berkeley phd film

Departments & Programs

Ancient Greek & Roman Studies

The Department of Ancient Greek and Roman Studies (formerly known as the Department of Classics, now DAGRS) at UC Berkeley is a leading center for studying Greco-Roman antiquity, offering excellent undergraduate and graduate education in language, literature, history, philosophy, religion, and archaeology. It is the intellectual home of a distinguished faculty, superb graduate students, and an extraordinarily talented and diverse group of undergraduates. Our community is also enriched by visiting scholars, including the annual Jane K. Sather Professor of Classical Literature.

Undergraduate Program  | Graduate Program

Ancient History & Mediterranean Archaeology

UC Berkeley offers an interdisciplinary program of graduate study in Ancient History and Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean Archaeology (AHMA). The program is conducted by an interdisciplinary group that includes more than 20 faculty members affiliated with 7 different Berkeley departments and the Graduate Theological Union. A chair, a graduate adviser, and student affairs officers administer the program. The AHMA program offers MA and PhD degrees in areas that combine work in archaeology and history and related disciplines of ancient studies.

Graduate Program

Art Practice

UC Berkeley’s Department of Art Practice provides rigorous practical, conceptual, critical, and professional training within the context of a world-renowned public research university. The department prepares students for professional lives within contemporary art, while acknowledging that these can take multiple forms and approaches. The department emphasizes an ethical, global scope, with a necessary encouragement of diversity of viewpoints and modes of practice. It offers innovative media-specific, and interdisciplinary courses leading to BA and MFA degrees.

Undergraduate Program | Graduate Program

Buddhist Studies

The Berkeley Group in Buddhist Studies offers an interdisciplinary program of study and research leading to a PhD in Buddhist Studies. The group, which cooperates closely with the Departments of South and Southeast Asian Studies (SSEAS) and East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC), emphasizes the study of Buddhism in its many forms within its Asian historical and cultural context. The group also offers an undergraduate minor in Buddhist Studies.

Celtic Studies

The Celtic Studies Program is an undergraduate degree program housed by the Department of Scandinavian at the University of California, Berkeley. Its purpose is to bring together faculty and students with interests in the cultures, languages, literature, and history of the Celtic regions.

Undergraduate Program

Comparative Literature

The UC Berkeley Department of Comparative Literature is dedicated to comparative literary study that is both historical and theoretical, covering literary traditions from several inter-related regions and traditions. This combination of intensity and breadth is reflected in the composition of our faculty, seventeen of whom are jointly appointed with national literature departments; the remaining two are closely involved with and provide an important link to the Designated Emphasis in Critical Theory. Our signature combination of teaching and research on literature, film, and other media is based on knowledge of original languages, an understanding of historical context and production, and theoretically innovative perspectives.

Critical Theory

The Designated Emphasis (DE) in Critical Theory permits interested graduate students already enrolled in UC Berkeley PhD programs to specialize in critical theory and to obtain certification of this specialization while pursuing the doctoral degree in their home departments. (The program in Critical Theory is not an independent degree-granting program.) Students admitted to the program's DE and who complete its requirements will receive a parenthetical notation to that effect on their doctoral degrees.

Digital Humanities

The digital and data revolutions have transformed our world. For students of the humanities, these revolutions have made new kinds of study possible.

In our Summer Minor or Certificate Program in the Digital Humanities, you will explore questions about art and culture using digital tools. You will learn to search through large collections of sources instantly using text analysis. You will learn to analyze and present your research vividly in visual formats. You will learn to design dynamic and interactive projects on digital platforms. Above all, you will learn how to employ these cutting-edge techniques to investigate subjects in the humanities in new and fascinating ways.

Summer Minor / Certificate Program

Dutch Studies

Introduce yourself to the language, literature, culture and history of the Netherlands, Flanders, the Dutch Caribbean, and Suriname. Dutch Studies offers English-taught courses on Dutch cultural history, literature, and linguistics, as well as four levels of Dutch language courses, a reading and translation course, and a Summer Abroad Program to the Netherlands and Belgium. 

East Asian Languages and Cultures

East Asian Languages and Cultures is the core department for East Asian Humanities on campus, and home to the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, and Tibetan language programs. As the campus center for teaching and research in the literatures and cultures of East Asia, our mission is to train students to understand the texts (written, as well as visual, aural, and material) at the core of its literary, religious, and philosophical traditions. Our curriculum centers on the acquisition of the modern and classical forms of the languages, the informed and engaged reading of a wide variety of East Asian texts in their historical and cultural contexts, and the development of effective writing skills and critical thinking.

The Department of English offers courses in literature, in language, and in writing. The courses in literature have many different focuses: major authors, historical periods, genres, critical theories and methods, and cultural and multicultural studies. Courses in language offer instruction in both the history and the structure of the English language. Writing courses offer training in both expository and creative writing.

Film & Media

The Department of Film & Media offers innovative, interdisciplinary programs leading to a BA in Film and a PhD in Film & Media. It also provides curricular support for the Designated Emphasis in Film Studies for doctoral students in other departments. The department teaches students to think historically, theoretically, and analytically about film and media within the broad context of humanistic studies. Students and faculty engage with all forms of moving-image culture, including film, still photography, television, and digital media. The Department also offers courses in screenwriting, curating, and digital video production.

