The Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC) (formerly known as University Students' Cooperative Association or the USCA) is a student housing cooperative serving primarily UC Berkeley students, but open to any full-time post-secondary student. The BSC houses and/or feeds over 1,300 students in 17 houses and three apartment buildings.^[3][4] Food is provided to residents of the 17 houses, which also offer boarding meal plans to non-residents.^[5] As part of their rental agreement, residents of the houses are required to perform workshifts, typically five hours per week.^[6] The BSC is led by a board of directors which is primarily composed of and elected by student members.^[7]

In the beginning of 1933, to meet the need for affordable student housing during the Great Depression, Berkeley YMCA director Harry Lees Kingman inspired a group of students to start the first cooperative house in Berkeley, where student would do work-shifts in exchange for common food and lower rent.^[8][9] The house would be based on Rochdale Principles, which include: democratic control, common purchase of the cheapest available produce, open membership, market prices charged, political neutrality, limited interest on any invested capital, and return of savings to members in return for their investment.^[9] A rooming house became the first unit, with ten students becoming the first members and twelve more joining before the end of the semester.^[9]

In the fall of 1933, the students leased from Sigma Nu a Northside fraternity house, it became the original Barrington Hall housing 48 students.^[9] The following year, another fraternity house was leased, this time on Southside, it became Sheridan Hall housing 100 students. The two joined to form the University of California Students' Cooperative Association (UCSCA).^[9] In 1935, the Sigma Nu lease was allowed to expire and instead UCSCA leased Berkeley's largest apartment building located at 2315 Dwight Way, housing 200 members and took on the name Barrington Hall.^[9] USCA's third house opened the following year, a former inn on Northside Ridge street became Stebbins Hall, the first female unit housing 82 members.^[9] Next, Sherman Hall originally a sorority, Oxford a large apartment building and Atherton a smaller house next to Barington, were opened.^[9] Oxford would house 112 members and also became a central-kitchen, supplying daily meals to almost all of the houses.^[9]

As the US entered World War II the number of male students dropped significantly and Sherman and Atherton stopped operating. As California began forcefully relocating Japanese Americans from their homes, USCA agreed to assist and take over the lease on the Japanese Student Club's building. It became Lexington Hall, housing around 30 women prior to its return in 1948.^[9] On the other hand, Barrington Hall was temporarily rented to the Navy resulting in Oxford becoming the sole male residence. While previously deteriorating, under Navy's control Barrington underwent complete physical renovation.^[9]

Right after World War II, the UCSCA purchased Ridge House, formerly a mansion, and the year after that – Cloyne Court Hotel. Both properties were bought to house men as there was a sharp increase in the student population caused by the GI Bill. There would be 51 students at Ridge House and 150 at Cloyne Court Hotel. Several years later a former Inn was purchased, similar in structure and size, like Stebbins it was converted to an all female house.^[9] Several years later, due to changes in state law, the association could no longer have University of California in its name, and changed its name to the University Students' Cooperative Association (USCA).^[8] A smaller house – Kidd hall was purchased in 1960, and in 1966, USCA opened one of the first co-ed student housing projects in the nation – the Ridge Project.^[10]

In the 1960s and 1970s, Berkeley saw a decline in the popularity of the Greek System, which allowed the USCA to purchase defunct sororities which became Davis House, Andres Castro Arms, and Wolf House. The 1970s saw the opening of Lothlorien Hall, a vegetarian theme house, and Kingman Hall, both of which formerly housed New Age communities. Lothlorien was previously leased to the One World Family Commune and Kingman Hall was owned by the Berkeley Living Love Center.^{[11][n 1]} This decade also saw the construction and opening of the Rochdale Village Apartments, one of BSC's three apartment facilities. The others are Fenwick Weaver's Village and the Northside Apartments. BSC also owns two graduate and re-entry student houses, the Convent and Hillegass/Parker House, formerly Le Chateau. In 1987, due to its confusion with the Ridge House and the negative connotation of the word "project," the Ridge Project's name was changed to Casa Zimbabwe.^[10] In 1989, the members of the USCA voted to close Barrington Hall, its largest co-op, in reaction to complaints from neighbors and problems with the city.^[12] The following decade also saw the opening of two new theme houses: the African American Theme House, opened in response to the university's closing of all of its theme houses; and, in 1999, Oscar Wilde House. Oscar Wilde House is a former fraternity house, which the USCA was able to buy due to the continuing decline in the popularity of the Greek system in Berkeley.^[13][14]

