Berkeley Changemaker Course 12

Being a part of this class is life changing and it truly shapes your identity, and I am so glad to be a part of this community.
Milo Harmon Maurer, Course 12 Student, Class of 2024

Course 12 features 24 distinguished UC Berkeley Faculty members from 19 departments and 8 schools & colleges, including:

Chancellor Carol Christ, Professor of English

Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary and Former Chair of the Federal Reserve

Lisa García Bedolla, Vice Provost for Graduate Studies, Dean of the Graduate Division, Professor in the Graduate School of Education

Michael Lu, MD, MS, MPH, Dean of the School of Public Health

As someone who has grown up feeling like the ‘other’ it was so empowering hear that there is space for all people to make the meaningful changes they want to see...I'm so grateful to be a part of this program and to have the opportunity to gain the skills necessary for creating the change that I'd like to see!
Course 12 Student

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I enroll in Course 12?

Enrollment for Spring 2022 will open in mid-October. Note that this is a half-semester, 8 week class, starting on February 28, 2022. Please check the Class Schedule in the Academic Guide for the suite of Berkeley Changemaker courses now open for enrollment. Berkeley Changemaker is now a "course type" in the Academic Guide.

How do learn more about Course 12?

This page is a great place to start. Be sure to watch the videos and review the sample course syllabus. We hope to have a final version of the spring syllabus available soon. Should you still have questions, we are here for you. Please write to us: changemaker@berkeley.edu

I'm outside of the United States or have a challenging schedule, can I still take this class?

Yes. The 2-unit course is asynchronous and fully-online, meaning that you can watch the lectures and complete your assignments on your own time and on the schedule that works best for you each week.  We also have many "live" components available to you throughout the course, including office hours with our all-star UC Berkeley faculty and hour-long sessions that offer you an opportunity to engage even more deeply with the critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills taught in our course. In consideration of our students' varying schedules, we try our best to offer these at different times throughout the week.

What's the workload like? How many hours a week should I expect with this course?

Please see the course syllabus for more information. Our students report that the workload is commesurate with other 2-unit courses at UC Berkeley. We designed the course to comply with the guidelines set forth by the Academic Senate's Committee on Curriculum & Instruction, so you can expect to spend roughly 90 hours on our course. This includes watching the lectures and Berkeley Changemaker Chats, doing the readings, engaging with your classmates, and completing your assignments.

I'm a junior/senior, is this course for me?

Yes! While the summer version of our Course 12 is geared towards incoming first-year and third-year Transfer students, we welcome all UC Berkeley students into the spring course. In fact, here's what senior YeRin Jun '20 said about her experience: "I am very grateful that this course was open to any grade even though the small description of this course seemed to be geared towards freshmen, and I was glad that I disregarded the description and joined this class. You will definitely learn something in this course where you can apply it to your life no matter what path you take..."

Is Course 12 open to the general public?

Unfortunately not. At this time, Course 12 is only available to matriculated UC Berkeley students.  We are planning a special Bekeley Changemaker residential pre-college program in summer 2022. We will be posting more information on this website as it is announced. If you'd like to receive a special announcement, please reach out to us at: changemaker@berkeley.edu.

I still have questions.

We'd love to hear from you, please e-mail us at: changemaker@berkeley.edu.

I am very grateful that this course was open to any grade even though the small description of this course seemed to be geared towards freshmen, and I was glad that I disregarded the description and joined this class. You will definitely learn something in this course where you can apply it to your life no matter what path you take...
YeRin Jun '21, Course 12 Student & Berkeley Changemaker

Click here to see a sample Spring 2022 Course 12 syllabus

Click here to read the 'Bear Talk' blog on Course 12

Nine "Course 12" Faculty have won the Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest honor UC Berkeley awards for excellence in teaching. They are:
Max Auffhammer

Maximillian Auffhammer, George Pardee Jr. Professor of International Sustainable Development, UC Berkeley; Regional Associate Dean, Letters and Sciences

Ron Hassner in office

Ron E. Hassner, Chancellor's Professor of Political Science; Helen Diller Family Chair in Israel Studies

Glynda Hull, Elizabeth H. and Eugene A. Shurtleff Chair in Undergraduate Education

