News

A Message From Our New Propel Program Director

My name is Bryan Zuniga, and I am honored to introduce myself as the new PROPEL Program Director within UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Social Sciences. I walked the same campus as a first-generation Promise Scholar less than a handful of years ago— and like many of our scholars, my frame of reference for higher education was always beyond who and what was familiar to me. Also coming from an under-resourced, low-income background, I’m extremely grateful to help PROPEL Scholars, who share similar stories, aspire on their own terms and make the most of UCSB.

Leah Stokes receives the prestigious Schneider Award for Outstanding Science Communication

Leah Stokes, Associate Professor of Political Science at UCSB, received the prestigious Schneider Award for Outstanding Science Communication. Named for outspoken climate scientist Stephen H. Schneider, one of the founding fathers of climatology, the award “recognizes a natural or social scientist who has made extraordinary scientific contributions and communicated that knowledge to a broad public in a clear, compelling fashion.” Stokes researches public policy, public opinion and political behavior, with a focus on energy, environment and climate change.

Amit Ahuja Named as One of India's Leading Intellectuals by ThePrint

Amit Ahuja, Associate Professor of Political Science at UCSB, was named by ThePrint as one of India's political thought leaders to watch out for in the next decade. Ahuja is the author of Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties without Ethnic Movements, which won the 2020 New India Foundation Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Book Prize.

Students celebrating moot court competition advancement

UCSB Moot Court Advances to Preliminary Round of the National Tournament!

Congratulations to UCSB Moot Court for their stellar job in representing UCSB by advancing to the final round of the competition season and qualifying to compete on a national stage!

Moot Court at UCSB is an 18 student organization with a total of 9 2-person teams.

UCSB Students Start Free Tutoring Program for Local Children

In 2023, Jessica Lickstein, a third-year sociology major at UCSB, started Education+, an organization composed of fellow UCSB students that offers free virtual tutoring for students in grades K-8. Education+ was born out of Lickstein's experience volunteering in a kindergarten classroom and witnessing first-hand the education disparities between children from low-income families and children from moderate- or high-income families.

Academy of Management inductee Linda Putnam establishes award for organizational research scholars

A pioneering and career-long scholar in the field of organizational communication and the science of negotiation and conflict management, Linda Putnam, Distinguished Research Professor Emerita in the department of Communication, will be inducted as a fellow into the Academy of Management.

Students in the front row of graduation ceremony

Congratulations Class of 2024 Student Awardees!

The division of social sciences congratulates graduating recipients of the university's most prestigious student honors, awarded for scholastic achievement, extraordinary service, and personal courage and persistence.