UC Berkeley offers ‘adulting’ course for credit

One section for a course on “adulting” began Monday and another will kick off Wednesday at the University of California, Berkeley.

 For fall 2019, there are 60 students split into two sections for Psychology 198.

The for-credit course will not only teach students how to tackle the mundane tasks of life such as paying taxes but also highlights subjects such as how to “develop good habits,” according to the course description. It falls under the Democratic Education, or “DeCal” program of student-taught, but faculty-approved courses at UC Berkeley.

UC Berkeley students Belle Lau and Jenny Zhou are facilitating this semester’s sections of the course. 

“I started a course at UC Berkeley called ‘Adulting’ which I am currently facilitating,” Lau shared on LinkedIn. “We bring in guest speakers each week to present on topics that we believe college students should know as they enter adulthood and begin to live and fend for themselves.”

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“This course will explore the many dimensions of how to successfully adult [sic],” reads the description for the course, which is offered for one credit. “The school system does not require a class for students to learn how to live in the real world and function as an adult. We often enter college unprepared to take care of ourselves.”

Some students expressed to Campus Reform that the class could serve as a beneficial addition to their schedule.

“Finally a class worth taking,” incoming UC Berkeley freshman Hamzah Alam said. “This is what I’m coming to college for.”

“Where was this class when I needed it?” Sonty Visuthikraisee, a 2019 UC Berkeley graduate, told Campus Reform. “I don’t even know how to pay my own taxes, yet somehow I graduated with a degree from Berkeley.”

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But not everyone finds the course useful.

“Why not just take a business class?” Brandon Escobedo, another 2019 graduate, commented to Campus Reform.

UC-Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor of Communications Dan Mogulof told Campus Reform about the DeCal program in general, “the campus administration has no connection to or control over these [course] offerings.”

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