Javiera Barandiarán is Associate Professor in the Global Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Barandiarán received her Ph.D. in 2013 from the University of California, Berkeley in Environmental Science, Policy and Management. She holds a Masters in Public Policy also from Berkeley and received her B.A. in politics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2022 she was awarded a Berlin Prize from the American Academy in Berlin for her research on lithium mining. Her research has been awarded support from the National Science Foundation, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, Chile's National Agency for Science (ANID) and others. Her work explores the intersection of science, environment, and development in Latin America.

Important information for prospective graduate students: our departmental website contains a lot of useful information about both our MA and PhD programs. Please read these pages carefully and study the areas of expertise and specialization of our faculty to ensure our department is the right one for you. Should you have any remaining questions about the department or programs, feel free to email me or Kaylia Grant, our Grad Program Advisor (who can best answer questions about requirements, the application process, etc.).