Bob Jacobsen

Bob Jacobsen, Professor of Physics; Dean, Undergraduate Studies, College of Letters and Science (former)

Terry Johnson

Terry D. Johnson, Teaching Professor, Department of Bioengineering

Rich Lyons, Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer of UC Berkeley; William and Janet Cronk Chair in Innovative Leadership; and, Former Dean of UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business

Oliver O'Reilly, Interim Vice Provost, Undergraduate Education & Prof. of Mechanical Engineering

Jasper Rine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor and Professor of Genetics, Genomics and Development

Ula Taylor, Professor and H. Michael and Jeanne Williams Department Chair in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies

I'm thankful that I've been able to learn so much from this course! I truly believe this is the greatest preparation I could have received going into my first year at Berkeley. I'm sad this has come to an end, but excited to apply the lessons and principles I learned into my Berkeley journey and my life!
Grace Kelly, Course 12 Student, Class of 2024

The 19 UC Berkeley Academic Departments Represented in Course 12 Include:

African American Studies, Agricultural & Resource Economics, Art Practice, Bioengineering, Comparative Literature, Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, English, Economics, Education, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, International & Area Studies, Mechanical Engineering, Molecular and Cell Biology, Physics, Political Science, Rhetoric, Social Welfare, Spanish, and Theater, Dance, & Performance Studies

Play video
Curious to have a "sneak peek" into the course? Watch the first course module, taught by Faculty Lead, Alex Budak.
“I'm really excited by Berkeley's focus on inclusive leading as a public institution- in my eyes, one of the most important foundational steps to becoming a changemaker is exposing yourself to a multitude of perspectives and backgrounds, which is achieved not only by interacting with the incredible academic opportunities offered by Berkeley faculty and courses, but also by introducing yourself to the cultural experiences offered by the numerous student groups and interactions with those from backgrounds other than your own.
Course 12 Student, Class of 2024

Questions?

changemaker@berkeley.edu

The 8 UC Berkeley Schools and Colleges Represented in Course 12 Include:

School of Education, School of Engineering, Haas School of Business, College of Letters & Sciences, School of Public Health, School of Social Welfare and the Rausser College of Natural Resources

Play video
A highlight of Course 12 are the Berkeley Changemaker Chats. Click here for a snippet with Bob Jacobsen, Dean of Undergraduate Education.

Berkeley Changemaker courses enrollments are over 2,500 (and counting!) since July 2020.

“...I love the fact that changemakers do not need to be bounded by the area of their interest, be it public health, food activism, electronics, writing. All of us in our own respect and interest can make a difference, especially with these lectures to guide us!
Course 12 student, Class of 2024
Play video
The Berkeley Changemaker Summer 2021 Course 12 Promotional Video
BERKELEY CHANGEMAKER is a trademark of The Regents of the University of California through its Berkeley campus.  It is not affiliated with any third parties using “changemaker” or similar terms

Additional Course 12 Faculty

Alex Budak, Lecturer, Management of Organizations

Faculty Lead, Course 12

Linda Burton smiling

Linda Burton, Dean of Berkeley Social Welfare & Eugene and Rose Kleiner Chair for the Study of Processes, Practices and Policies in Aging

Anthony Cascardi, Professor, Sidney and Margaret Ancker Distinguished Professor; Dean of Arts and Humanities

Ken Goldberg, William S. Floyd Jr. Distinguished Chair in Engineering, UC Berkeley; Professor, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research

Jennifer Johnson-Hanks

Jennifer Johnson-Hanks, Executive Dean of the College of Letters & Science and Professor of Demography & Sociology

Laura Hassner smiling

Laura Hassner, Strategic Advisor to CIEO & Lecturer, Management of Organizations

Brandi M. Pearce, Lecturer, Director, High Impact Teams & Research, Team@Haas, Management of Organizations

David Porter, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and People Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco & former Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Berkeley Haas

Mariana Somma, Lecturer, Innovation and Design

Steven Weber, Associate Dean and Head of School; Faculty Director, Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity; Professor (I School and Dept. of Political Science)

Lisa Wymore, Professor in the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies