Social Sciences (Faculty & Staff)

A history of innovation: Berkeley entrepreneurs, companies that changed the way we live

September 29, 2023

The culture and spirit of innovation at UC Berkeley throughout history can be seen in the changemakers — the Berkeley students, researchers, entrepreneurs, faculty members and alumni — who have helped in countless ways to improve our lives and our world.

Well-known innovators from Berkeley include Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna, whose development of CRISPR is arguably the world's most important scientific advancement in decades, and...

UC Berkeley Economics professors Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman named 2023 Citation Laureates

September 19, 2023

UC Berkeley Economics professors Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman have been named 2023 Citation Laureates, Clarivate and its Institute for Scientific Information announced on Tuesday. This distinction recognizes that both Saez and Zucman are among the world's top economists whose work is considered to be of Nobel-prize class.

Both Saez and Zucman...

UC Berkeley Psychology and Economics departments Ranked No.1 by U.S. News

September 19, 2023

U.S. News college rankings

In its 2024 national rankings for best colleges, U.S. News and World Report ranked UC Berkeley Social Sciences departments of Psychology and Economics No. 1 for their undergraduate programs. Overall, UC Berkeley is once again the No. 1 public school in the country, tied with UCLA. In spring 2023, U.S. News ranked Berkeley Psychology No...

Berkeley Social Sciences announces new chairs and directors

September 11, 2023

Berkeley Social Sciences recently announced the appointments of 11 new department chairs and directors. They include:

Sabrina Agarwal Sabrina Agarwal, the new chair of the Department of Anthropology. Professor Agarwal’s research interests include bioarchaeology, biological...

UC Berkeley Social Sciences launches one-year Master of Computational Social Science program

September 18, 2023

Two UC Berkeley students and a laptop

UC Berkeley Social Sciences Dean Raka Ray announced today the launch of a new Master of Computational Social Science (MaCSS) program, which is now accepting applications for its inaugural cohort in Aug. 2024....

L&S Leads Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Awards

April 27, 2022

L&S Recipients of Distinguished Teaching Awards 2022The College of Letters & Science is well represented on the 2022 UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award list. L&S faculty earned four of this year’s five selections for the campus’s most prestigious honor for...

Berkeley Sociology creates endowment to honor Professor Emeritus Michael Burawoy

September 15, 2023

Professor Emeritus Michael Burawoy

UC Berkeley's Sociology Department recently received a $100,000 gift from alumna Suava Zbierski-Salameh to establish an endowment to support students in honor of ...

Most Californians oppose cash reparations for slave descendants, IGS Poll finds

September 12, 2023

California voters are broadly opposed to paying the state’s Black residents to compensate for the longstanding harms of slavery, with opposition extending across party lines, according to a new poll released by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.

The IGS Poll found that 60% of Californians acknowledge the deep and continuing human damage caused by centuries of slavery and the segregation and persecution of Black people that continued long after slavery legally ended in 1865. But strong...

Social Sciences welcomes new faculty

August 24, 2023

Headshot of Tianna Bruno

Twelve new scholars have joined the Berkeley Social Sciences faculty as assistant professors in political science, anthropology, gender and women’s studies, sociology, history, ethnic studies, economics and geography. They bring passion, brilliance and commitment to the Social Sciences. Learn more about them ...