The Institute for the Study of Societal Issues provides a wide range of training for undergraduate and graduate students. ISSI provides office space, intellectual community, and a space of belonging for graduate students from across UC Berkeley. ISSI offers undergraduate research internships through the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program, the Summer Ethnographic Research Workshop, graduate student research opportunities on select projects, and the Graduate Fellows Program (GFP), which, for more than forty years, has provided an interdisciplinary research and training environment as a complement to graduate programs in the social sciences and professional schools. ISSI also provides training for professionals in the academy, government, and private sector by offering workshops on research methods and museum skills.
Center for Ethnographic Research Summer Workshop for Undergraduates
ISSI's Center for Ethnographic Research offers a six-week summer research program for highly-motivated undergraduate and beginning graduate students in social science. Participants are provided with mentorship, hands on research experience, and advanced training in designing and executing a project using qualitative methods.
Graduate Fellows Program
Founded in 1976, the Graduate Fellows Program provides UC Berkeley doctoral students with an interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and inclusive environment for research and training. The Program plays an integral part in training scholars to address the pressing challenges that face California, the nation, and the world. Fellows are selected through a competitive process and are awarded a stipend. The Graduate Fellows Program has enjoyed an unparalleled record of success and has been especially effective in enabling students from underrepresented groups to complete their doctoral studies and obtain faculty positions at top academic institutions around the United States.
Native American Museum Studies Institute
ISSI's Joseph A. Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues, along with the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center and the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, offers a professional development opportunity for tribal museum professionals. Participants will learn to develop the capacity of tribal community members to conserve and revitalize tribal cultural heritage, foster tribal representations and partnerships, and educate tribal and non-tribal communities through museum development and exhibits.
Practical Qualitative Data Analysis in ATLAS.ti
This workshop provides both a conceptual background and practical experience in computer assisted qualitative data analysis (CAQDA) using ATLAS.ti. The workshop begins by examining the core elements common to all CAQDA, regardless of methodological orientation, discipline/profession, or platform. After instruction in the fundamental aspects of CAQDA, the course turns to the logic of the ATLAS.ti program, and how it functions as a tool for CAQDA. The workshop consists of both instruction and hands-on exercises in ATLAS.ti. By the end of the course, participants will have all the conceptual and practical tools necessary to employ ATLAS.ti in their current or future projects involving qualitative data.
Asian American Community Health Certificate
This certificate introduces UC Berkeley undergraduate students to the diversity, complexity and challenges in Asian American community health. The Program serves as a foundation for further exploration of these issues in the fields of ethnic studies, public health, anthropology, business administration, digital health technology, social welfare, economics, and political science.
Students have an opportunity to interact with many guest speakers who are at the forefront of community health research, grassroots activism, and advocacy. Research and field work opportunities will be available based on personal interest and community needs.
This certificate is the first undergraduate certificate in Asian American community health in the United States. It is the culmination of a unique academic-student-community partnership led by ISSI's Asian American Research Center, Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies Program, Asian American Pacific Islander Health Research Group, and Pipeline in AANHPI Community Health.
Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program
ISSI provides a variety of opportunities for student education and professional development through formal and informal internships. Undergraduates participate in sponsored research projects as part of the UC Berkeley Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP). Students work collaboratively with faculty and staff, becoming part of ISSI's larger research and learning community. When we have open positions, they are listed on the URAP site.