Yes. Membership is required to participate in our learning community, per the Bernard Osher Foundation. As an OLLI @Berkeley member, you gain exclusive access to our courses, Pop-Ups, and other member-only events, socials, field trips, research opportunities, and more. Learn more about member benefits. We hope you'll consider joining!

We offer four types of membership — Single Term, Annual and Premium. Review our membership types and choose the one that makes the most sense for you.

You’re always welcome to change your membership type when your current membership expires. You’ll find your membership expiration date in your Member Dashboard.

In some instances, you may change your membership before your current membership expires. You may: 

• Request an upgrade from a current Annual membership to a Premium Membership. The $100 Annual membership dues will be credited towards the $950 Premium Membership dues, but previously paid course registration fees will not be credited towards Premium Membership cost. The change will be effective at the beginning of the next term.

Membership fees are non-refundable. We are not able to pro-rate nor carry over memberships into another term.

Yes! Our doors are open to everyone who loves to learn. If you or someone you know would like to dive into a world of new discoveries alongside nearly 3,000 other insatiable learners, but cost is a barrier, please apply for fee assistance. The application process is simple, straightforward, and private. Learn more about our Fee Assistance Program.

As a membership organization, we require each individual who participates in our learning community to be a standalone member. Memberships cannot be shared.

You can update your contact information, plus change your password and communications preferences, in your Member Dashboard by simply logging into your OLLI account. Learn more about how to navigate the Member Dashboard.

To the best of our knowledge, no. A tax professional would be the best person to contact for advice.

Typically, fall term registration opens the second Monday in July; winter opens the third Monday in October; spring opens the first Monday in February; and summer the first Monday in April. Check out our academic calendar for exact dates.

We post courses on the day that registration opens. However, our brochure (both print and digital) provides a good overview of our upcoming offerings so you can plan ahead.

Registering online is the easiest and speediest way to sign up for courses. Please contact us by email or phone at 510.642.9934 (we check messages regulary) if you need assistance with registering. 

The price per course is determined by your membership type. For example, the price of a large lecture course is $155 for Annual members and $0 for Premium members. That's why, it's necessary to purchase your membership first, then proceed to sign up for your course(s.) 

Currently, we cannot accept registrations by phone. Our team is mostly working remotely, and, per UC Berkeley guidelines, cannot take credit card information through unsecured channels such as personal cell phones. But we can assist you over the phone with registration! Please leave a message at 510.642.9934 and we'll arrange a time to talk.

Each term, we offer a small number of hands-on workshops — typically writing- and art-focused — with limited spots available. These courses often fill up quickly — sometimes even the day (or even the morning) registration opens.

You can add a course at any point up through the second week of the current term (provided the course is not fully enrolled) by logging into your account and paying the applicable course registration fee associated with your membership type.

Please contact the OLLI office if you'd like to withdraw from a course. Courses dropped seven or more days before the start of a term qualify for a refund. 

You may withdraw, cancel or drop a course for a refund up to seven days before the start of term. Course fees are non-refundable after that. Alternatively, you can transfer into another course (in the same term, in the same price tier) on a space-available basis. 

While we strive to create quality livestreamed experiences in all of our online classes, technical and connectivity difficulties occasionally arise — often outside of our control. In most instances, our classroom team is able to resolve issues quickly. No partial refunds are available under these circumstances.

On rare occassion a course will be canceled before the start of term. If a course you've registered for is canceled, you may choose to sign up for another course with space available or receive a refund.

Learn everything you need to know about how to access your online courses — both livestreamed (classes that take place in real-time over Zoom) and video recordings.

All course materials can be found in your Member Dashboard, which is accessible after you log in to your OLLI account. Learn more about how to navigate your Member Dashboard.

Due to UC policies about the use of copyrighted material online, members can only access course materials for courses in which they are enrolled, and only for the duration of the term. If you wish to save articles and other course materials for future reference, please do so before the end of the term.

If a class meeting is cancelled due to faculty illness or other circumstances such as, for example, smoke from wildfires or power outages (as have happened), we will make every effort to schedule a make-up class​.​ The ability to reschedule is contingent on faculty availability and other variables. Course fees are not prorated if a make-up class cannot be scheduled or attended.

We follow the campus policy with respect to accommodation of religious creed. Like other UC Berkeley classes, OLLI @Berkeley classes do not meet on UC Berkeley administrative holidays.

UC Berkeley's campus-wide policy on note-taking applies to all OLLI courses. This policy specifies that lectures and presentations are the intellectual property of the faculty and states in part that "Students may not make audio or visual recordings of lectures or class presentations without the advance written consent of the instructor. The recording may not be reproduced or distributed in any manner, including the Internet, without the instructor's written consent."

We'd love to hear it! Send your suggestion to berkeley_olli@berkeley.edu. 

Yes. All of our physical venues comply with the American for Disabilities (ADA) guidelines for public access. Learn more about how we make our learning environment accessible to all. 

Yes. Learn about hearing accessibility and assistive listening options in our physical classrooms as well as information about captioning online classes and events. 

We make every effort to have course readings be accessible to members who use screen readers due to visual impairment. If you encounter course readings that cannot be accessed using a screen reader, please contact us so we can provide the materials in an alternate format.

We follow UC Berkeley's policies regarding dogs on campus property and the Access Guide to Animals as Accommodations.