Undergraduate Studies

Phuong Le's unconventional journey at UC Berkeley unlocked a new passion and career trajectory

October 9, 2025
L&S Alum Spotlight:
Phuong Le '22 (she/her) Major: American Studies

Phuong Le graduated from UC Berkeley's College of Letters & Science with a degree in American Studies. While that may sound straightforward, her path was anything but traditional. After building a strong academic foundation at Berkeley, personal challenges with her mental health and finances ultimately led Phuong to withdraw from school just shy of graduation in 2017.

Over the next five years, Phuong worked tirelessly to overcome these obstacles, which were...

Announcing the 2025 L&S First-Year Pathways Course Enrichment Grant Recipients

September 19, 2025

The UC Berkeley College of Letters & Science is pleased to announce the 2025 recipients of the inaugural L&S First-Year Pathways Course Enrichment Grants.

Now entering its third year, the L&S First-Year Pathways program has significantly expanded for 2025-26, growing from 6 clusters serving 125 students to nearly 20 clusters serving more than 230 students. L&S Pathways provides a small cohort experience for groups of 17-30 incoming freshmen who take "clusters" of three or four courses together...

Berkeley Talks: Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna on CRISPR and the future of gene editing

August 22, 2025

Portrait of Jennifer DoudnaFor UC Berkeley’s Jennifer Doudna, the revolutionary discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing began 15 years ago with a meeting at the campus’s Free Speech Movement Cafe.

“This is a quintessential story about Berkeley,” begins Doudna, a professor of molecular and cell biology and of chemistry, in a lecture she gave on campus in April. “The research that I’ll talk about today wouldn’t have happened … if I...

Learning to listen: Expanded UC Berkeley course teaches how to better engage with opposing views

August 21, 2025

Now available to all students, faculty, staff and alumni, the class features lectures and discussions with top UC Berkeley scholars and offers suggestions on navigating especially challenging conversations during polarized times.

Amir Rafiei has long known that some topics can be divisive. But he hadn’t realized how his own actions may have caused divides in his seemingly neutral hobby of filmmaking.

Sometimes he’d feel “locked in” with his own thoughts and ideas. He’d stop listening to what his collaborators were saying about shot techniques or narrative structures...

OURS Student Spotlight: Meet Angela '26, Psychology & Computer Science

August 7, 2025

Angela Lee (’26) | Psychology / Computer Science

Headshot of Angela Lee, woman with long dark hairAngela (she/her) is a 2025 SURF L&S researcher majoring in Psychology and Computer Science. For her SURF project this summer, Angela is researching the topic “EQVision: Affective Tracking of Multiple Characters in Context.”

How did you get interested in the topic of your project?

I...

Meet Cathy: L&S SURF Student Spotlight

June 20, 2025

This interview originally appeared on the OURS website.

Headshot of Cathy Kenderski, young woman with blond wavy hair, smiling at camera OURS Student Spotlight: Cathy Kenderski (Fall ’25) | Molecular and Cell Biology

Cathy (she/her) is a 2025 SURF L&S researcher majoring in Molecular and...

UC Berkeley alums named 2025 Knight-Hennessy Scholars

May 15, 2025

Two distinguished UC Berkeley graduates have been selected as Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University, joining a distinguished cohort of 84 new scholars representing 25 countries. This prestigious fellowship awards students with "up to three years of financial support to pursue graduate studies at Stanford while engaging in experiences...

In turbulent times, 2025 University Medal finalists excelled through idealism, hard work

May 12, 2025

One is a rising star in space research. One is a structural engineer, inspired by the experience of a devastating earthquake. One is a musician and opera composer, and another already has worked at the highest levels of U.S. politics. All share a common commitment: idealism and uncompromising hard work to make a positive impact in the world.

These traits unite the 2025 finalists for the University Medal — Corina Dunn, Owen Klein, Carlos Quezada and Miya Rosenthal — along with this year’s...

37th Annual Excellence in Management Awards Celebrate L&S Staff Members

May 2, 2025

The Berkeley Staff Assembly recently announced the recipients of the 37th annual Excellence in Management Award, who are recognized for leading their teams and team members to meaningful accomplishments this past year. This year’s award theme, “A Culture of Excellence: Inspiring Performance and Growth," highlights leaders who foster an environment where innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement thrive, empowering their teams to achieve their full potential and drive organizational success.

The award recipients were honored at a ceremony on April 30, where Chancellor...

L&S Staff Honored with 2025 Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Awards

May 1, 2025

event image for Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Awards with a bear statue against a graphic blue background

Five individual staff members from the College of Letters & Science are recipients of the 2025 Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Awards (COSA). One of the highest honors bestowed upon staff by the Chancellor, the COSA awards are presented to individuals who, in addition to performing their normal job duties with excellence, "...