Cal Debate

Welcome to the home of Cal Debate!  You can find information here about our intercollegiate policy debate team, the Cal Invitational high school tournament Feb. 18-20, and the Cal National Debate Institute summer camps.  Please look at all the menu items on the left to find information about these programs.

Our Mission

The policy debate team at the University of California – Berkeley teaches critical thinking skills and persuasive communication techniques to an elite group of outstanding students.  Cal Debate is one of the most successful intercollegiate debate programs in the country; since 2000 Cal Debate has won the prestigious Copeland award for the number one ranked team in the nation three times, and has had a team in the Octafinals or better of the National Debate Tournament for 11 straight years.  Our program has trained students to competently debate such diverse issues as immigration reform, nuclear weapons policy, democracy assistance to the Middle East, and agricultural subsidies.

For information about our summer debate camps, or the Cal invitational high school tournament, please click on the relevant links to the left.

For information about joining the Cal debate team, and all other questions, please contact Jonah Feldman, our Director of Debate, at jonahfeldman@berkeley.edu