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Commencement 2016

Soc sci commencement ceremonies on June 10 will feature two of the school's top scholars

aliza Just try to keep up with Medha Asthana. One of the 2016 School of Social Sciences commencement speakers, she lives a life of exploration and is always on the move. From her majors in anthropology and business administration to her involvement in a multitude of on-campus organizations and her stints abroad in places like Costa Rica and Chile, she is continuously seeking out new experiences and ways to make an impact in the world. And that's just how she likes it. "I'm always absorbing things," she says. "Like a greedy sponge is how I think of it. I've always been a curious student, and I've just taken that and applied it to the university space." This natural curiosity has served Asthana well, and she has received a remarkable number of honors in her time at UCI. She’s been awarded the 2015-2016 UCI Alumni Association Distinguished Anteater Award, a 2015 Reward Opportunity Advancing Distinguished Students Scholarship, the 2015 Elena B. and William R. Schonfeld Endowed Scholarship, been named an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Fellow, and more. More...

aliza When asked what the takeaway from her upcoming commencement address will be, Aliza Asad has a simple yet profound answer. "Take comfort in discomfort," she says. "It's an important step to using your perspective and identity to create some sort of meaningful impact on someone." The international studies and public health policy double major has faced her fair share of challenging situations, including a move from Colorado to Anaheim Hills, CA halfway through her high school career. But she firmly believes that experiences like these have made her a more well-rounded and compassionate person. That's why in her commencement address - to be given at the 12:30 p.m. social sciences graduation ceremony on Friday, June 10 - she hopes to inspire her peers to embrace a little discomfort in their lives. More...




news

Raising the bar

Daniela Estrada, UCI political science undergrad and aspiring lawyer, is awarded coveted Truman Scholarship

An ally for outstanding Anteaters

Social sciences taps Petracca's energy and passion for pushing student success through reappointment as associate dean of undergrad studies

A thing of beauty?

UCI researchers find that personal grooming habits can affect women's salaries more than men's

Getting his head in the game

Darren Fells, sociology '14, went from Anteater basketball to the NFL. But after sports, he hopes to use his degree to pursue a career in counseling

An alumna and advocate

Chicano/Latino studies alumna Franchesca Ocasio '15 demonstrates passion for helping young students in the foster care system

Serious service

2016 graduate Daniel Cano is determined to make education more accessible for minority groups and first gen students like him

Increasing gender awareness at NATO

Poli sci professor Heidi Hardt is co-leading the international effort

The brain and stroke

Language model developed by UCI cognitive scientist may soon help clinicians better diagnose and treat stroke survivors

NSF funds extensive survey of Asian Americans

$507,312 grant awarded to analyze the experiences, attitudes and barriers to integration and success among the nation's fastest-growing racial group

The big think

Is AI technology getting smarter and scarier?

The color scheme

Researchers cross disciplines to plot more efficient and accurate methods for transcribing color language surveys, unlocking novel crowdsourcing applications

UCI gets grant to study effectiveness of youth programs offered by US libraries

Project aims to improve quality, quantity of connected learning opportunities

Expert On: Washington politics (video)

Hear what poli sci professor Matt Beckmann has to say about the media's influence on Presidential politics in this installment of the Social Sciences Expert On series

Meet Keith Murphy, UCI's professor of the year

'Celebration of Teaching' highlights campus commitment to excellence in the classroom and a superior student experience

Robots to the rescue

UCI competition challenges students to design machines that can search for disaster victims





upcoming events

UCI Soc Sci Undergraduate Commencement 1

June 10

UCI Soc Sci Undergraduate Commencement 2

June 10

UCI Graduate Hooding

June 11

Learning and Stability in Big Uncertain Games
June 2

The Gift of Gridlock: Divided Government, Bureaucratic Autonomy, and the Politics of Rulemaking in the American States
June 6

UCI School of Social Sciences Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony 1
June 10

UCI School of Social Sciences Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony 2
June 10

UCI Graduate Hooding Ceremony
June 11





in the media

LA, national citizenship applications increase as election rhetoric heats up (audio)

Louis DeSipio, Chicano/Latino studies and political science professor, on citizenship issues pre-elections, courtesy of Southern California Public Radio


A startup sparks conversations with Syrian refugees (audio)

Kelsey Norman, political science graduate student, on the Syrian refugee crisis -Marketplace


What Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have in common (audio)