In the Department of French, you can study French and francophone literature, culture, and film, along with the French language and French linguistics.  For its undergraduate majors and minors and its graduate students, the Berkeley French Department provides thorough coverage in the traditional, historically-based divisions of French literature and culture, as well as in francophone literatures. It blends this coverage with the study of a wide array of related fields and topics — from literary history and theory to philosophy, to social and cultural theory, to the study of gender and sexuality, historiography, visual arts and film, music, popular culture, and politics. We encourage independent and innovative thinking and research at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

The Department of German offers language and literature classes in German, Dutch, and Yiddish, as well as breadth requirement courses (taught in English) on German philosophy, linguistics, political culture, and cinema. The department's degree options include an undergraduate major, a minor, and a PhD. Our renowned doctoral program is affiliated with the departments of Comparative Literature and Film and Media, the Program in Medieval Studies, and the Graduate Group in Critical Theory.

History of Art

We are a vibrant learning community of researchers committed to advancing the study of visual arts, material culture, and built environment through interdisciplinary scholarship, teaching, and public engagement. Our internationally recognized faculty and lecturers, outstanding graduate students, talented undergraduate students, and exceptional group of department staff all contribute to making us one of the world’s leading art history departments. Our teaching encompasses a broad range of questions and specializations, spanning the globe and traversing cross-regional zones of contact. Employing diverse methodologies, including formal analysis, social and cultural history, gender and sexuality studies, critical race theory, eco art history, and digital humanities, our faculty and students investigate the production, circulation, reception, and meaning of visual forms across different media, genres, geographies, and regimes of perception. We seek to cultivate critical thinking, visual literacy, and cultural awareness in our teaching and to promote diverse perspectives, inclusivity, and social justice in our scholarship and pedagogy.

Undergraduate Program | Graduate Advising

Italian Studies

The Italian Studies Department is an interdisciplinary enterprise. You will find courses in Italian language, literature, history, cultural studies, film, and folklore offered by the department, both in Italian and in English. You will also discover that courses with significant Italian content are often taught in other departments and programs, including History of Art, Music, Comparative Literature, Film Studies, Anthropology, Political Science, History, and Medieval Studies. The department's diverse faculty includes scholars of literature, history, music, anthropology, art history, architecture, and cinema. We are also fortunate to have frequent visiting faculty from Italy and elsewhere.

Jewish Studies

UC Berkeley has long been a national leader in Jewish Studies, especially notable for the innovative scholarship promoted in its graduate program. The Center for Jewish Studies provides a strong new focus and a vivid presence for the many varied activities associated with Jewish Studies on the Berkeley campus. It oversees the Designated Emphasis in Jewish Studies for graduate students and the undergraduate minor in Jewish Studies. Additionally, the center is home to UC Berkeley's two annual endowed lecture series, sponsors conferences and public lectures, offers a congenial setting for graduate student colloquia, and serves as an attractive meeting place for the many visiting scholars in the field who come to UC Berkeley each year.

Medieval Studies

The Medieval Studies Program is an interdisciplinary group that coordinates and sponsors lectures, events, and visiting professorships; promotes scholarly interests common to medievalists of different academic departments; and communicates information of interest among them. The Committee on Medieval Studies offers a concurrent PhD program in which candidates have both a home department and training in the core disciplines of medieval studies. The program also offers an undergraduate minor.

Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures

The Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (MELC) studies the languages, literature, and cultures of the ancient, medieval, and the modern Middle East. The department offers specialized training in archaeology, art history, Assyriology, Egyptology, Iranian studies, Judaic studies, Islamic studies, comparative Semitics, and Turkish, Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian languages and literature. Students can explore the interconnected worlds of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and their neighbors, as well as the modern literature and diverse cultures and societies of the modern Middle East. Students are given the opportunity to participate in a discovery experience that is innovative, collaborative, transdisciplinary, and features digital research.

The Department of Music fosters the cultivation of music on campus through undergraduate and graduate programs of study; and also through public concerts and lectures in Hertz Hall, Morrison Hall, and elsewhere. For undergraduates, the department offers a major in music, as well as numerous nonmajor courses for students with little or no previous experience in music. A minor in music draws on courses for either majors or nonmajors, depending on student qualifications. For graduate students, the department offers programs leading to the MA/PhD or PhD degrees in musical composition, history and literature, or ethnomusicology.

The  Department of Philosophy  at the  University of California, Berkeley  offers both a  BA  and a  PhD  in Philosophy. In addition, we offer many  courses  for students who specialize in other disciplines, and we offer a lively series of  philosophical events . The  faculty  and  graduate students  have research interests covering the whole field of philosophy, from antiquity to the present day, and represent both the analytic and continental traditions.

Renaissance and Early Modern Studies

The Designated Emphasis (DE) in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies draws on UC Berkeley’s exceptional faculty strength in Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences to foster interdisciplinary research on the Renaissance and Early Modern period and to provide an intellectual community for those working in these areas. It offers comprehensive training in a wide range of departments and disciplines. Students combine seminar work in intellectual and cultural history, material culture, and languages to supplement their traditional doctoral studies. The DE fosters cutting-edge research and close collaboration with faculty.

