We’re now accepting applications for graduate student researcher positions.
Social Science Matrix is UC Berkeley’s new (2013) flagship institute for social scientific research. Drawing on Berkeley’s strength in the disciplinary social sciences, Matrix offers a collaborative environment designed to promote new interdisciplinary research questions and to incubate creative new transdisciplinary research programs. Our aim is to adapt, redeploy, and expand Berkeley’s existing research assets to better address the increasingly rapid pace of innovation in research design and to foster the increasingly cross-disciplinary skill sets required to produce cutting-edge multi-methodological social science.
Bill Hanks is the Director of Social Science Matrix, as well as a Professor of Anthropology, Affiliated Professor of Linguistics and Berkeley Distinguished Chair in Linguistic Anthropology. His work lies at the intersection of Anthropology, Linguistics and History, with a specialization in Mayan languages and cultures. He has conducted extensive archival research on colonial Mexico and ethnographic fieldwork in Yucatan, Mexico.
Professor of History Carla Hesse is a prize-winning scholar with 20 years of experience teaching at Berkeley. She holds the Peder Sather Chair in the Department of History, and in 2007 won the prestigious Aby Warburg Prize. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University and her B.A. from UC Santa Cruz.
Cathryn Carson is Associate Professor of History, specializing in history of physics. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University and her B.A. from University of Chicago.
Eva Seto is the Research Development Leader of the Social Science Matrix. She directs Grant Management and Administration. Her background as a researcher brings insight and knowledge to help facilitate administration of extramural funding. She earned her M.A. and B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley.
Rochelle Terman is a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science. As a web developer who specializes in Drupal, she was previously with the Townsend Center for Humanities, Social Science D-Lab, and Campus Technology Services before joining the Matrix.
Social Science Matrix is home to a large collection of UC Berkeley research centers producing cutting edge research on everything from the demography of aging to management of catastrophic events.
Learn MoreSocial Science Matrix supports over 60 funded research projects by individual Principal Investigators. Most projects are funded by extramural grants obtained by the PI, while a modest number are pilot projects funded by the Matrix.
Learn MoreFaculty wishing to explore the possibilities of new, collaborative research can receive financial and staff support from SSM to establish Working Groups. The highest priority is given to path-breaking collaborations across disciplines.
Learn MoreStarting a research project can be a daunting task. Social Science Matrix was created to help make it easier, providing support for affiliated investigators setting out to create a new research project.
Part of the our mission is to make it easier for investigators to obtain and use extramural support for their research. To do this, the Institute’s staff work closely with an embedded team of administrators from Research Enterprise Services.
Our grants administration team is dedicated to supporting interdisciplinary and collaborative projects across the social sciences. The grants administration team helps with every aspect of the grant process so that you can focus on your research.
