As a result of the Great Depression, his parents struggled to earn a living so they moved to The Bronx, New York in 1934 when Berson was about ten years old and stayed there until 1937.

Berson attended City College of New York, primarily chosen for economic reasons, and graduated a semester early with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1944.

During the academic year of 1949–1950, Berson was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University with Robert Burns Woodward.

During the time he worked at the University of Wisconsin the focus of his laboratory were the thermal and carbocationic rearrangements and the role of orbital symmetry in chemical reactions.

In addition to teaching and research, his activities at Yale University included service as chairman of the department of chemistry (1971-1974) and director of the division of physical sciences and engineering (1983-1990).