El Cerrito highlight
Proximity to Berkeley
UC Berkeley, founded in 1868 and located five miles from El Cerrito, is the oldest University of California campus and the state's original land-grant institution.
The University of California, Berkeley was founded on March 23, 1868, as California's first land-grant university under the Morrill Act signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The campus was named after the 18th-century philosopher George Berkeley and sits on a 178-acre central campus plus an additional 8,164 acres of land used for research and teaching. UC Berkeley is located approximately five miles from El Cerrito, making the university an immediate presence in the region's intellectual and cultural life.
UC Berkeley has grown to enroll more than 45,000 students across fifteen schools and colleges, and its faculty and researchers have discovered 16 chemical elements—more than any comparable research institution. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, located in the hills above UC Berkeley, conducts research that has shaped the fields of physics, chemistry, and materials science. These accomplishments reflect the university's role as a world center for learning and research.
Proximity to a major research university changes how a family thinks about education and long-term planning. Parents in El Cerrito often consider educational opportunities—whether at UC Berkeley or elsewhere—as part of their vision for their children's future. A term life policy that includes a provision for education expenses ensures that college remains possible even if family circumstances change.