University of California, Los Angeles
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

The Sustainable LA Grand Challenge supports graduate policy fellowships in furtherance of achieving the goals of the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge. These fellowships are made possible through a generous gift from Norman J. Powell. The purpose of these fellowships is to support graduate students whose research and scholarly activities align with the policy-related research objectives identified in the Work Plan. This call is open to any graduate student enrolled at UCLA who meets the criteria described herein. The proposed work may be done on campus, or off campus such as in a government office, NGO, business or civil society organization.

Founded in 2014, the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) is the signature undergraduate course of the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge.

URSP unites undergraduate students across all disciplines in their first research experiences in the field of urban sustainability. The program is designed to intervene early to expose students to urban sustainability challenges and the interdisciplinary research approaches necessary to overcome these complex problems.

URSP’s mission is to give students experience in solving real-world problems. The work done in this class makes an impact on UCLA’s campus and across Los Angeles.

During the program, students participate in three program components:

- Integrated interdisciplinary group work
- Faculty-mentored independent research experiences
- Weekly program meetings to develop career, professional and research skills and increase exposure to sustainability professionals and research.

https://sustainablela.ucla.edu/student-programming/ursp


Sustainability Action Research (SAR) is a student-initiated, student-designed, and student-facilitated program offered through the Institute of the Environment & Sustainability (IoES). The program is twofold: In the fall, students are invited to attend the Sustainability Talks, where they will hear from professionals, academics, and activists in sustainable fields. In the winter/spring, students participate in the Sustainability Action Research Teams where they are partnered with a stakeholder to research, rethink, investigate, and tackle UCLA's greatest sustainability issues.
https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/sar/

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) and the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge (“SLA”) provides funds for research grants in furtherance of achieving the goals of 100-percent renewable energy, 100-percent locally sourced water, and enhanced ecosystem health and human health and well-being by 2050 in Los Angeles County as described in detail in the Sustainable LA Five-Year Work Plan. The purpose of these grants is to fund research identified in the Work Plan, and to catalyze new lines of research and new collaborations across campus.

https://sustainablela.ucla.edu/research-development

It is well recognized that interdisciplinary work has increasingly become a frequent feature of scholarly work in recent years, and UCLA seeks to recognize and encourage the interdisciplinary engagement of its faculty. To be effective, this requires that all parties engaged in the academic review process must be sensitive to the unique aspects of such interdisciplinary work, and to the varied settings in which interdisciplinary research and teaching are carried out.
https://apo.ucla.edu/cap-guidance/interdisciplinary-research

UCLA Library plays an active role in sustainability at UCLA and is represented on the UCLA Sustainability Academic subcommittee. The library has a comprehensive sustainability research guide and resources linked below.
http://guides.library.ucla.edu/sustain

Library prize for undergraduate research (https://escholarship.org/uc/uclalib_libraryprize) has been awarded to sustainability-focused projects, such as this one on heat in L.A. - https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1m44k72t#author

Library prize for undergraduate research (https://escholarship.org/uc/uclalib_libraryprize) has been awarded to sustainability-focused projects, such as this one on heat in L.A. - https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1m44k72t#author