The Department of Rhetoric is a leading center for interdisciplinary research and teaching in the humanities and social sciences. Linked by a common interest in the functions of discourse in all its forms, faculty and students engage the theoretical, historical, and cultural dimensions of interpretation and criticism, in fields as diverse as political theory, gender, law, media studies, philosophy, and literature. The department is also committed to the study of rhetorical traditions, from the classical era to contemporary rhetorical theory.

Romance Languages and Literatures

The Romance Languages and Literatures (RLL) interdepartmental PhD program is a joint venture by the Departments of French, Italian Studies, and Spanish and Portuguese. It offers students a unique opportunity to work with distinguished faculty in all three departments as they take advantage of Berkeley's unmatched resources for comparative study of the literatures and linguistics of the Romance language family.

Scandinavian

The languages, literature, and cultures of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) are the focus of teaching and research in the department. The interdisciplinary curriculum ranges from topics in Viking and Medieval Scandinavian history and literature to the influential cultural contributions of the successful Nordic societies of more contemporary times. Instructors regularly teach beginning and intermediate classes in all five modern Nordic languages as well as reading and grammar classes in Old Norse at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Students in the undergraduate major choose a concentration in medieval studies or in one of the modern language areas while also working in comparative and interdisciplinary ways with other cultural materials from the region. Graduate students pursuing the Ph.D. train to become comparative Scandinavianists while also developing depth and expertise in a more specific scholarly field.

Slavic Languages and Literatures

The Slavic Department studies and teaches languages, literature, and cultures of the Russian and other Slavic peoples and their immediate neighbors in East and Central Europe (Hungary and Romania) as well as the Caucasus and Central Asia (hence the terms “Eurasia” and “Eurasian”). Over the centuries, these peoples shared linguistic, literary, cultural and historical experiences, which both united and divided them. These experiences include their intermediary position between the “West” and the “East,” participation in large multi-national states and empires, membership in the Soviet bloc in the twentieth century, and, in recent decades, the transition to post-socialism. In a word, we represent peoples who have influenced the history of a large part of the world.

South and Southeast Asian Studies

The Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies offers programs of both undergraduate and graduate instruction in the languages and cultures of South and Southeast Asia. It offers opportunities to explore the rich cultural, social, and religious histories as well as the living contemporary cultures of these areas. The curriculum covers modern cultural history, the classical literary canon, religious literature, folk and popular works, oral traditions and performance media (including recitation, musical and dramatic performance, dance, media, and film), and modern literatures of the colonial and post-colonial period. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the extensive opportunities for interdisciplinary linkages by pursuing courses offered by the South and Southeast Asia faculty in other departments at UC Berkeley.

Spanish & Portuguese

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese is big enough to offer a wide variety of approaches to teaching and research, yet small enough to afford students at both the graduate and undergraduate level personal attention and mentoring. We offer an abundance of opportunities to learn and achieve mastery of the languages and cultures we study, which include Catalan, Nahuatl, Portuguese, Romance Studies, and Spanish. Our programs are specially designed for highly-motivated, imaginative students with a passion for other languages, literatures, and cultures and the ability to carefully cross traditionally defined geographic, linguistic, and disciplinary borders.

Study of Religion

The Designated Emphasis in the Study of Religion (DESR) supports graduate training in Religious Studies and in the Theory of the Study of Religion, promotes graduate research on topics related to religion, and brings together a cross-disciplinary faculty Group in the Study of Religion.

Recognizing that many Berkeley students across the Humanities and Social Sciences are already deeply engaged in the study of religious phenomena, the DESR creates a space where those students may come together and focus on the history and theory of how others have approached such phenomena. Since Berkeley currently has no department of Religious Studies, the DESR also integrates professional approaches derived from Theology and Religious Studies, alongside those derived from other cultural traditions and critical approaches to religion.

Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies

The Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) teaches performance as a mode of critical inquiry, creative expression, and public engagement. Through performance trainin g and research, we create liberal arts graduates with expanded analytical, technical, and imaginative capacities. As a public institution, we make diversity and inclusion a key part of our teaching, art making, and public programming.

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Film & media studies: collections.

• Collections
• Articles and Film Review Sources
• Primary Sources
• Info About Individual Films
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Collection Overview

Text Collections The Film Studies and Media Studies text collection supports teaching and research in the Film and Media Department, the Media Studies Program, the Graduate School of Journalism, and the exceptionally wide group of other humanities and social sciences disciplines interested in film and media as art form and a cultural artifact.

Concentration of the Film & Media Studies collection is in the areas of film history, film theory, and film aesthetics as well as the analysis of mass media, with particular emphasis on electronic media such as television, radio, motion pictures, and evolving digital forms of communication. Emphasis is on the historical, cultural, and sociological impact of film and media.

Less comprehensive are the collections dealing with the economic aspects of film and media production and distribution, with film technologies and production techniques, and with the craft of film acting. Popular biographies of individual actors, directors, or film industry personalities, and popular works dealing with individual films are also collected sparingly.

