Ideas in Action
Special Courses in Labor Studies
The Labor Studies Interdepartmental Program blends classroom with field placement and applied research experiences, bringing ideas and action into a fruitful dialogue that reinforces student learning. These course initiatives engage students with professionals, community activists, and the public to gain critical perspectives on the program’s core subjects
Major Research Capstone
Labor Studies capstone courses offer UCLA Labor Studies graduating students the opportunity to be exposed to labor-related community organizations, worker centers, labor coalitions or labor government agencies, through an applied-research and community engagement experience. In order to complete the Labor Studies major, students must choose one of four options available, which consists of a 2 quarter course sequence totaling 8 units of credit. Learn more.
Labor Summer Research Program
The UCLA Labor Summer Research Program is a seminar course combined with a 15 hour per week field work. It offers students a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in an applied research experience focused on the Los Angeles Labor Movement which is leading national efforts to promote social justice for working people. This research-oriented summer program will introduce students to qualitative applied research methods utilized by researchers and scholars engaged in labor studies. Through a combination of lectures, key readings, and active participation in hands-on research, participants develop an understanding of critical debates regarding the role of research and socioeconomic contexts that impact low-wage workers and their families. Learn more.
Internships: Worker and Community Organizing for Social Change
While most of the courses in Labor Studies involve some degree of community engagement, Labor Studies 195B offers students an intensive and guided community engagement internship experience. Students work intensively with a community organization on a structured activity that supports the organization’s mission and the student’s intellectual development. Learn more.
Community Scholars
Community Scholars provides an opportunity for advocates, community partners and organizers to work on a unique applied research project that furthers the goals of progressive community partnerships in Los Angeles. Every year, Community Scholars work with graduate and undergraduate students to address an important policy challenge and formulate a response that furthers a social justice agenda. Learn more.
We Gone Be Alright: Developing the Next Generation of Black Organizers
LBR STD M115/AF AMER M115 – We Gone Be Alright: Developing the Next Generation of Black Organizers is created in partnership between The Los Angeles Black Worker Center (LABWC) and The Center for the Advancement of Racial Equity (CARE) at Work at the UCLA Labor Center. Learning from and building on Black labor and community organizing traditions, students will develop the skills and mindsets needed for transformative leadership. Students will connect with leaders of community organizations, student organizers, and prepare for more intensive community-based work. Submit your Application HERE.
Free Online Labor Studies Course: Nonviolence & Social Movements
How can nonviolent movements confront the challenges facing us today? Join the Rev. James Lawson, Jr. and UCLA Labor Center Director Kent Wong for a 10-week Labor Studies course offered free to the public. In a series of conversations with prominent movement leaders, Rev. Lawson explores the development of nonviolent strategy in efforts to overturn segregation in the U.S. and Apartheid in South Africa, win rights for workers and immigrants, and contest mass incarceration. Learn More.
