For Students
Graduate Student Affiliates Program
The Berkeley Food Institute Graduate Student Affiliate Program connects UC Berkeley master’s and doctoral students with a cross-disciplinary scholarly community advancing transformational food and farm systems research. Affiliates gain visibility, space, and a platform for their work, joining a community of researchers working across departments on questions of food access, food justice, agricultural labor, food and agriculture policy, industry concentration, nutrition equity, climate change and much more.
BFI is committed to building an intellectual environment that centers equity and uplifts scholarship rooted in the communities most affected by food systems challenges.
Apply at the button below to be considered for the graduate student affiliate program. Application details:
- The form takes approximately five minutes to complete.
- Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
- BFI will review applications on a weekly basis and Jezra Thompson, Education Programs Director, will email you per your application status.
- Questions? Contact jezrathompson@berkeley.edu.
Program Details
Graduate Student Affiliates gain access to resources designed to elevate their scholarship, expand their professional networks, and deepen community connections:
- Academic & Professional Visibility: Affiliates are profiled on the BFI website, allowing their research to remain visible to the community and future employers even after graduation. Affiliation can also be proudly listed on student CVs and LinkedIn.
- Dedicated Physical Space: Affiliates have access to BFI’s downtown Berkeley office space, which features desks available on a first-come, first-served basis and a reservable conference room equipped with free coffee, tea, and research printing.
- Scholarly & Intellectual Community: Students will receive priority invitations to private, informal discussions, roundtables, and socials with visiting scholars, faculty, and food systems professionals.
- Platforms for Scholarship: BFI provides unique avenues for students to present and communicate their research.
The program is open to currently enrolled UC Berkeley master’s and doctoral students from any department whose food or farm systems research seeks to advance transformational change, across at least one of Berkeley Food Institute’s four mission areas of urban and rural agroecology, good food access, fair and healthy jobs and racial equity in the food system.