Student Report
Name of the University: UC Berkeley
Exchange semester: Spring 2014
I. Practical Information:
Before leaving Norway:
I received an email from the international office at BI in the middle of February, which offered me a
spot as an exchange student at UC Berkeley. In august, I got a letter from the host university with an
application I needed to fill out and send back. In October, I got an email from the program advisor in
the Berkeley international study program which talked about courses, visa and information about
Berkeley and the school in general. I didn’t have any difficulties regarding practical information before
leaving Norway. All the information, both from the international office and UC Berkeley, was fully
understandable and clear in its message. Besides, the international office set up a meeting for all the
outgoing exchange students, which I found very helpful.
Applying for a visa:
I applied for my visa on the US embassy´s website on the internet. I paid the sevis fee online, and
scheduled an appointment. At the embassy I had to pay NOK 1000,- in cash, and also had to go through
a personal interview in order to receive my visa. I advise people to book their appointment early in the
semester, and also schedule a meeting early in the morning, which will probably save you some time.
Travel:
I travelled to my destination by airplane. The ticket was around NOK 3500,- one way.
Housing:
Housing was not provided by the host university, nor BI, but I did receive some information from the
program advisor at UC Berkeley about the different opportunities I had. I also spoke to some previous
students which listed different sites I could contact. I found an apartment with three other norwegian
students from BI, and everything was arranged through email, before leaving Norway.
Costs:
Due to the fact that I lived very close to campus, there weren’t a lot of expenses in terms of
transportation. Also, we didn’t have any textbooks in the courses I took (only hand-outs, articles and
lecture notes), so luckily I didn’t have any expenses in this matter either.
Housing was approximately NOK 4500,- each month and food in general is cheap, but added up
quickly. If you plan on traveling, you should prepare to save up some money in advance since airplane
tickets, hotels and food along the way adds up fast. A good thing to know, is that the scholarship
provided by Lånekassen gives you access to all the money right away – you don´t get the same amount
each month, which makes it a little bit more difficult to plan ahead.
Culture and language:
When it comes to the language, I didn’t have any difficulties with neither communicating with the
faculty or other students and UC Berkeley. Everyone was super friendly and easy to get to know, and if
you by any chance feel lonely, there are plenty of Norwegian students at the same program as you, that
can probably make you feel closer to home.
The possibilities to explore the US and the great state of California are huge, and you should definitely
explore If you have the time and opportunity. The coast is a great way of seeing a unique and the
typical Californian nature. Las Vegas, Napa Valley, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Hawaii
is not too far away, and there are some great national parks in the area.
II. About the School:
Description:
UC Berkeley is located in the middle of the city Berkeley, and is the oldest out of the ten “University of
California” - schools. The campus is pretty huge and you have classes in different buildings around
campus. There are about 35 000 students at the school. There is a recreational center located right
outside campus, where you can work out, join different fitness classes, play tennis and squash for about
NOK 900,- for the whole semester.
Course registration:
The international office at BI provided information about the process of choosing classes and also a list
regarding the different classes we could take. All the classes were a part of the sociology department.
We picked our classes by adding them to a list on the internet, and we then needed to attended class for
two weeks, in order to be enrolled by the professor. The period of two weeks was a period where you
could drop and add classes if it didn’t work out.
Academic calendar:
Arrival date: January 11th
First day of the semester: January 15th
Last day of the semester: May 16th
Examination period: May 12th – may 16th
Any special events/holidays:
- Presidents day: February 17th
- Springbreak: March 24th – march 28th
Arrival:
Unfortunately, there wasn’t any introduction week for the Norwegian students at UC Berkeley, but
there was a day where all the Norwegian students were gathered to receive some general information.
We also had a quick tour around campus the same day. We were divided into different groups where we
had our own mentor from UC Berkeley. The plan was to get to know the other students, and the
mentor´s intention was to plan different social activities for the group. However, there weren’t any
gatherings for my groups, nor did I get to meet the other students in my group.
The international office, Promoting BI and Norway:
The international office at BI provided us with all the information we needed to get started at UC
Berkeley, and also kept us updated if something important came up. In regards of promoting BI and
Norway, there wasn’t anything arranged that we could participate in.
Social activities:
American students and other exchange students are very open-minded and therefore very easy to get to
know. Like a mentioned earlier, there are a lot of Norwegian students in the same program as you. If
you are interested in getting to know a different culture, improve your English and be more
independent, I suggest you to get to know students from other countries early in the semester, not just
Norwegians. This may sound easy, but It´s easier said than done. I noticed that Norwegians tend to fall
into old patterns and safe surroundings. When it comes to social activities for the exchange students,
there was a biking tour over golden gate bridge at the beginning of the semester. Also, some pizzanights were organized throughout the semester.
III. Academics:
In the classroom:
The teaching style is pretty similar to the Norwegian way of teaching, but in some of the classes, you
needed to have an “iclicker”, which is a device that lets you plot in your own opinion when a question
from the teacher is given, and then the teacher picks out three to four students that need to back up their
opinion out loud. Other than that, the teaching style is pretty similar – theoretical with regular
PowerPoint presentations.
The workload compared to BI is definitely less. As I mentioned earlier, in the classes I took, there
weren’t any books, only hand-outs, articles and lecture notes. However, there was more test and
assignments throughout the semester, which was a new way of studying. You needed to have a full
overview over midterms, assignments, and finals in order to receive credit.
Course materials:
In all the classes in the sociology department that I took, there weren’t any textbooks. The teacher
posted the lecture notes online (PowerPoint presentation), along with relevant articles and other handouts.
Exam:
Throughout the semester we had about 2-3 midterms in each class in addition to the final exam in the
end of the semester. All of the midterms were based on the lecture notes and the articles that the teacher
posted online. In one of my classes, the final exam was to write a 20-25 pages long research paper
about a topic of your choice. In advance of this final paper, we also had three assignments that
combined were a big part of the final paper.
Each course was divided into different parts: midterms, final exam/paper and participation. The
midterms were often 20-25% each, participation was about 20-25%, and final exam varied from 2540% depending on the course.
Library and technology:
UC Berkeley is well-known for its amazing library facilities. The library is the seventh biggest in the
US. There are many different libraries to go to – some for undergraduates, some for each department,
some for all students etc. Most libraries have both silent areas and areas where you can talk. Computers
are also there for your disposition.
Description of courses:
 Sociology 121: Innovation and entrepreneurship
Assignments/Midterms: 2 midterms. (1 hour written)
Final Exam form: 1 hour written exam.
Prerequisites: none
Obligatory course
 Sociology 194: Writing seminar
Assignment/midterms: 3 assignments/papers
Exam form: research paper, home exam
Prerequisites: none
obligatory course
 Sociology 180c: Comparative perspectives on American and European culture
Assignments/midterm: 3 midterms. (1 hour written)
Final exam form: I hour written exam
Prerequisites: none
Elective course
 Sociology 167: Social media/virtual community
Assignments/midterms: 2 midterms. (3 hour written)
Final exam form: 3 hour written exam
Prerequisites: none
Elective course
My own experience:
My exchange experience was amazing. I got to know some really great people, learned about a new
culture and got to travel around in California – which is quite unique. The only thing that I hoped
would be better was the introduction week, which we didn’t have. I traveled with 5 other Norwegian
students from BI, so I knew some people in advance, but I can only imagine how it must feel like to
travel by yourself, and on top of that have no introduction week.
If you have any doubt whether or not to go on exchange, I wouldn’t doubt it for a second. It´s a great
experience, both academically, socially and culturally. You get to experience a new country along with
students from all over the world.