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.

Second Class

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

Alex
Nieves

On The Line

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

Susie
Neilson

Dirty Business

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

Francesca
Fenzi

Yutao Chen

Yutao
Chen

Stolen

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

Josh
Slowiczek

Sarah El Safty

Sarah
El Safty

Uneven Ground

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

Mallory
Newman

New Path

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

Saemmool
Lee

Yingshan Deng

Yingshan
Deng

Pennies Per Hour

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

Cecilia
Lei

Smoke And Mirrors

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

Anne
Wernikoff

Simon Campbell

Simon
Campbell

A Search for Belonging

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

Carlos
Mureithi

Drew Costley

Drew
Costley

Alone

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

Misyrlena
Egkolfopoulou

Dependence

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

Rachel
Cassandra

Surrounded

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

Sawsan
Morrar

Justice for Who?

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

Reis
Thebault

Alexandria Fuller

Alexandria
Fuller

Motherhood & Meth

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

Mary
Newman

A Status-Driven Life

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

Briana
Flin

Bearing the Burden

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

Margaret
Katcher

Condition Blue

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

Leslie
Cory

City of Smoke

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

Peter
Bittner

A Town Divided

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

Lucas
Waldron

Debts and Dreams

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

Paayal
Zaveri

Doctor Exodus

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

Mariela
Patron

Hong Kong Through Her Eyes

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

Katherine
Wei

Who We Are

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

Manjula
Varghese

Mondo Obama

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

Gabriel
Tolliver

Mountains Are Ours

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

Atia
Musazay

Manjula Varghese

Manjula
Varghese

Tale of Two Stadiums

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

Juan
Reyes

Advancing Waters

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

Robin
Simmonds

Chasing Lithium

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

Rachel
Hiles

Nina Zou

Nina
Zou

Silenced

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

Yngrid
Fuentes

The Chinese Closet

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

Larry
Zhou

Jieqian Zhang

Jieqian
Zhang

Fan Fei

Fan
Fei

Transplanted

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

Noelia
González

Jieqian Zhang

Jieqian
Zhang

Brett Murphy

Brett
Murphy

Port Feudal

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

Brett
Murphy

Jeremy C.F. Lin

Jeremy
C.F. Lin

The Wait

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

Melissa
Bosworth

Lakshmi Sarah

Lakshmi
Sarah

Fan Fei

Fan
Fei

Lure of ISIS

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

Mara
Van Ells

Chole Shi

Chole
Shi

Alice Kantor

Alice
Kantor

Health Access for Undocumented Americans

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

Naomi
Nishihara

Nicole West

Nicole
West

Alicia Vargas

Alicia
Vargas

Driving Poverty

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

Harriet
Rowan

Keeping Tabs

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

Sasha
Lekach

Mozzified

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

Zainab
Khan

The Privilege Project

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

Lena
Dakessian

Zainab Khan

Zainab
Khan

Shaina Shealy

Shaina
Shealy

Tapestry Story Reader

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

Phil
James

Mid-Market News

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

Ted
Anderson

Do Arms Embargoes Work?

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

Jeremy
C.F. Lin

Demographic Danger

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

Shaina
Shealy

Undue Burden

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

Gina
Pollack

Blind Boys of Alabama

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

Jacqui
Ipp

Jeremy C.F. Lin

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