Social Sciences

Demography professor explores how climate and behavior drive global disease patterns

April 16, 2025

What do human movement, climate variability and social structures have in common? They are all essential components in understanding the spread of infectious diseases, according to UC Berkeley Demography Professor Ayesha Mahmud.

Mahmud’s research uses data-driven modeling and behavioral analysis to investigate how diseases spread in different environments — urban and rural, humid and dry, connected and isolated.

Her current projects focus on how individual behavior and large-scale population movements interact with...

Michael Burawoy’s friends remember a brilliant scholar and committed supporter of protest

April 14, 2025

At its core, Michael Burawoy believed the science of sociology was, even when encased in the stodgy halls of academia, a study of possible solutions to improve the world. As such, it was natural for theories from the profession to be used to advocate for social change.

Not all of his colleagues believed sociologists should be personally on the picket lines or protesting.

But Burawoy was different because that’s exactly what he was doing toward the end of his life.

In February, the legendary Berkeley sociologist was...

UC Berkeley study reexamines the psychology behind why we go to war

April 14, 2025

We often assume that the decision to go to war is a carefully calculated process – one in which political leaders methodically weigh the risks and benefits before taking escalatory action. However, this belief is not supported by cognitive science and is becoming increasingly outdated.

UC Berkeley Political Science Assistant Professor Marika Landau-Wells is working to change that perception. Her research integrates psychology into our understanding of decision making, particularly as it relates to war, conflict and foreign policy, in order to update...

UC Berkeley Letters & Science announces recipients of 2025 L&S Faculty Awards

April 8, 2025

UC Berkeley's College of Letters & Science is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 L&S Faculty Awards. This distinguished award recognizes each awardee's exceptional scholarship, service to the College and community, and transformational teaching. These extraordinary individuals not only embody the excellence of the College of Letters & Science, but they also serve as an inspiration to the entire campus community. The recipients will be honored at a private ceremony on Wednesday, May 14....

UC Berkeley graduate programs soar to elite status in latest US News rankings

April 8, 2025

UC Berkeley’s graduate programs maintained their premier-level rankings in a 2025 surveyreleased today (Tuesday, April 8) by US News & World Report, with elite scores achieved in disciplines ranging from the social sciences and engineering to computer science and business.

A remarkably diverse set of Berkeley schools and programs achieved top rankings in the magazine’s annual assessment of graduate programs nationwide.

The College of Letters & Sciences scored No. 1 rankings for...

Incoming Cal Psychology Professor named in Forbes 30 Under 30 list for healthcare

April 9, 2025

Incoming Cal Psychology Professor Jasmin Brooks Stephens was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for her achievements in healthcare. Stephens conducted the first known study that revealed discrimination was associated with the development of suicide capability — one’s ability to act on suicidal thoughts or intentions — among Black adults.

As an undergraduate at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Stephens explored the relationship between race and mental health within Black communities, inspiring her to pursue a career in clinical...

Berkeley Sociology paper shows the difficulty in landing a job for college grads with criminal records

April 11, 2024

In today’s job market, a college degree is often seen as a pathway to success, promising greater opportunities and higher chances of employment. But for individuals with a criminal record, the reality can be starkly different.

UC Berkeley Sociology alumnus Michael Cerda-Jara explores the challenges formerly incarcerated individuals face while seeking employment in a study published in Sociological Science titled "Criminal Record...

In tough Oakland neighborhoods, a bold project builds public safety — and hope

May 1, 2024
The Possibility Lab at UC Berkeley is tapping the expertise of hundreds of residents to learn what helps them feel safe in their everyday lives.
Annette Miller has lived much of her life in a two-story clapboard house in West Oakland, and through the decades she has seen the fortunes of her neighborhood rise and fall. But surging violence here has left a devastating personal impact: one son murdered, another son shot in the head and permanently disabled.

It seems impossible, but Miller has built strength from these tragedies, and has emerged as a community leader and educator...

Why studying children’s minds could help us build better AI

August 13, 2024

UC Berkeley psychology professor Alison Gopnik studies how children learn. She also studies artificial intelligence systems. That might sound counterintuitive, but as she explains in this video about her work for UC Berkeley News, there’s much overlap between what we are learning about how babies explore the world and how we might create better AI systems.

“Even very young children are the best learners, and they do it in record time and with very little teaching,” says Gopnik. “So the question is, how do they manage...

UC Berkeley-led study reveals undercounted COVID-19 deaths in Pune, India

August 8, 2024

A groundbreaking study led by UC Berkeley Psychology Postdoctoral Research Fellow Aakash Chowkase showed the official number of COVID-19 deaths in Pune, India may be significantly underreported.

Published in Nature's Scientific Reports on May 6th, 2024, the research estimates that from March 2020 to December 2021, Pune...