Student Work
These are master's projects by multimedia students at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
Profiles of our multimedia students can be viewed on our student profiles page.
Below are student projects. Some are linked to trailer previews of their projects. In some cases full websites are embargoed as they are pitching them to publications.
Mining Legacy
The Pollution left from Abandoned Mines
Colorado's abandoned mines still contain harmful metals and other chemicals that seep into waterways. launch
Laurine
Lassalle
Abortion Fraud
The anti-abortion strategy to deceive Mexican women
Health care clinics offering pregnancy care are popping up all around Mexico City. But, these are actually designed to prevent women from seeking abortions. launch
Yuriá
Avila
Let's Tok
Can the news industry deliver on TikTok?
An exploration of how important news might be delivered on TikTok, in a way people will actually watch. launch
Chloe
Reynolds
Fashion Forward
The Fashion Industry, Small Creators, and Surviving Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic hit the fashion industry hard. But challenges bore new opportunities for small creators to rethink the long-term sustainability of our clothing. launch
Isaiah
Polite
Endometriosis
A common condition often misdiagnosed
Over 175 million woman suffer from endometriosis, and many doctors just write it off as common painful mensuration. A new way of looking at this condition is bringing awareness and treatment options for millions of women. launch
Deena
Sabry
Hope at the end of the Line
An innovative transit system puts a community on the margins
A new gondola in Bogota, Colombia was meant to help commuters an easier way to get to work. It ended up creating inequality, keeping poorer residents far from the main city. launch
Brett
Marsh
Rage Against the Vaccine
Anti-vaxxing movement grows following a global pandemic
A growing movement against the Covid-19 vaccines emerges, and its ties to right-wing ideology are unmistakable. launch
Anne
Daugherty
Second Class
Risk of being undocumented
California’s almost 2 million undocumented workers face a disproportionately high risk of being killed or injured on the job despite state laws designed to protect them. launch
Alex
Nieves
On The Line
Hazards of the recycling business
California has some of the nation’s most progressive recycling policies and goals, but the industry’s workers face hazardous conditions—and global market forces are adding to their strain. launch
Susie
Neilson
Dirty Business
Where does our plastic end up?
Plastic recyclers in Minh Khai, Vietnam wrestle with the blessings and curses of an empire built on our trash. launch
Francesca
Fenzi
Yutao
Chen
Stolen
The underreporting of wage theft
In California, wage theft is underreported, underenforced, and costs workers billions of dollars every year. But, you’re more likely to be prosecuted for stealing a sandwich. launch
Josh
Slowiczek
Sarah
El Safty
Uneven Ground
Gender inequality in construction
Women make up just 3% of lucrative male dominated construction jobs – Gender based harassment and discrimination has kept their numbers virtually unchanged half a century after affirmative action. launch
Mallory
Newman
New Path
Work after incarceration
More than 600,000 inmates are released from prison every year, 35,000 in California. Most are seeking a regular job that can keep a roof over their head - a challenge that’s not easy to overcome. launch
Saemmool
Lee
Yingshan
Deng
Pennies Per Hour
The prison workers
Most California state prisoners hold jobs that maintain prison facilities for as low as 8 cents an hour. The roles are cost-effective for the state, but critics say they don’t prepare inmates for life on the outside. launch
Cecilia
Lei
Smoke And Mirrors
The cannabis labor force
Cannabis legalization in California is a mess. Tax revenues are lower than expected, the illegal market is thriving and workers on the Central Coast are weighing the benefits and fears of working in a newly permitted industry. launch
Anne
Wernikoff
Simon
Campbell
A Search for Belonging
One community's struggle to gain Kenyan citizenship.
There are people who have been in Kenya for generations, but do not have citizenship there, meaning they can't access basic government service, can't get birth certificates or IDs, go to school past grade eight, own land or businesses, and more – this is their story. launch
Carlos
Mureithi
Drew
Costley
Alone
Undocumented children who have no legal representation in U.S. courts.
Unaccompanied migrant children in the heart of the Central Valley face more challenges than their coastal counterparts as they fight to remain in the country. launch
Misyrlena
Egkolfopoulou
Dependence
A pregnant woman is torn between drugs and the baby growing inside her.
A pregnant woman is torn between drugs and the baby growing inside her. launch
Rachel
Cassandra
Surrounded
A regulation loophole allows pesticides to easily invade homes of people who live near farms.
A victory was declared when a new pesticide regulation banned chemical use around schools. But what happens when the children go home? launch
Sawsan
Morrar
Justice for Who?