The major part of the collection is located in the Gardner (MAIN) Stacks.

Media Resources Center The UCB Library's Media Resources Center is one of the strongest collections of physical and streaming audiovisual content in a US academic library. The MRC collection includes a study-level collection of international cinema works, with particular strengths in contemporary and historical cinematic representations of race, ethnicity, and gender. The MRC non-fiction video collection covers all academic disciplines. The non-fiction collection includes one of the strongest collections of independently produced and/or distributed documentary works in the United States. More information about MRC...

Purchase Recommendations If you'd like to recommend an item to be added to the collection, please use the Purchase Recommendation Form.

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• Last Updated: Feb 1, 2024 10:20 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/subject-guide/108-Film-Studies

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The Department of Film & Media has provided information for students who plan to study abroad. Review your department’s responses to the Major Advising Questionnaires below, then contact the department directly with any additional questions.

"I absolutely loved my time abroad. It was so interesting to see another country’s perspective on the film industry, and Hollywood in particular. I also took a really interesting seminar which had us analyze films still in theaters–which added an element of relevance and immediacy I didn’t always feel in other courses I’ve taken." -Madelyn Brehm, Film major

Advising Resources

Study Abroad for Film & Media Majors (PDF)

Study Abroad Information on the Film & Media Website

Film & Media Advising Contact Information

Major-Specific Info

The Film and Media department encourages its majors to take the opportunity to study abroad. Because film and media play such an important role in shaping global culture, we routinely examine international cinema and media in our courses. Why not take some of these courses abroad where you can immerse yourselves not only in classes but in local cultures, languages, and societies. Study abroad can be an experience of a lifetime! 

Study abroad provides students with an opportunity to step out of their comfort zones and be challenged to understand the world from a new perspective. Film and Media students have traveled and studied in countries around the world. By going abroad, you can:  

- Take advantage of unique academic and experiential opportunities in Film and Media Studies

- Participate in a different educational system and get a comparative perspective on your field of study

- Increase language proficiency

- Improve critical thinking skills

- Expand world view by experiencing another culture firsthand

- Develop self-confidence and independence

- Enhance résumés and/or applications for graduate school

- Prepare for a career in an internationally competitive world 

While it is possible for Film and Media Studies students to go abroad at almost any point in their academic careers, the particular semester, summer, or year that you study abroad depends on what courses you plan to take. Meet with your departmental advisor to determine when would be the best time to fit study abroad into your academic schedule.  

Transfer students are eligible to participate as soon as they arrive at Berkeley. Please note that application deadlines are quite early. For more information: http://studyabroad.berkeley.edu/transferstudents  

Graduate students may apply to study or pursue research at most BSA-affiliated host institutions, and may participate in the short-term language programs. For more information: http://studyabroad.berkeley.edu/graduate-students  

There are a wide variety of topics that can be studied abroad, including National Cinemas, Social Issues, and Media and Cultural Theory.  Why not study the Evolution of Asian Cult Films in Hong Kong, the History of Spanish Film in Madrid, or Bollywood Cinema in India?

Find unique courses in film studies in the following countries:

- Argentina

- Australia

- Hong Kong

- South Africa

- Singapore

Meet with your advisor to determine whether your study abroad courses will satisfy major requirements or electives. Even if your courses will not fulfill requirements, this experience may be well worth your time!  

Through Berkeley Study Abroad, you’ll find many relevant course options at top colleges and universities all over the world.  Some examples are: “Florence in Cinema,” at UC Center Florence, Italy; “Far Eastern Film,” at Yonsei Univ., Korea; “New Media and Culture,“ Univ. of Copenhagen, Denmark; “Asia on Global Screens,” Univ. of Hong Kong; “Media in Transition,” Science Po, Paris; “Memory and Media,” University of Auckland, NZ: “Topics in World Cinema,” Kings College, London; or “Story and Narrative in Film,” Univ. of West Indies, Barbados. 

Berkeley Programs Questionnaire

No. However, students can petition to have courses count toward the major.

UCEAP Programs Questionnaire

A maximum of 2 courses equaling to 8 units.

No, but please contact the department for information and advising.

Please see our Film & Media Major Map , which includes a 4-year plan that gives consideration to going abroad. Please contact the department for more information and advising.

We have a petition process. Complete the petition and attach a copy of the syllabus for each of the abroad courses you intend to count towards the major. The petition is reviewed by the department’s Undergraduate Faculty Advisor. It is possible for a determination to be made prior to departure.

The Honors Thesis is undertaken in the final semester of senior year. Therefore students would have to study abroad before their final semester at Cal or the summer following their Senior year.

The undergraduate adviser.

We don’t currently place holds on declared majors.

Please discuss your study abroad plans with your major adviser.

Independent Programs Questionnaire

Contact the department for more information.

From Mentorships With Comedy Veterans to Golden Globe-Funded Scholarships, These Film Schools Are Championing Underrepresented Filmmakers

By Abbey White

Abbey White

When California State University Northridge’s head of film production Nate Thomas came to visit one of his first students, Paul Hunter, on the set of the new David Oyelowo-starring Apple TV Plus series “Government Cheese,” the Northridge alum and show co-creator could be heard boasting about his time in the program.

