UC Berkeley’s flagship institute for social science research

Our purpose is captured in our name: we provide an organizational framework—a “matrix”—that supports cross-disciplinary research pursued by social scientists across the University of California, Berkeley campus and beyond.

Matrix News

Article

Published July 10, 2026

Matrix Welcomes Eight Research Teams for 2026-2027

Social Science Matrix is pleased to welcome eight new Matrix Research Teams — three faculty-led teams and five graduate student-led teams — for the 2026-2027 academic year. The teams will address topics such as the political economy of wildfire risk, the global politics of declining fertility, and the use of digital tools for governance and development in South Asia.

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Matrix News

Iris Hui Memorial Fund

Published April 23, 2026

History PhD Student Receives Iris Hui Memorial Graduate Student Scholarship

Vincent P. Tran, a PhD student in the Department of History at UC Berkeley, has been selected to receive the scholarship, which honors the vision and goals of Dr. Iris Hui, a PhD graduate of Political Science from UC Berkeley.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published April 23, 2026

Matrix on Point: The U.S. Dollar Hegemony in Transition

Recorded on April 8, 2026, this panel brought together scholars to examine the foundation of U.S. monetary influence and the role of financial innovation in an evolving global economy. The panel featured Barry Eichengreen, Rohan Kekre, and Chenzi Xu, with Brian Judge moderating.

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CRELS

Recap

Published April 1, 2026

Algorithms of Distinction: Class, Credit Scores, and Property in South Africa

Watch or listen to a lecture by Julien Migozzi, an economic geographer and Assistant Professor in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, examining how 21st-century class dynamics become connected with data-driven stratification systems, focusing on the digital transformation of property markets in South Africa.

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California Spotlight

Recap

Published March 3, 2026

California Spotlight: Higher Education Under Attack

Recorded on February 9, 2026, this panel brought together scholars — including Charlie Eaton, Katherine Newman, Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra, and Christopher Kutz — to examine the forces challenging public higher education today. Drawing on areas spanning finance, policy, and labor, the discussion explored how these dynamics are shaping the UC System, and what is at stake for students, employees, the public, and the future of higher education.

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Matrix Teach-In

Recap

Published March 3, 2026

Matrix Teach-In: Ula Taylor, “The Making of Frances M. Beal’s Black Feminist House”

Recorded on February 19, 2026, this video presents a lecture by Ula Taylor, Professor and Chair of the Department of African American Studies & African Diaspora Studies. The talk centered on Professor Taylor’s current work in progress, an oral biography of Frances M. Beal. The talk was a Matrix Teach-In, a series designed to bring UC Berkeley’s most engaging social science lectures into a public setting.

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Matrix On Point

Recap

Published March 3, 2026

Matrix on Point: Corruption in America

Watch the video (or listen to the podcast) of our recent Matrix on Point panel focused on "Corruption in America," featuring leading scholars from business, political science, and law to examine the many facets of corruption in the United States and the ways it is identified, constrained, and addressed.

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