The Berkeley Changemaker Program can be thought of as a wider, more inclusive way to teach entrepreneurial thinking. Berkeley Changemakers acts as an engine of social mobility.
Words like founder, venture, innovation, and entrepreneurship are not words that a lot of young people feel included in. By using the term "Berkeley Changemaker," we reach students across many disciplines who might not naturally use this vocabulary to describe their entrepreneurial thinking. These students have a strong passion for problem-solving and resonate with the identity of being a Berkeley Changemaker.
"START SOMETHING" Mentorship Program
How has the Berkeley Changemaker been so successful at creating a sense of community for our traditionally underserved students?
Whether you major in the Humanities or a STEM field, we are confident that everyone can be a Berkeley Changemaker and welcome all students to enroll in our courses. We've created special upper-division sections of our gateway course to welcome our incoming Transfer students. We also make special outreach to high school guidance counselors, to our athlete-scholars via the Athletic Study Center, and to students at Stiles Hall.
Highlights: The First 5 Years (2020-2025)
- Berkeley Changemaker courses are open to all students. We have no prerequisites nor academic barriers to enrollment.
- Berkeley Changemaker launched in Summer 2020 with a single course. As of Spring 2025, over 8,500 unique students took a Berkeley Changemaker course.
- As the 2024 Undergraduate Education Report concludes: "Graduation outcomes may be attributed to the Berkeley Changemaker program rather than a screening process for high-achieving students."
- Among first-generation, first-year college students, Berkeley Changemakers have a higher four-year graduation rate than the general frosh population, highlighting Berkeley Changemaker's role as an engine of social mobility.
- Berkeley Changemaker transfer students have a 2-year graduation rate that is four percentage points higher than the overall transfer population.
- Among transfer students who were not first-generation college, Berkeley Changemakers have a nine percentage point higher 2-year graduation rate.
In our first two years, as depicted in the above graph, students enrolling in Berkeley Changemaker courses were more diverse than the general undergraduate population on every metric. As the Berkeley Changemaker program has matured and expanded over time, our students have become largely representative of the general undergraduate population.