Popular on Variety

“We have a very large student population in our film department and we pride ourselves on looking for those individual voices and promoting them,” says Jared Rappaport, chair of the Department of Cinema and Television Arts.

Students’ film studies can also benefit from coursework within other schools, including Northridge’s expansive Humanities department, whose American Indian program recently co-sponsored an evening with “Reservation Dogs” writer-director Tazbah Chavez. With degrees around disability, queer, Middle Eastern, and more cultures, students can diversify or laser focus their storytelling skills and expertise.

Thirty minutes away in L.A., two postgraduate programs from the AFI Conservatory — the Directing Workshop for Women and its Cinematography Intensive for Women — have supported underrepresented gender identities for years. At the four-day workshop for DPs, fellows are pivoting into the below-the-line role, working on a set where they’re “dealing with everything from what it means to be a woman in that department to what it means to be a great cinematographer,” says AFI Conservatory Dean and Executive Vice President Susan Ruskin.

For DWW+, which is celebrating its semicentennial this year and boasts alums like Oscar-winner Siân Heder and Pulitzer-nominee Maya Angelou, the two-year, tuition-free intensive is open to those already familiar with the business and interested in making a short film. Once funded — a process that’s guided, and in certain circumstances of need partially funded by AFI —  directors build among an array of skills ways to “find common ground and learn about story[telling] from other points of view,” while mentors offer analysis to help fine-tune the film.

“It’s not about learning to be a director. You should already know what it means,” Ruskin says. “It’s to open doors, and to be a part of the community. Those are the two things that matter the most.”

At Brooklyn College’s Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, that kind of approach is not limited to a program. Built specifically to create a diverse pipeline of talent for the New York film industry, the only public graduate school in the country integrated into a working film lot (Steiner Studios) is home to a student population that’s two-thirds people of color. Ethan Hawke, Franklin Leonard, and Steven Soderbergh sit on the advisory board for a school with student groups dedicated to BIPOC, women and queer filmmakers.

Students have access to scholarships like the Robert De Niro Award and get $10,000 towards their thesis projects — a commitment that will continue after a recent anonymous $500,000 donation from an Oscar-winner. As one of the only schools with degrees in sonic arts and media scoring, Feirstein creates a pathway to diversify film composing alongside a general curriculum that supports screening films like Rebeca Huntt’s “Beba” and experiencing seminars with talent like Oscar-winning producer Bruce Cohen and Cannes-winning director Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

“These are major filmmakers in the world … and [our students are] seeing people that look like them, and stories about them, on screen,” says executive director Richard N. Gladstein. “We do have to change the way that we’re educating people, so you have to decolonize the curriculum. The canon has to change a little bit.”

In support of that philosophy, students have access to education and cultural support through the American Indian Program, in conjunction with free tuition for Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community members. A career camp launched two years ago also works through the production process to teach high schoolers and prospective students from SRP-MIC the basics of production in just a week.

Before students articulate to top four-year programs like USC, UCLA, Chapman, Columbia College Chicago and AFI, they’ll have the chance to participate in six to 10 shorts using the school’s equipment warehouse, which features an inventory worth $2.5 million. Those looking to start work right after the associate’s program can tap into the school’s partnership with Film Commissioner Matthew Earl Jones on the Arizona Film Office’s Film Ready Initiative, becoming one of the 2,000 across the state within the next five years trained as industry-ready production assistants.

“Filmmaking is a craft — an occupation — and we’re an occupational program. But within that, we still celebrate the uniqueness of perspective,” True says. “That’s why people are drawn to us. They find that this is a friendly yet challenging place.”

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Department of Film & Media UC Berkeley

Transfer students.

Welcome to UC Berkeley! 

For information regarding the major, declaration and requirements, please read our  Transfer Transition Message.

Ph.D. Admissions Bootcamp Recordings

The Pipeline to the PhD Bootcamp helps prospective doctoral students, especially those from underrepresented groups, better understand Ph.D. programs and find the right program for their interests and goals.

The bootcamp is divided into five sessions, which you can watch below. As you consider applying to a Ph.D. program, we hope you find these topics and discussions useful.

You can watch all sessions from beginning to end. If you’re interested in a graduate program at Berkeley, learn more about the steps to apply .  

Session 1 - First Things First: Demystifying the Ph.D.

Learn about how doctoral programs differ from other professional and graduate programs, and if a Ph.D. program might be right for you. We’ll demystify the funding process, discuss how admissions committees review applicants, and provide tips on how to identify and contact faculty in your program of interest.

Session 2a (STEM Students) - Ph.D. Options for My Discipline, Starting with the End in Mind: Developing a Competitive Application

Learn about what types of graduate programs are possible for students in your discipline and undergraduate major. Meet faculty, experts, current graduate students, and alumni in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields and hear their recommendations for successfully navigating the STEM application process and succeeding in graduate school.