In 2007, to make itself easier to find online, and to reflect a membership that also includes community college students, the organization changed its name to the Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC).^[8]

In front of the Casa Zimbabwe building are the BSC's Central Office and the Central Kitchen and Central Maintenance facilities.^[16][17] Central Office handles all of the applications to BSC and determines where members will be placed. Placement is based on applicants eligibility, how long they have been a member of BSC, the member's preferences, and the number of vacancies in their preferred house(s).^[18][19] Central Kitchen handles and delivers the food orders for all of the houses but not the apartments. Food orders are handled on the house level by the Food or Kitchen Managers.^[20] Central Kitchen also handles the supply orders for all of the houses, such as toilet paper and cleaning supplies, as well as the furniture orders for both the houses and the apartments. Central Maintenance is responsible for major work on the houses, including major projects or renovations.^[16] Most minor work is handled by house Maintenance Managers. Permanent staff of the BSC is organized into a collective bargaining unit known as the Employee Association.^[21]

The BSC offers priority to students in the UC Berkeley Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) (or equivalent at their respective college or university), students with disabilities, transfer students, undocumented students, and international students studying abroad at a University of California campus.^[22][23]

At the house or apartment complex level, residents have the option of electing a "WRM" Waste-reduction Manager. These managers are responsible for recycling plastics, glass, paper, cardboard as well as composting. Waster-reduction Managers usually maintain color-coded bins, post information sheets and hold workshops/seminars to help residents make sustainable choices. WRMs can fine residents who do not follow house/apartment sustainability policies. The BSC also incorporates food waste reduction strategies into its food management system, by coordinating collections of compost.^[24] Cooperative living is sustainable in the sense that group living involves shared meals and facilities that can contribute to less waste, reduction in resource use, and collaboration in sustainable efforts.^[25]

The BSC currently operates 20 houses and apartments (of which it owns 16), housing and/or feeding over 1300 students and ranging from small houses of 17 residents to large houses of over 100 residents. The BSC also owns the former site of Barrington Hall, which it leases to a for-profit landlord.^[26]

• Beverly Cleary (1936–1938, Stebbins Hall), author of children's books, most notably the Ramona series^[84]
• Narsai David (1953–1955, Cloyne Court), chief, author and food correspondent for KCBS AM radio in San Francisco^[85]
• Andreas Floer (1983–1985, Barrington Hall), German-American mathematician, Floer homology^[86]
• Nathan Huggins (1952–1954, Oxford Hall), the first W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of History and Afro-American Studies and Director of the Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research at Harvard University^{[citation needed]}
• Ed Masuga (1999–2002, Le Chateau), singer, musician, and songwriter^{[citation needed]}
• Norman Mineta (1949–1950, Ridge House), United States Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush, namesake of the San Jose International Airport^[87]
• Peter Montgomery (1967–1971, Cloyne Court), Mathematician^{[citation needed]}
• Gordon Moore (1950, Cloyne Court), Intel co-founder^[84][87]
• Leon F. Litwack (1948-1951, boarder, Oxford House, Ridge House and Cloyne Court), Pulitzer Prize winner, former University of California, Berkeley History Professor^[88]
• Nancy Skinner (California politician), Barrington Hall^[84]
• Steve Wozniak (1971-1972), Barrington Hall

• Berkeley Student Food Collective (BSFC)
• Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives (NoBAWC)
• North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO)