Berkeley is the parent campus of the University of California. It has an enrollment of approximately 28,500 with 8,000 graduate students in 100 fields of study, and is noted for the academic distinction of its faculty, the quality and scope of its research activities, and the variety and vitality of student activities. It is ranked by its academic peers as one of the best graduate institutions in the United States.

The University is located at the base of the Berkeley hills, across the San Francisco Bay from San Francisco. The San Francisco Bay Area offers a variety of cultural and entertainment activities. There is ready access to the Pacific Coast beaches and to backpacking and skiing areas in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east. The climate is cool in summer, with very little rainfall. Winters are mild, with intermittent rain.

The Department of Nuclear Engineering was established in 1958. There are currently about 50 graduate students in the Department. Graduates find opportunities for employment and professional careers in the United States and abroad. Recent graduates are employed in academia, industry, national laboratories, and state and federal agencies.

The Department has strong relations with the nearby Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. A number of faculty and students collaborate with researchers in these laboratories, and use the facilities of these laboratories in their research projects.