Session 2b (Social Sciences and Humanities Students) - Ph.D. Options for My Discipline, Starting with the End in Mind: Developing a Competitive Application

Learn about what types of graduate programs are possible for students in your discipline, and undergraduate major. Meet faculty, experts, current graduate students, and alumni in the humanities and social sciences and hear their recommendations for successfully navigating the application process and succeeding in graduate school.

Session 3 - How to Find Your Researcher Identity

Hear from current graduate students about how to develop your identity as a researcher, what tools and support you need to thrive in a research setting, and who to reach out to for support in identifying and pursuing your research focus.

Session 4 - Productivity 101: Making Use of the Summer and Organizing for the Journey Ahead

The key to a successful graduate school application often involves making effective use of limited time. In this session hear how to organize your time to put together a competitive application, along with some hacks, tips, and tools to prepare your application.

Session 5 - Closer to Achieving the Dream

In this final session, learn how to grow and strengthen your recommender relationship, organize and track admissions deadlines, write a strong diversity statement, manage rejection, and choose the right institution.

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Serginho Roosblad’s “Documenting Police Use of Force” to air on PBS FRONTLINE

April 30, 2024

Serginho Roosblad. Photo by Rafael Roy (’18)

For more than a year, filmmaker Serginho Roosblad (’18) of the AP’s Global Investigations team has followed a group of journalists from The Associated Press as they set out to document how many people in the U.S. die after police officers use restraint tactics not meant to kill — as what happened to George Floyd in 2020, sparking a national reckoning over policing.

Roosblad, in his directorial debut “ Documenting Police Use of Force ,” captures the reporters’ unprecedented findings, drawn from tens of thousands of documents, including autopsies, police incident reports and never-before-published footage from body-worn cameras and bystander cell phones.

Produced in collaboration with the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism and U.S. television’s longest running investigative documentary series FRONTLINE, the film premieres April 30. Marian Carrasquero (’19) is the film’s associate producer.

Berkeley Journalism’s Marlena Telvick interviewed Roosblad via email about the film.

Walk us through how you got involved in the film….

Serginho Roosblad: Soon after the murder of George Floyd, a colleague at the AP received a tip from a long-time source about deaths involving the use of ‘non-lethal’ force by law enforcement. He and another colleague started looking more closely into the matter, and soon realized a somewhat unexplored universe of police deaths, and the failure of the federal government to capture the data of these interactions. Since then they started filing hundreds of FOIAs and tallying the deaths.

I joined the project as much of the reporting had already been on its way for two years, in 2023. I had previously worked on the collaboration between the Associated Press and FRONTLINE on the war in Ukraine, called “War Crimes Watch”. Part of that initiative was a public-facing database about potential war crimes committed during the war. As they were gearing up to collaborate more, the idea came up to create a similar database for the public that resulted in “Lethal Restraint”, and a film about the AP’s efforts to tally deaths involving ‘less-lethal’ force. At the same time, I was selected for the inaugural cohort of FRONTLINE’s Investigative Journalist Equity Initiative. And so when we were looking at various projects the AP was working on I could make a film about, this soon became the lead contender and eventually the film.

Every day, police rely on common tactics that, unlike guns, are meant to stop people without killing them, what police call “less-lethal force.” Do you think the American public will be surprised to learn how often it can still end in death?

Yes, and I was surprised to learn this too. And there were even experts that we spoke with and presented our findings to, who were surprised. I think the types of force that the public will be surprised by are forced sedation and prone restraint. Many people don’t know that in these types of interactions sometimes people are sedated. Oftentimes, people are sedated and wake up in the hospital, but sometimes it goes wrong. The Elijah McClain case is the most well-known recent example, but he was just one of dozens of people who were sedated before they died. McClain didn’t have any drugs on him, but in many cases the AP found, the sedative had a bad interaction with other substances the individual had taken before.

To be included, the cases the AP included had to have primary source documentation, typically records from government agencies. News reports or lawsuit allegations alone were not enough to substantiate a case. How did the rigor in their reporting impact how you framed the film?

Many police departments or others on the side of law enforcement didn’t comment or respond to our requests for comments. So we miss their side of the story. However, having all of the documents we have, we still have a pretty clear picture of what happened in the incidents according to them and what actions they took in the immediate aftermath of the incidents.

The reporting we’ve seen shows that in about 30% of the cases, police were intervening to stop people who were injuring others or who posed a threat of danger. But roughly 25% of those who died were not harming anyone or, at most, were committing low-level infractions or causing minor disturbances. The rest involved other nonviolent situations with people who, police said, were trying to resist arrest or flee. How did you go about visually translating these types of statistics to the audience?

We didn’t intentionally go and select the cases we feature in the film, based on these statistics. We were deep into production when this statistic emerged. But, this shows how often police were dealing with people who were not doing anything necessarily that rose to the level where one could expect to see police use force that would eventually kill. All four cases that we look closer at in the film are men who went through a crisis and needed help. Their actions were minor disturbances at the least, but didn’t rise to the level of criminality. And the tactics the officers used to deal with these men, according to the experts we spoke with, turned out to have contributed to their deaths.

