attach any URLs or links to outside materials in your portfolio.

Submit your Portfolio on the MDes Materials page of the application. 

Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Your resume or CV provides a succinct overview of your relevant academic training, work experience, and skills. Although other parts of your application can and should provide more detail about your relevant experience and skills, your resume or CV can highlight aspects that the admissions committee would be especially interested in.

Optionally, you can also use this section to upload relevant certifications that are not reflected on your degree transcript; this content is not required. You can add this optional content as additional pages in your Resume or CV PDF.

Submit your resume or CV on the Supporting Materials page of the application, under the “Academic or Professional History” section.

Application Fee

The MDes program has a limited number of application fee waivers available for applicants who are not eligible for the Berkeley Graduate Admission fee waiver program. Program fee waivers are intended to alleviate demonstrated financial hardships or challenges beyond the applicant’s control, which might otherwise prevent them from applying to the MDes.

If this applies to you, email mdes@berkeley.edu to request this year’s MDes fee waiver request form. Note that fee waivers are not distributed till 1 month before the application due date on a first-come, first-serve basis.

UC Berkeley Undocugrad also offers some fee waivers.

Opportunity Grant Essay (Optional)

The MDes program encourages applicants seeking financial assistance to apply for a need-based MDes Opportunity Grant. Applying for an Opportunity Grant is optional, and will in no way affect an applicant’s admission to the program. The amount of funding provided by the Opportunity Grant award varies, but averages around several thousand dollars per recipient.

Audio/Visual Uploads (Optional)

You may optionally use the MDes Materials page of the application to include up to two minutes of time-based media (audio or video). For instance, you could submit a recording of a slide deck presentation with narration or a recording of an interactive piece.

Please note that the admissions committee will focus their attention on the required application materials; a thorough review of any optional audio/visual materials is not guaranteed. As such, we advise that any additional audio/visual materials are kept relevant and succinct.

Supporting Materials (Optional)

Your resume or CV is the only material required on the Support Materials section of the application, but you may choose to upload additional support materials here. 

Please note that the admissions committee will focus their attention on the required application materials; a thorough review of any optional supporting materials is not guaranteed. As such, we advise that any additional supporting materials are kept relevant and succinct.

Start your application

Questions?

First review Admissions FAQ, check out upcoming Admissions events, and the Berkeley Graduate Division’s Admissions page. If you have additional questions, you can book an appointment with a MDes Admissions Advisor.