Welcome to UC Berkeley, MDes2027 Admitted Students!

Students, faculty, alumni and staff in the MDes community send you a warm welcome from Jacobs Hall at UC Berkeley.

Congratulations on your recommendation to be admitted to the Berkeley Master of Design (MDes)! We are thrilled to welcome you as admitted students in our program’s sixth cohort. 

After getting to know you through your applications and interviews, we are confident that you will make great contributions to our program and believe that we are the right place for you to continue your growth as a creative technologist. Here at Berkeley, you and your peers will explore how to lead the way in designing the thoughtful technologies of tomorrow.

On this page, you will find admitted student resources; ways to connect with your future classmates, faculty, and staff advisors; and important dates and tasks to help you prepare for your Berkeley MDes education.

 


MDES ADMITTED STUDENTS WEEK

We would like to invite you to join us for MDes Admitted Students Week on March 16-20th, 2026 to help you learn more about the people and resources in the MDes and at UC Berkeley.

Please RSVP by March 13th if you plan to attend the on-campus events for MDes Admitted Students Week including Campus Visit Day on March 19th and MDes Forum on Emerging Technologies on March 20th. For those who are traveling outside of the San Francisco Bay Area, you can apply for limited financial assistance for travel expenses via the RSVP form.

You can register for online events via the links in the event descriptions. Online events will be recorded and posted to this website for reference.

See up-to-date event details in the MDes2027 Admit Calendar on Google Calendar, highlighted below. Click on an event title to learn more about the event, and make sure to check the calendar periodically, as details are subject to change or be updated.

In addition to these admit events, we invite you to join some of the ongoing events hosted by members of the UC Berkeley design community; some of these events below are hosted online, so you can access them wherever you are.


CONNECT WITH THE MDES COMMUNITY

In addition to the admit events previewed above, we invite you to connect with your peers and other members of the MDes community through the following channels:

You can also learn more about the Berkeley MDes by:


WHAT NEXT?

This section provides key resources to help you prepare for your Berkeley MDes education, after you have submitted your Statement of Intent to Register by April 15th.

PREPARING FOR BERKELEY

FUNDING YOUR EDUCATION

KEY DATES & EVENTS

Below are just some of the events and opportunities that await you as an incoming MDes2026 student. We will share more details and other events, such as workshops, as the summer approaches.

  • First week of June: New students gain access to Handshake, which is the Berkeley Career Engagement’s platform for job postings, career events, etc.
  • JUL 17: New graduate students can begin registering for Fall 2026 courses
  • Mid-AUG: Berkeley Graduate Division campus orientation activities (optional)
  • Hold Aug 21, 24 & 25: MDes Orientation (required, in-person, on campus) – the full schedule and details will be shared this summer; be sure to save these dates for now.
  • AUG 26: MDes & UC Berkeley classes begin (in-person, on campus)

QUESTIONS?

Email mdes@berkeley.edu and a member of our admissions team will respond.

We also invite you to speak with members of our faculty, staff, and student body:

 

Begin designing your Berkeley MDes experience today!