Dr. Pieter Abbeel

Professor

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Biography

Pieter Abbeel is a Professor and the Director of the Berkeley Robot Learning Lab as well as Co-Director of the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence (BAIR) Lab at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on building intelligent systems, pushing the frontiers of deep reinforcement learning, deep imitation learning, deep unsupervised learning, and transfer learning. Abbeel also investigates the impact of artificial intelligence on various scientific and engineering disciplines. His introduction to artificial intelligence course has been taken by over 100,000 students on edX, and he has contributed significantly to deep reinforcement learning and deep unsupervised learning resources widely regarded as standard references within the AI research community. Abbeel has founded several companies, including Gradescope, Covariant, and Berkeley Open Arms, and serves as an advisor to numerous AI and robotics startups. His work has garnered significant attention from major media outlets, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC, Rolling Stone, Wired, and Tech Review.

Research Interests

Awards

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Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

2015-01-01
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National Science Foundation CAREER Award

2015-01-01
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Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program Award

2015-01-01

Requirements for University of California, Berkeley

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
GRE Subject
Overall Score
Required:500
Overall
Required:500
TOEFL
Total
Required:90
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree or recognized equivalent Preparation comparable to undergraduate major at Berkeley in Mathematics or Applied Mathematics 2 full years lower-division work (Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Multivariable Calculus) 8 one-semester upper-division courses (Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Linear Algebra)
Application Checklist
  • Graduate Application
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Personal History Statement
  • Three Letters of Recommendation
  • Unofficial Transcripts
  • C.V./Resume
  • Course and Textbook List
Specialization Notes

The Mathematics Subject GRE is required for the Fall 2026 admissions cycle. General GRE is optional.