UC Berkeley Students Create Their Own ‘Adulting’ Course

Students at UC Berkeley have taken responsibility into their own hands by creating a course focused on being a grown-up. The course, entitled, “Adulting,” will focus on improving practical life skills, such as resume building, and completing tax returns.

A new course at UC Berkeley called “Adulting” — a millennial term referring to when someone behaves like an adult by performing mundane, yet necessary tasks — will help improve students’ life skills, by teaching them how to accomplish the tasks that they will likely encounter after they graduate college and are on their own.

“The school system does not require a class for students to learn how to live in the real world and function as an adult,” reads the course description. “We often enter college unprepared to take care of ourselves.”

“Many life skills, including how to develop good habits, manage stress, pay taxes, budget our spending/income, and to live a healthy lifestyle, are necessary, especially when college is the bridge to adulthood,” continues the description. “This course will explore the many dimensions of how to successfully adult.”

The description reads as if it was written by students — because it was. The “Adulting” course is student-run, and will be taught by 20-year-old integrated biology student Belle Lau, and her friend Jenny Zhou, according to a report by SF Gate.

“We realized the things we don’t learn in school are topics like taxes and just how to take care of yourself,” said Lau, who added that since she herself is not an expert in these topics, the course will rely on inviting outside professionals to come in and speak to the class.

“We don’t really know that much, so we’re all learning together,” said Lau. “We’re the middlemen trying to get professionals to talk about these topics to students.”

The report added that one guest speaker included a recruiter from the ride-sharing company Lyft, who came in to discuss resume building. Another speaker was an economics professor, who advised students on how they can save 50 percent of the money they earn.

“The number one thing that everyone struggles with is taxes,” said Lau, who invited her mother to speak on the topic, as she is an accountant.

Lau had also hoped to include a session on changing the oil in one’s own car, but the university’s administration reportedly said there wouldn’t be enough academic reading on the subject, which would make the topic more appropriate for a social club on campus, instead.

Nonetheless, students appear to be taking an interest in the concept of the course, as its debut spring semester has reportedly received 100 applicants, despite only having just 30 available seats.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.