2025 Hiring Freeze

UC Hiring Freeze Implementation Plan for the Berkeley Campus

Key Takeaways

  • Implementation of UC Berkeley's hiring freeze starts April 11, 2025. 

  • Divisions have flexibility for staff hiring, with current searches proceeding. Exceptions for staff hires require meeting certain criteria, such as the position addressing critical needs, and/or funding from appropriate sources is available. 

  • Academic searches underway can proceed. Certain academic positions are exempt from the freeze, particularly those related to instruction or funded by specific sources.

As you are likely aware, UC Berkeley continues to face budget challenges. As a consequence, for the upcoming fiscal year 2025–26 (FY 26), we previously set division-specific caps on expense growth as part of our strategy to address our budget challenges. Those caps remain in force. 

Shifting federal policies have added new pressures to our budget, affecting UC Berkeley and other UC campuses. In response, UC President Drake announced a hiring freeze and directed all UC locations to develop workforce management plans to address potential budget shortfalls. 

Due to the differences among the campuses, campuses have been afforded some latitude as to how to implement the hiring freeze. In this document, we provide an overview of UC Berkeley's implementation, which commences on April 11, 2025. The guidance in this email is subject to change should further guidance be provided by the UC Office of the President or should there be further changes in the financial landscape.

Below is information on Berkeley’s implementation, first for staff titles, then for academic titles.

Hiring in Staff Titles

Each division will have considerable flexibility to determine the best path forward with respect to staff hiring. Staff titles include Career Appointments, Contract Appointments, Per diem Appointments, Limited Appointments, and Student Employee (Casual/Restricted, non-academic) Appointments.

Current Staff Searches May Proceed

Staff searches that are already in progress (i.e., the job has already been posted, as of April 11, 2025) are authorized to proceed without further review.

Exceptions to the Hiring Freeze for Staff Titles

After the hiring freeze commences on April 11, 2025, exceptions can be made for appointments that, in the view of the responsible division leader (e.g., dean, vice chancellor, vice provost, associate chancellor) or their delegate, meet the following requirements:

  1. The role addresses critical needs, compliance or safety requirements, and/or advances strategic priorities; and

  2. The role cannot be filled by qualified, current staff who are able to take on additional duties on an interim basis; and

  3. The role is adequately funded within existing budget restrictions.

Exceptions Request Process for Staff Titles

Exceptional approval from division leaders, or their delegates, can be attached in HR Service Hub as part of the normal position request process.

Tracking of Staff Hires

Beginning April 11, 2025, we will track all hires made in anticipation of an eventual data request from UCOP. We will use hiring data that is already inputted via HR Service Hub to automate the reporting. Therefore, it is critical to continue to input complete information, including the requisite approvals, into HR Service Hub. A submitter may attach a PDF email that shows the hire has been approved by the appropriate division leader or their delegate. If you have questions about ServiceHub, please contact your HR Business Partner. Talent Acquisition will work with the units that do not use HR Service Hub (e.g., ERSO and CalPerformances), to develop a method for tracking approvals and hires. 

Hiring in Academic Titles

Current Academic Searches May Proceed

All academic searches and recruitments that are already in progress as of April 11, 2025, are authorized to proceed without further review.

Exceptions to the Hiring Freeze for Academic Titles

The following academic positions are excluded from the hiring freeze, with some caveats noted where applicable:

  • Deans and other full-time faculty administrative positions.

  • Appointments to existing part-time faculty administrative positions (e.g., Chair, Associate Dean, Director); however, we urge you to consider consolidating or keeping vacant positions when appropriate. 

  • All faculty and instructional titles (e.g., Professor series, Teaching Professor series, Adjunct Professor series, Professor in Residence series, Professor of Clinical X series, Health Sciences Clinical Professor series, all Unit 18 titles such as lecturers, teacher special programs, etc., and Extension instructors); however, we ask you to keep minimum enrollment levels in mind and staff your courses accordingly. 

  • Academic Student Employees. For Graduate Student Instructors we ask you to keep minimum enrollment levels in mind and staff your courses accordingly. For Readers and Tutors, we urge you to consider consolidating or keeping vacant positions when appropriate.

  • Specialists and Advisors in Cooperative Extension (these positions are funded by the Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources).

  • Professional Researcher series, Project Scientist series Specialist series, and Coordinator of Public Programs series (based on funding provisions below).

  • Postdoctoral Scholars (based on funding provisions below).

  • Graduate Student Researchers (GSRs) (based on funding provisions below).

We note the following: there is already a stringent, centralized process in place for the review of positions in the Professor and Teaching Professor series, which takes costs into account; campus did an analysis of Unit 18 Lecturer hiring and planning in fall 2024; Adjunct Professor series and Professor in Residence series positions are term-limited positions based on their funding; Clinical faculty and Extension instructors positions are based on the revenues generated by the clinical and extended learning enterprises.

Broadly speaking, positions directly involved in providing instruction, such as faculty, and directly supporting the provision of instruction, are exempt because we need to provide these services to our students. Likewise, leadership positions (e.g., Deans) are excluded because those functions are considered critical. Similarly, positions funded from sponsored projects are exempt in order to meet our project obligations to external funding agencies or organizations. 

Academic positions are excluded from the hiring freeze if they are funded by one or a combination of sources: 

  • Extramural contracts/grants; 

  • Gifts or endowments where the funds are restricted to only allow pay for the specified position(s); and/or

  • Other faculty-designated funding (i.e., CF2 designated), such as: faculty start-up funds, faculty retention funds, research gifts, endowed chairs, “various donors” fund, FSREP savings, etc.

The cognizant dean is responsible for monitoring fund sources.

Exceptions Request Process for Academic Titles

If there is no applicable exclusion listed above, division leaders may submit their request for exceptional approval as part of the normal search process using UC Recruit for review by the Academic Personnel Office.

Tracking of Academic Hires

Beginning April 11, 2025, we will use reports from UC Recruit to track all hires made in anticipation of an eventual data request from UCOP. In order to do that, all completed searches must be appropriately concluded in the system in a timely manner. We also ask that each unit track other efforts in connection with the hiring freeze, including keeping a clear record of all positions that are left vacant, consolidated, eliminated, or deferred beginning April 11, 2025. 

Thank you for your flexibility and understanding as the university continues to adapt to both a rapidly changing budget and policy environment and new systemwide mandates