News

UC Berkeley Social Welfare undergraduate student Marlenne Perez (BASW '26) has been recognized with the Chancellor’s Award for Public Service, the Mather Good Citizen Award, for her work supporting...Read more about Marlenne Perez (BASW '26) receives Chancellor’s Award for Public Service, Mather Good Citizen Award

Update (May 2026):
The honorary doctorate was conferred on April 30, 2026, during the UNED International Doctoral School Day. UNED has published the official laudatio, Professor Gilbert’s acceptance remarks, and a full video recording of the ceremony. Materials are...Read more about Professor Neil Gilbert to Receive Honorary Doctorate from Spain’s UNED

Doctoral student Nereida Heller has been awarded the Sosozei Pre-Dissertation Fellowship in recognition of her research on sobering centers and their role within behavioral health systems. A third-year MSW/PhD...Read more about Nereida Heller Awarded Sosozei Pre-Dissertation Fellowship

PhD candidate Leyi (Joy) Zhou has been awarded the Soroptimist International of the Americas Founder Region Fellowship Award, which recognizes outstanding...Read more about Leyi (Joy) Zhou Receives Soroptimist Founder Region Fellowship Award

Karina Davis (MSW ’26), a 2025–26 CSWE Minority Fellowship Program Fellow, is focused on advancing more equitable, community-driven...Read more about Student Spotlight: Karina Davis (MSW ’26) on community, care and systems change

Professor Jill Duerr Berrick is featured in a new Imprint article examining two studies of Michigan’s Rx Kids cash aid program that reach different conclusions using the same data. One finds a drop in child...Read more about Jill Duerr Berrick Featured in Imprint on Michigan Cash Aid Study Debate

Researchers from the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare’s Risk Resilience Lab have published a new study in Law and Human Behavior examining how financial sanctions affect outcomes for youth in the...Read more about New Risk Resilience Lab Study Explores the Impact of Financial Sanctions on Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

Dean Susan Stone co-authored a new opinion piece in The Sacramento Bee warning that proposed federal changes to student loan programs could deepen California’s shortages of teachers, social workers, nurses and...Read more about Dean Susan Stone Co-Authors Op-Ed on Federal Loan Changes Threatening Public Service Careers

Researchers at the Digital Health Equity & Access Lab (dHEAL) at the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare are exploring new ways to bring mental health care to Spanish-speaking...Read more about Research Feature: Expanding Access to Digital Mental Health Care for Spanish-Speaking Communities

Linda M. Burton, Emerita professor and former dean of the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare, will deliver the keynote address at the “Path to Freedom” program on February 28 in...Read more about Linda M. Burton to Deliver Keynote at “Path to Freedom” Program in Pennsylvania

A recent article in Mission Local on federal immigration enforcement in San Francisco includes commentary from Assistant Professor Kristina Lovato.

The story reports on the detention and deportation of a San...Read more about Impact of Deportation on Family Well-being Explored in Mission Local Story; Dr. Kristina Lovato Featured

The SHIFT Research Group has announced two new peer-reviewed publications advancing scholarship on parenting engagement and integrated school-based mental health systems....Read more about SHIFT Research Group Publishes New Studies on Parenting Engagement and School-Based Mental Health

Professor Anu Manchikanti Gómez has played a central role in developing a groundbreaking new public health metric to measure contraceptive need in the United States. In partnership with the...Read more about Anu Manchikanti Gómez Co-Authors New Contraceptive Need Metric

Understanding Child Welfare was published in January 2026 through Edward Elgar...Read more about Jill Duerr Berrick and Richard P. Barth et al. Publish Understanding Child Welfare

UC Berkeley has been named an Age-Friendly University, joining the global Age-Friendly University Network. This network includes institutions worldwide that are committed to expanding opportunities for lifelong learning, supporting older adults on campus, and advancing research and programs that...Read more about School of Social Welfare Faculty Contribute to UC Berkeley’s Age Friendly University Recognition

We look forward to seeing you at SSWR this year! Please see the table below of our faculty, students, and affiliates presenting.

You can also join us at the West Coast Reception on January 16th from 830pm-10:30pm at the Marriott Marquis in Washington D.C....Read more about Come see us at SSWR!

Congratulations to Monica De La Cruz, PhD, MPH, who received an Honorable Mention for the 2026 Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Outstanding Social Work...Read more about Monica De La Cruz Receives Honorable Mention for SSWR Outstanding Social Work Doctoral Dissertation Award

Berkeley Social Welfare faculty member Dr. Kristina Lovato is featured in a recent Mother Jones article examining the experiences of immigrant and unaccompanied youth and the impacts of immigration enforcement on their well-being. Her scholarship continues to inform...Read more about Kristina Lovato on Immigrant Youth and Community Support

PhD candidate Reiley Reed has been awarded a $7,000 Reproductive Health Workforce Doctoral Fellowship from the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity at the George Washington University. The fellowship...Read more about PhD Candidate Reiley Reed Awarded Reproductive Health Workforce Doctoral Fellowship

Berkeley Social Welfare is pleased to announce that Karina Davis and Alishba Sardar, both second-year MSW students, have been selected for the Council on Social Work Education’s Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) for the 2025–26...Read more about Karina Davis (MSW ’26) and Alishba Sardar (MSW ’26) Awarded CSWE MFP Fellowships for 2025–26