The reporting also shows the known fatalities averaged just two a week for the time period covered— a “tiny fraction” of the total contacts police officers have with the population. And that as the social safety net frays, people under mental distress or who use stimulant drugs like cocaine or methamphetamine are increasingly on the streets and officers sent to handle these emergencies are often poorly trained by their departments. How does this play in the narrative of the film?

Of the four men in our film, two were under the influence of stimulant drugs, which made them act out. Another one was on drugs, but had a medical emergency, a seizure, and two were diagnosed with bipolar disorder. This was not something we intended, but it shows how when even casting a wide net, you still capture many who are on that intersection of drugs and mental illness. Aside from one case in the film, three others were incidents where either themselves or a family member called out for help.

What were the challenges of editing in never-before-published footage from body-worn cameras and bystander cell phones?

When you make a film about force, you have to show the force. But we were very deliberate in what we chose to show. So only the four cases we highlight in the film, we show the body camera footage or footage from the defendant himself (in that case we don’t have body camera footage). In all other cases, when showing examples of force, or patterns that emerged from watching all of the video, we choose to use stills of the body camera video. In addition, we didn’t edit any music underneath any of the body camera footage to not editorialize these interactions.

You brought in Marian Carrasquero (’19) who graduated a year after you as the film’s associate producer. What special skills made her an essential part of your production team?

Marian is just all-around awesome, so that’s her superpower. I’ve always been impressed by her work and that she always remains cool, calm, and collected, so that was major to have her on the team on a project that at times could be very intense. She’s also very organized and with the various moving parts between the AP and FRONTLINE, it was good to have her make sure that the machine kept working without any hiccups.

Dawn Porter is one of the executive producers on the film, and she had worked with Marian as a student when she was leading the documentary film program at the J-School. She was impressed by Marian too and was the one bringing her on board.

Does the data identifying some 1,036 deaths over a decade provide new opportunities to understand patterns in policing? How so?

It does, because I think both the public and law enforcement need to know what kind of force works or doesn’t. Where do these incidents happen and to who? From the database we can glean that many of these incidents involve people with drug problems or are mentally ill. That could support the call for better training or support for law enforcement when dealing with this population.

About Serginho Roosblad Roosblad is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and in FRONTLINE’s inaugural cohort of filmmakers in the Investigative Journalist Equity Initiative (IJEI), an effort aimed at increasing diversity in the documentary filmmaking landscape. At the AP, he has worked on a variety of investigative short documentaries, including on police use of force on children, Retired Lt. General Michael Flynn, and a contaminated former army base, which might have caused cancer in hundreds of veterans.

Prior to his work in documentary film, he spent much of his early career in journalism reporting on Africa, where he covered a wide range of topics such as drug addiction in Uganda, piracy in Somalia, and the musical heritage of Zanzibar. Roosblad is from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with roots in the (former) Dutch Caribbean. Prior to living in the U.S., he lived in Uganda, South Africa, and Denmark. He was awarded the prestigious Marlon T. Riggs Fellowship in Documentary Filmmaking while at the J-School. He has a Master of Philosophy degree in African studies from the University of Cape Town, where he studied visual trauma culture in post-apartheid South Africa.

About Marian Carrasquero

Marian Carrasquero

Carrasquero is a Venezuelan documentary photographer, producer, and journalist based in Mexico City. Her work is featured in major outlets such as National Geographic, NPR, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, ProPublica, the BBC, and she is a frequent contributor to The New York Times. She believes that the most powerful work is made at the intersection of art and journalism.

She received her BFA in photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2016.

Film Credits “Documenting Police Use of Force” is a FRONTLINE production with Trilogy Films and Sony Pictures Television – Nonfiction in association with The Associated Press. The writer, producer and director is Serginho Roosblad. The producer is Mike Shum . The AP journalists are editor Justin Pritchard and reporters Martha Bellisle, Ryan J. Foley, Kristin M. Hall, Aaron Morrison and Mitch Weiss. The senior producer is Nina Chaudry. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

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Berkeley Commencement

Department graduations.

In addition to the campuswide Commencements in May and December, many departments and student groups hold smaller, more personal graduations in the spring semester only. Each group handles its event independently, and graduates can attend the campuswide Commencement, department graduation, or both. Ask your loved ones about their plans.

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African american studies black graduation, american indian graduate program, american studies (ugis), ancient greek & roman studies, ancient history & mediterranean archaeology, anthropology, architecture (reception).

The Department of Architecture graduation will be part of the College of Environmental Design Commencement Ceremony this year.

Art Practice

Asian studies, buddhist studies (gbs), business, graduate mba, business, mba for executives, business, ph.d., business, undergraduate, cal athletics student-athlete graduation celebration, celtic studies.

Reception to follow in Ishi Court. More info on the department website.

Chemical Engineering (College of Chemistry)

Chicanx latinx graduation celebration.

TIMES: 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Cognitive Science (ISSP)

Comparative literature.

Reception to follow in Ishi Courtyard.

Computer Science, B.A.

The Department of Computer Science, B.A. graduation will be part of the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society Commencement Ceremony this year.