A history of unequal treatment in Fresno, Calif.
On its streets — in traffic stops, searches and arrests. In its schools — in suspensions and expulsions. And in its jail — in who’s locked up and for how long. Unequal treatment is the norm in Fresno. launch
Reis
Thebault
Alexandria
Fuller
Motherhood & Meth
A look at the devastating impact on meth addiction.
Soaring methamphetamine addiction in Fresno County is driving an increase in child abuse and neglect, creating conditions one veteran child abuse specialist says are the worst he's ever seen. Three women recount the devastating impact meth addiction has had on their families, their children, and their community. launch
Mary
Newman
A Status-Driven Life
When one sibling grows up undocumented and the others as American citizens.
When one sibling grows up undocumented and the others as American citizens. launch
Briana
Flin
Bearing the Burden
Mothers in Fresno, Calif. face higher rates of pre-term birth.
Fresno’s mothers of color are suffering, and the city wants to help. Why is that so hard? launch
Margaret
Katcher
Condition Blue
A look into policing in Stockton, California
Stockton is one of California’s poorest cities with one of the nation’s highest crime rates. This project explores the tense relationship between the city’s police and residents of color and looks at a national initiative designed to help the two communities rebuild trust. launch
Leslie
Cory
City of Smoke
How Mongolia's capital is coping with its air pollution crisis.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia is one of the most polluted cities in the world during the winter. This project looks at the city’s complex public health crisis and explores how government and community organizations are responding. launch
Peter
Bittner
A Town Divided
A rural Arizona town clashes over mining
This project follows Patagonia, a rural Arizona town once known for its thriving mining industry, and its bitter divide over a new mining project. Some residents believe the project will create new jobs and economic prosperity, while other believe those promises are overblown and are concerned about potential environmental damage. launch
Lucas
Waldron
Debts and Dreams
How for-profit colleges are failing students
In September 2016, one of the country’s largest for-profit colleges, ITT Technical Institute, closed its doors. This project investigates the effects of this closure and examines a larger system of for-profit colleges misusing federal funds and misleading students about educational outcomes. launch
Paayal
Zaveri
Doctor Exodus
How the mass emigration of Puerto Rican doctors left the island with a shortage
Between 2005 and 2013, twelve percent of all of Puerto Rico’s medics and surgeons left the island for the United States. This project investigates the effects of this exodus on the Puerto Rican health care system and on the lives of its residents. launch
Mariela
Patron
Hong Kong Through Her Eyes
A young lawmaker challenges China’s control of her homeland
This project tells the story of Regine Yau, who won a seat in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council at the age of 24 and ruffled political feathers with her outspoken stance in favor of Hong Kong’s independence. launch
Katherine
Wei
Who We Are
How three Egyptian youth experienced the Arab Uprising
This interactive documentary looks at the country’s 2011 Uprising from the perspective of three young Egyptians. launch
Manjula
Varghese
Mondo Obama
Contextualizing Obama’s presidency
This project looks back at President Obama’s eight years in office, using archival media to put his two terms into historical context.
Gabriel
Tolliver
Mountains Are Ours
A group of Afghan women find freedom in mountain climbing.
In a country where women have few freedoms, a group of aspiring mountain climbers push boundaries and venture up the mountains above Kabul. launch
Atia
Musazay
Manjula
Varghese
Tale of Two Stadiums
A comparative look at the Pontiac Silverdome and the Oakland Coliseum
As the Oakland Raiders head to Las Vegas, many ask what will become of the Oakland Coliseum stadium.
