The Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (ISSI) is UC Berkeley's hub for interdisciplinary social justice research. Since 1976, the Institute has been fostering qualitative and quantitative interdisciplinary research on the issues central to social stratification and inequality while training and supporting new generations of social change scholars.

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Call for Applications: Graduate Fellows Program

Graduate Fellows Program

Current UCB doctoral students - apply by Monday, March 30

Call for Applications: CER Summer 2026 Qualitative Methods Workshop

Call for Applications: CER Summer 2026 Qualitative Methods Workshop

May 25 - July 2, 2026 > In Person: May 25 - June 18 in Berkeley; Virtual: June 23 - July 2 Undergraduates and beginning graduate students are encouraged to apply!

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Recent Stories

Congratulations to ISSI Affiliates Awarded Arts Research Center Grants

March 13, 2026

We congratulate the ISSI affiliates who were awarded grants from the Arts Research Center. Two ISSI faculty affiliates, SanSan Kwan and Courtney Desiree Morris, and three ISSI grad students—NAMI (Evan Sakuma), Irene Franco Rubio, and Alex K. Torrez, were awarded grants.

https://arts.berkeley.edu/202526-lift-loft-grant-awardees

Culture and everyday learning across contexts

January 28, 2026

Kris Gutiérrez, Center for Research on Social Change faculty affiliate, co-authored a paper that brings three bodies of work that share an intellectual and social history into conversation to engage several key ideas in cultural historical theories of learning. The paper, published in Studies in Psychology: Estudios de Psicología, shows the relationship between Luis Moll's concept of households' Funds of Knowledge and Barbara Rogoff and Gutiérrez’s concept of repertoires of...

Advancing Equity Through Transformative Socio-Emotional Learning

January 21, 2026

ISSI graduate student Aukeem Ballard recently co-authored an article in Education Sciences on teachers' sensemaking of equity and social and emotional learning (SEL) in pedagogy and practice. The article's findings highlight the promise of integrating equity-centered SEL within STEM teacher preparation to support early-career development.

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