Andrea Antoni didn’t take a traditional path to graduate school — if one exists for computational astrophysicists. On her last day of high school, she gave birth and became a single, working mother.
While volunteering at her child’s school, she met other mothers who worked in computer science and electrical engineering. She felt those careers represented practical ways to get an education and earn money. So, in her 30s...
UC Berkeley’s influence traverses the globe, and thanks to the Judith Stronach Travel Seminar, its creative scholars can as well.
This past November, art history professors Zamansele Nsele and Ivy Mills led a group of six graduate students to Senegal for an immersive, nine-day trip to the 2024 Dak'Art Biennale — a major art exhibition that showcases contemporary African art every other year.
There’s a word UC Berkeley comparative literature Ph.D. student Frank Cahill will never forget. He misspelled it as an eighth grader in the second round of the live televised Scripps National Spelling Bee finals.
Porwigle. Yes, you read that correctly. The word was p-...
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...
On a sunny Saturday in March, dozens of onlookers watched Jasmine Nyende charge, pull, twist, and duck under ropes held by six other performers. Nearby, portable speakers blared punk rock. Nyende’s performance — titled “Sankofa Moshpit” — was a joyful memorial to her late friend, Láwû. It was also one of the featured events during UC Berkeley’s MFA Open Studios.
When most people hear about a fishing expedition in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, they might picture researchers snorkeling through coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea or diving into crystal-clear cenotes, surrounded by postcard-perfect scenery.
But nothing I had imagined—or Googled—before my first field trip came close to the reality we faced in our search for pupfishes. We were after something far more elusive: the Laguna Chichancanab adaptive radiation, a group of pupfish species named for the way their tails wag like those of playful puppies. These fish exhibit remarkably different...
UC Berkeley’s Department of History is recognizing one of its most beloved professors with a new speaker series devoted to African American history. The series extends the legacy of Leon Litwack, a trailblazing scholar who taught generations of students to peer behind the curtain of whitewashed narratives and learn difficult truths about their country’s past.
Few areas of scholarship are as contentious — and...
Lucille Lorenz, Arts & Humanities writer-in-residence
Saagar Asnani is a graduate student in Musicology and Medieval Studies. He focuses particularly on the regions of France, Italy, Occitania, and Catalonia. He works mainly with the relationship between language and music, as his research bridges sociohistorical linguistics with musicology. Saagar earned his MA from UC Berkeley in 2022, and BA in Music, French and Biology from University of Pennsylvania.
How did you decide to pursue a graduate degree in Berkeley’s Department of Music? Is there any advice that you have for undergraduates, who are interested in pursuing graduate...
While the 2024 Games may have drawn to a close, there are still student athletes in the College of Chemistry who daily display the same kind of discipline and resilience as any Olympian. “Being a student athlete at the University of California, Berkeley, presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities,” says gymnast and recent College of Chemistry student Jaxon Mitchell(link is external). He adds, “Balancing a rigorous academic...
Glaciers are retreating around the world as the planet warms, but scientists have debated how severe the shrinkage is compared to periodic glacial advances and retreats since the end of the Ice Age about 12,000 years ago.
A new study of four glaciers dotting the high Andes in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia shows that, at least in the tropics, the...
There’s a word UC Berkeley comparative literature Ph.D. student Frank Cahill will never forget. He misspelled it as an eighth grader in the second round of the live televised Scripps National Spelling Bee finals. 
Glaciers are retreating around the world as the planet warms, but scientists have debated how severe the shrinkage is compared to periodic glacial advances and retreats since the end of the Ice Age about 12,000 years ago.