BERKELEY – When Georgia Bell was about 11 years old, she wore a Cal T-shirt given to her by family friend Alan Karras, who is a Political Economy lecturer at UC Berkeley. She didn't think much of it, other than it was a cool shirt.

As Bell learned later, being a student-athlete at Cal can be pretty cool as well.

Bell, a distance runner on the Golden Bears' track & field team, is a student in UC Berkeley's Cultural Studies of Sport in Education master's program. She is one of a handful of student-athletes who have made a seamless jump from their undergraduate studies to a master's program at Cal while continuing on with their playing careers as well.

"I used to wear a T-shirt from Berkeley but didn't really know what it was," Bell said. "I just thought it was a cool shirt. And now here I am."

Bell grew up in London, where her father, Andy, is a longtime political reporter and in 2012 gave a commencement speech at UC Berkeley's International and Area Studies graduation. She did her undergraduate work at the University of Birmingham, where she began running on the track team during her second year. Since it typically takes three years to earn a bachelor's degree at a UK university and Bell didn't run her first year, she found herself with two years of athletic eligibility remaining at an American university.

"It's quite a common thing for girls in England to do undergraduate at home and then pursue a master's in the States," Bell said. "I knew Berkeley was extremely academically rigorous, and obviously had a really good reputation. I've always been academically driven. That was really appealing to me."

The Cultural Studies of Sport in Education (CSSE) program may not be what would be expected from student-athletes. It is designed to examine the intersection of athletics and academics within the U.S. education system, investigating the ways in which institutionalized sport both conflicts with and complements the mission of higher education. This includes a focus on the philosophy of education, issues related to urban education, sport sociology, and an evaluation of NCAA policies.

"I originally thought the program was going to be very complimentary about the sporting structure in American, but it's actually more of a critical thinking class," Bell said. "I honestly think every athlete should take this class. It's really eye-opening. I'm really happy with it."

Bell said her undergraduate studies at Birmingham – ranked as the No. 12 university in the UK by U.S. News & World Report – helped prepare her for the demands of a UC Berkeley master's program. Part of her requirements to earn her bachelor's degree was to write a 10,000-word dissertation on the state of health and sport in the primary schools in London.

"My mentality has changed since I got to Berkeley," Bell said. "You're around people who are constantly pushing forward. You are surrounded by people who are always challenging themselves. It makes you want to be better. I'm really happy that I came here."

Recent years have also seen student-athletes come to Cal to finish out there competitive eligibility while earning a master's degree from UC Berkeley's School of Public Health - including Davis Webb of the football team and Grant Mullins, Dwight Tarwater and Nick Kerr from men's basketball.

Both Tarwater (Cornell) and Mullins (Columbia) earned their undergraduate degrees from Ivy League institutions and said their academic background fit perfectly with Cal.

"It definitely made the transition easier," Mullins said. "I've never been at a school where academics weren't a big focus. I got the same sort of vibe here. It was a smooth transition."

The Public Health program is a hybrid of online education with intensive on-campus seminars designed to prepare students for leadership roles in local, national and international organizations. Tarwater said the quality of students in the program can be intimidating and beneficial – again, something he experienced at Cornell as well.

"Sometimes you're hesitant to raise your hand and say something because there are so many intellectual people in the room," Tarwater said. "It was the same way as Cornell. It's so competitive, if you say something and you're not spot on, somebody is going to try to call you out on it."