"Berkeley Brief" Published by Chancellor Lyons to All Alumni

Dear Cal alums, parents, and friends,

Since February 2024, Bhavya Joshi, a public health doctoral student, has flown multiple times to the Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya. Her research is among the first to analyze how compounded crises — armed conflict, climate change, and COVID-19 — impact access to reproductive healthcare for women fleeing South Sudan. Instead of traditional practices, in which researchers collect data and leave, Bhavya works directly with the community at every stage, from developing questions to transcribing interviews. Her mission is clear: “Reach the furthest behind, first,” she says, to ensure that their voices are heard in research, policy, and change.

Bhavya is just one of over 12,000 exceptional graduate students who sit at the center of Berkeley’s public mission. They both contribute to faculty research and drive their own, while mentoring undergraduates in their education and career goals. It’s no wonder that UC Berkeley’s graduate programs maintained their premier-level rankings in a recent 2025 survey by U.S. News & World Report. 

The College of Letters & Science scored No. 1 rankings for economics, psychology, sociology, and English. The College of Engineering topped the rankings in computer engineering, electrical, electronic and communications engineering, and environmental/environmental health engineering. The Goldman School of Public Policy’s analysis discipline was rated No. 1, and the Haas School of Business’s part-time MBA program tied for the best. Four programs in Berkeley Public Health, where Bhavya is studying, placed in the Top 10. In all, 50 Berkeley graduate divisions, schools, and disciplines ranked in the Top 10, and 19 others ranked in the Top 25. At the same time, know that we do not distort what we do to chase them. 

Rankings like these recognize exactly what we know to be true: that Berkeley remains the best place in the world for our brilliant students to do groundbreaking work. Berkeley would simply not be the same without graduate students playing a core role in upholding our research and education ecosystem. In short, they make us better. 

Rankings alone do not validate Berkeley’s excellence. You — our alums, donors, and full Cal family — are every bit a part of that validation. 
 
Go Bears!
Chancellor Rich Lyons