L&S First-Year Pathways
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
COLLEGE OF LETTERS & SCIENCE
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L&S First-Year Pathways

Find Your People, Your Place & Your Passions

Navigating a large university can feel overwhelming, so L&S First-Year Pathways simplifies your start at UC Berkeley. Get connected to a small cohort, preselected courses that fit your goals, and guaranteed enrollment! From pre-med tracks to humanities and social sciences, Pathways clusters provide a roadmap and community for your academic journey.
Submit an Interest Form!

Early Class Enrollment

Pathways provides priority enrollment into 3-4 courses for incoming first-year students

New Friendships

Build lasting friendships with a dedicated cohort through shared interests and engaging extracurricular activities

Small Cohort Experience

Learn alongside a cohort of 20-25 students, forming relationships with peers and faculty

Degree Progress

Most clusters are aligned with specific majors, and each cluster satisfies major prerequisites and/or L&S breadth requirements

Clusters for Fall 2026

Graphic illustration of the human skeleton with organs and major blood vessels
12 Units

Physiology and Chemistry

This cluster is ideal for pre-med and pre-health careers, and intended majors in Neuroscience, Molecular and Cell Biology, Integrative Biology, and Psychology.

Person in lab coat wearing blue lab gloves looks through a microscope while colleagues hold test tubes and look at laptops
15 Units

Biological Systems

With courses in Chemistry, Integrative Biology, and Math, this cluster is ideal for pre-med and pre-health careers, and intended majors in Integrative Biology, Chemistry, and Molecular & Cell Biology.

Profile of two people holding hands as they look at a vast night sky, with orange, purple colors
13 Units

Understanding the Universe (Year-long)

This cluster is ideal for intended majors in Physics, Astrophysics, and Earth & Planetary Science, who would benefit from enrolling in Math 51 (Calculus I) in their first semester.

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We know that the campus can sometimes feel a little intimidating…so we’ve tried to design the Pathways program to give students a home, both socially and intellectually.

Shannon Steen

Associate Dean, Letters & Science