University of California, Berkeley

The Berkeley campus encompasses approximately 1,232 acres. The "central campus" occupies only the low-lying western 178 acres of this area. Of the remaining 1,000 acres, approximately 200 acres are occupied by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; other facilities above the main campus include the Lawrence Hall of Science and several research units, notably the Space Sciences Laboratory, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, an undeveloped 800 acres ecological preserve, the University of California Botanical Garden and a recreation center in Strawberry Canyon. Portions of the mostly undeveloped eastern area of the campus is actually within the City of Oakland; the northernmost eastern corner of Oakland extends from the Claremont Resort north through the Panoramic Hill neighborhood to Tilden Park.

West of the central campus is the downtown business district of Berkeley; to the northwest is the neighborhood of North Berkeley. This include the so-called Gourmet Ghetto, a commercial district known for high quality dining due to the presence of such world-renowned restaurants as Chez Panisse. Immediately to the north is a quiet residential neighborhood known as Northside with a large graduate student population;[63] situated north of that are the upscale residential neighborhoods of the Berkeley Hills. Immediately southeast of campus lies fraternity row, and beyond that the Clark Kerr Campus and an upscale residential area named Claremont. The area south of the university includes student housing and Telegraph Avenue, one of Berkeley's main shopping districts with stores, street vendors and restaurants catering to college students and tourists. In addition, the University also owns land to the northwest of the main campus, a 90-acre married student housing complex in the nearby town of Albany ("Albany Village" and the "Gill Tract"), and a field research station several miles to the north in Richmond, California.

The university occupies 1,232 acres on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay with the central campus resting on 178 acres.

There are a number of on-campus options and off-campus facilities operated by the university:

• On campus all Berkeley residence halls include live-in staff (providing both social and academic support), community centers, on-site laundry, easy access to transportation, and much more. Theme houses (also known as Theme Programs) combine residential living with a particular academic focus. For students who are married, single parents, or domestic partners, the campus maintains 970 apartments in its family student housing site, University Village.
• Off-campus housing is an option for all students, through Cal Rentals.