Juan
Reyes
Advancing Waters
A look at the effects of flooding in coastal cities
Flooding has the potential to leave 760 million people without a home by the end of the century. This project explores how three coastal cities –– Manila, Rotterdam and Los Angeles –– are tackling the issue. launch
Robin
Simmonds
Chasing Lithium
Charting the next world's next resource in the evolution of energy
From mining in the salt flats of Bolivia, to battery design in U.S. Labs, to China's electronic waste economy, this project explores the human, geopolitical, and environmental costs of our dependence on lithium batteries. launch
Rachel
Hiles
Nina
Zou
Silenced
An investigation into the murder of journalists throughout Mexico
Since 2000, about 90 journalists have been murdered in Mexico. There are no established protocols to investigate a journalist’s death in relation to his or her reporting. launch
Yngrid
Fuentes
The Chinese Closet
A look into the spike of HIV cases in China's gay community
For many people, China is a country with modern cities, huge skyscrapers, and the world’s second largest economy. But underneath this modern looking facade, China is still very traditional in many of its culture values. One is the country’s acceptance of homosexuality. launch
Larry
Zhou
Jieqian
Zhang
Fan
Fei
Transplanted
How undocumented immigrants with terminal kidney failure fight to navigate a health care system that doesn't acknowledge they exist
America's 11.3 million undocumented immigrants often struggle with health disparities. They don't qualify for federal programs; their jobs don't carry benefits. Emergency rooms are their only doctors. launch
Noelia
González
Jieqian
Zhang
Brett
Murphy
Port Feudal
Port truck drivers, misclassified as independent operators, become indentured to their trucks
As the trucking industry was deregulated in the 80s, truckers, mostly poor, mostly immigrant, flooded the market. Companies took advantage of this cheap, high-turnover fleet by labeling their drivers independent contractors instead of employees. See trailer launch
Brett
Murphy
Jeremy
C.F. Lin
The Wait
Inside the Lives of Asylum Seekers in Germany
Germany opened its doors to refugees from all over the world, and specifically those fleeing Syria. But this humanitarian problem has been touted as one of the worst refugee crises since World War II. This project aims to provide perspectives absent from much of the current news on refugees around the globe — a peek into what life is like for those who have made it to Europe in search of safety, freedom, better lives. launch
Melissa
Bosworth
Lakshmi
Sarah
Fan
Fei
Lure of ISIS
A look into how ISIS uses modern, online propaganda to attract westerners
Since ISIS declared a worldwide caliphate in June 2014, thousands of people have traveled to Syria from around the world to join the cause. Our package explores the motivations of westerners who join ISIS and the role the Internet plays in recruitment and radicalization. launch
Mara
Van Ells
Chole
Shi
Alice
Kantor
Health Access for Undocumented Americans
A look at the health insurance option for the undocumented
Few, but a growing number of options exist for the 3 million undocumented immigrants in California to get health insurance. launch
Naomi
Nishihara
Nicole
West
Alicia
Vargas
Driving Poverty
How driver's license suspensions amplify inequality
Authorities issue driver’s license suspensions to keep unsafe drivers off the road, but they also issue suspensions for failure to pay fines and fees and for non-driving related offenses. launch
Harriet
Rowan
Keeping Tabs
Keep up with everything interactive, multimedia and immersive on the web
An curation and aggregation of interactive media in the form of a newsletter and website. launch
Sasha
Lekach
Mozzified
A pop-culture website dedicated to Muslim millennials
To “mozzify” is to take from American culture and re-interpret through a American-Muslim lens. The idea came about when Mozzified’s founder, Zainab, and her friends would jokingly call each other “mozzies” while in school. This was later to define a particular culture they experienced as young American Muslims. launch
Zainab
Khan
The Privilege Project
Twenty-two strangers discuss personal experiences regarding their gender, race, and wealth.
We hear the term privilege often, and are expected to know about it, but are rarely given the opportunity to discuss the concept. launch
Lena
Dakessian
Zainab
Khan
Shaina
Shealy
Tapestry Story Reader
An app for finding great literature
Phil coded an app that aggregates hard-to-find independent literary work. Authors can also upload their own pieces. launch
Phil
James
Mid-Market News
A hyperlocal website serving Mid-Market San Francisco
Mid-market news serves a community along Market Street that includes the Tenderloin and Civic Center neighborhoods. It covers tech, gentrification, arts, non-profits, housing, and crime. launch
Ted
Anderson
Do Arms Embargoes Work?
Exploring the effectiveness of symbolic embargoes
A project that takes a closer look at arms imports and embargoes in countries subject to European Union sanctions. launch
Jeremy
C.F. Lin
Demographic Danger
A story on access to abortion services in Texas and Louisiana
An Israeli hospital maternity ward promotes Israeli–Palestinian coexistence. launch
Shaina
Shealy
Undue Burden
A story on access to abortion services in Texas and Louisiana
A documentary film about the plight of women getting access to abortion services as legislative opponents attempt to shut down clinics. launch
Gina
Pollack
Blind Boys of Alabama
A documentary film on the Blind Boys of Alabama
Born blind and in the deep South, a group of young boys found success through singing gospel.
Jacqui
Ipp
Jeremy
C.F. Lin
Are you a publisher interested in running some of our student content? Get in touch with us at contact [at] newmedia.report