Collaborative Research Seminars (CRS) are designed to direct Berkeley’s unique intellectual resources toward large, cross-disciplinary topics, to encourage collaborative work among faculty and advanced graduate students, and to offer faculty the unique opportunity to engage in a large-scale team teaching effort at the advanced level.
A Collaborative Research Seminar may be proposed by any two ladder-rank Berkeley faculty members representing different departments. At least one of the two conveners must be from a department within the Division of Arts and Humanities. The seminars themselves will be team-taught by a group of six faculty, including the two conveners. Enrollment will be open to graduate students in the third year of study or beyond, to form a total seminar of approximately 18 participants, faculty and students combined.
Previous Collaborative Research Seminars are as follows:
Conveners will receive a course enhancement award of $10,000 to be used for the development of course materials, teaching assistance (e.g., GSR or work-study help), intellectual enrichments (e.g., visiting speakers), or in any other way that is consistent with the aims of the research seminar and with University policies.
Departments whose faculty will co-teach the seminars will count participation as the equivalent of one graduate level course. (They may do this by assigning the faculty member to a 298, 299, or other suitable course number, according to departmental and dean's office policies.) Student enrollments will be apportioned to the departments of participating faculty, or to their home departments in the case that their department is not represented among the faculty team.