David Meyer, UCI sociologist, on Trump and Sanders' similarities via the Marketplace


The California Primaries, Part Two (video)

Mark Petracca, political science associate professor, on the California Primaries, courtesy of PBS, Inside OC


UCI makeup research (video)

Research by Andrew Penner, sociologist, and Jaclyn Wong, sociology alumnus, featured by NBC The Chat


Nominating and gerrymandering in America and tragedy assistance program for survivors (audio)

Tony Smith, political science professor, on UCI's Ask A Leader


Reality is nothing like what you think, says UCI neuroscientist (audio)

Don Hoffman, cognitive sciences professor, on reality - really, courtesy of Southern California Public Radio


Encouraging accountability (audio)

Angela Jenks, anthropology lecturer, on encouraging accountability in students, courtesy of Teaching in Higher Ed


Sorry, Donald Trump. Trade policy won't help you win Sanders voters (op-ed)

Michael Tesler, political science assistant professor, in The Washington Post


LA, national citizenship applications increase as election rhetoric heats up (Audio)
DeSipio, Southern California Public Radio

World's scariest school run? Chinese children tackle 800-meter cliff
Solinger, The Guardian

What Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have in common (Audio)
Meyer, Marketplace

Advice for the college class of 2016
UCI social scientists, The Huffington Post

A startup sparks conversations with Syrian refugees (Audio)
Norman,Marketplace

In a Trump-Clinton match-up, racial prejudice makes a striking difference (op-ed)
Tesler, The Washington Post

UCI makeup research (Video)
Penner and Wong, NBC The Chat

Nominating and gerrymandering in America and tragedy assistance program for survivors (Audio)
Smith, UCI's Ask A Leader

Income inequality: Is there a grooming gap?
Penner and Wong, Live Science and Yahoo! News

Study: Good grooming can significantly boost income (Video)
Penner and Wong, CBS 5

Study: Wearing makeup can earn female workers thousands more per year (Video)
Penner and Wong, CBS LA

Women who wear makeup are paid more, according to bummer study
Penner and Wong, Bustle

Researchers plan 'unstoppable' DAO to help whales save themselves
Maurer, CoinDesk

Obama more liked by Hispanics than Hillary Clinton, Fox News Latino poll shows
DeSipio, Fox News Latino

New study confirms it actually pays to be pretty (Video)
Penner and Wong, Aol

Asian-Americans and affirmative action
Lee, Washington Monthly

How a little lipstick could add thousands to your paycheck
Penner and Wong, Fortune

Women who spend a lot of time on their looks make more money
Penner and Wong, The Huffington Post

The real reason that so many women have to spend so much time getting ready
Penner and Wong, The Washington Post

Weak enforcement will blunt the impact of New York's $15 minimum wage
Neumark, Reason.com

The California Primaries, Part Two (Video)
Petracca, PBS Inside OC

10 Remarkable O.C. Women
Ruiz, Orange Coast Magazine

It's true, study affirms women are discriminated against in the job market
Neumark, Miami Herald

Sorry, Donald Trump. Trade policy won't help you win Sanders voters.
Tesler, The Washington Post

The real refugee crisis is in the Middle East, not Europe
Norman, The Washington Post

#BernieOrBust Democrats will probably vote Clinton come November (Audio)
DeSipio, SCPR

The striking decline in women's support for Donald Trump (op-ed)
Tesler, The Washington Post

Here are potential winners, and losers, from California's minimum wage hikes
Neumark, Pasadena Star-News

A look at the Latino experience in America
Chavez, The Boston Globe

Encouraging accountability
Jenks, Teaching in Higher Ed

Yom HaShoah: Some pogroms were about politics, not anti-Semitism - prof
Kopstein, The Canadian Jewish News

Florida agency's misleading attack on California's minimum wage hike
Neumark, PolitiFact Florida

The great Trump reshuffle (Opinion)
Tesler, The New York Times

Reality is nothing like what you think, says UCI neuroscientist (Audio)
Hoffman, SCPR

What Trump rally clashes say about OC politics (Audio)
DeSipio, SCPR

Comics designed to teach low-income Indian women financial literacy
KC, Tiwari, India West

The California Primaries, Part One (Video)
Petracca, PBS Inside OC

Women who tend to their looks
Penner and Wong, WZZM


See past issues of the social sciences monthly enews.

School of Social Sciences
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-5100