Computing, Data Science, and Society, College of

In order to accommodate requests for additional guest tickets, CDSS will be holding two commencement ceremonies. TIMES: 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Data Science, B.A.

The Department of Data Science, B.A. graduation will be part of the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society Commencement Ceremony this year.

Disabled Students’ Program

Earth and planetary science, east asian languages & culture (ealc).

Please see our website econ.berkeley.edu/commencement and join our edstem for updates edstem.org/us/join/JSg8Dw .

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Energy and resources group, engineering – doctoral, engineering – graduate, engineering – undergraduate, environmental design, college of, ethnic studies, film & media.

Tickets are $10 each. Limit of 10 per student. Children and babies need tickets. Graduating students do not need to purchase tickets for themselves. PURCHASE TICKETS: secure-tickets.berkeley.edu/23688

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Pauley Ballroom is located in the MLK Jr. Student Union. The address for the building is: 2495 Bancroft Way UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94720

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The Gender Equity Resource Center and our partners are excited to invite you to the 24 th Lavender Graduation Celebration. Everyone is invited, and there is no fee to attend! In order to manage capacity, we need all those who plan to attend to fill out this registration. Everyone must register — graduates, guests, current students, family, etc — everyone, please. The space is limited and priority for entering will be given to those graduates who register by April 26 th (or whenever we reach capacity, whichever comes first) and then to everyone else on the list in order of when they registered.

No academic regalia (caps and gowns) are required, but feel free to be as fabulous as you wish! Graduating undergraduate students will receive a rainbow tassel. Graduating graduate students will receive a lavender cord.

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SPEAKER: Jay Crisostomo, George G. Cameron Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations and Languages; Associate Professor of Assyriology, Department of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Michigan COMMENCEMENT SPEECH: Sumerian, Science, and Soccer or What Has MELC Ever Done for Us?

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Molecular and cell biology – undergraduate, music (commencement), native american studies, natural resources, rausser college of, naval science (navy rotc), optometry and vision science, herbert wertheim school of, pasifika graduation celebration.

Please join us for our Pasifika Graduation ceremony and reception. Lunch will be provided. RSVP by May 1 to tinyurl.com/pasifikagrad .

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Political economy (issp), political science.

Visit the Political Science Department’s commencement page for more information, polisci.berkeley.edu/political-science-cal/commencement/ceremony-details .

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Public policy, the goldman school of, scandinavian.

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UC Berkeley innovators featured in ‘Pathways to Invention’ film

Are inventors born or made? Berkeley engineers explore that question in the award-winning documentary “ Pathways to Invention ,” set to premiere in May on PBS stations nationwide. The 60-minute special follows eight “modern inventors of diverse backgrounds and their journeys as they develop life-changing innovations.”

Paige Balcom (right) with lab mate Alanna Cooney. Balcom was a Fulbright Scholar visiting Uganda when she became inspired to develop a small-scale community recycling process and co-founded Takataka Plastics. (Photo courtesy Maaia Mark Productions)

Among those profiled are Berkeley alumni Paige Balcom (Ph.D.’22 ME), Corten Singer (B.A.’17 CS, B.A.’17 CogSci, M.S.’18 EECS) and Tomás Vega (B.A.’17 CS, B.A.’17 CogSci). Civil engineering professor Ashok Gadgil and Chris Myers, former senior lab manager at the CITRIS Invention Lab , are also featured.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, the film will first air at 10 p.m. PT on Wednesday, May 1, on KQED 9. It will also air at 9 p.m. PT on Tuesday, May 7, on KQED WORLD and will be available to stream after May 1 in the PBS app. The film will also be available for viewing on May 2 during the Jacobs Spring Design Showcase at UC Berkeley.

In the film, the inventors share their perspectives and the insights they gained while innovating against considerable odds. By inviting us into their workspaces and telling their stories, they hope to provide inspiration to the next generation of inventors.

Paige Balcom was a Fulbright Scholar visiting Uganda when she became inspired to develop a small-scale community recycling process in Gulu, employing street-connected, at-risk youth. This supposedly “impossible” initiative was the genesis of Takataka Plastics, where Balcom now serves as co-founder and is currently working to expand to five towns across Uganda, as well as other low- to middle-income countries.

Tomás Vega and Corten Singer, from left, work on MouthPad^ and co-founded Augmental. (Photo courtesy Maaia Mark Productions)

Corten Singer and Tomás Vega , co-founders of Augmental, set out to develop assistive technologies to change the paradigm of human-device interaction. Their invention, MouthPad ^ , transforms the concept of the computer mouse or trackpad into a Bluetooth-enabled device that rests like a retainer on the roof of one’s mouth. Controlled by the tongue, mouth pressure and head gestures, MouthPad ^ enables more universal access to personal devices, like smartphones, computers and tablets.

In addition to celebrating innovation, curiosity and resilience, the documentary examines how the inventors are making a “tangible impact” in such fields as biotech, medical diagnostics and prosthetics, sustainable agriculture, food production, software development and materials science.

Pathways to Invention is produced by Maaia Mark Productions in association with the Lemelson-MIT Program with funding from The Lemelson Foundation and Berkeley Engineering. The program is presented by American Public Television.