SUMMER RESEARCH INCUBATOR

The Summer Research Incubator (SRI) is directed through the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Education and administered by the Undergraduate Research Center–Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.

The Summer Research Incubator is a virtual, entry-level seven-week summer program that runs during Summer Session C plus one additional week (August 5-September 20, 2024) for students who are interested in pursuing research or creative inquiry on issues of diversity or social justice in the humanities, arts, or social sciences at UCLA. Students complete an original research or creative project under the guidance of a graduate student mentor and present their work at the end of the summer at the SRI Symposium. Weekly programming includes workshops with UCLA faculty and staff on topics including research skills, ethics, professionalization, and graduate school, as well as talks with UCLA faculty about their research or creative practice.

The SRI is run by URC-HASS Director Dr. Jacquelyn Ardam. The Faculty Advisory Board for the SRI consists of Dr. Ju Hui Judy Han (Gender Studies), Dr. Summer Kim Lee (English) and Dr. Janna Shadduck-Hernandez (UCLA Labor Center).

SRI RECIPIENTS

  • Receive a $3,000 scholarship
  • Conduct an original research or creative project under the guidance of a graduate student mentor
  • Attend weekly programming on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays
  • Commit to spending 20 hours/week on the program
  • Present their work at the SRI Symposium on Thursday, September 19
  • Submit a summary of their project for an online profile
  • Participate in tracking of their academic career post-SRI

SRI ELIGIBILITY

  • Continuing students who will be sophomores, juniors, and seniors, including second-year transfers, during the 2024-2025 academic year. Students who are graduating in summer 2024 are not eligible to participate.
  • Majors or minors in humanities, arts, social sciences, or psychology who are interested in pursuing research in these fields
  • Students have commitment to pursuing questions of diversity or social justice in their research
  • CANNOT be enrolled in more than one class during Summer Session C. The SRI is a significant time commitment. There will be no exceptions to this rule.
  • CANNOT be a current or previous recipient of a multi-quarter research program scholarship including those through the Undergraduate Research Centers, AAP, College Honors, the Center for Community Learning, Education Abroad Programs, or academic departments
  • CANNOT apply to both the SRI and the URC-HASS Summer Fellows Program
  • CAN be a previous recipient of Research Revealed
  • Minimum 3.25 GPA
  • US citizens, permanent residents, AB 540, DACA, undocumented, and international students are eligible
  • While financial need is not required, some awards are for students with established financial need

HOW TO APPLY

Application deadline for summer 2024: April 22, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.

Apply on MyUCLA: Visit MyUCLA, click on “Campus Life,” and select “Survey” to access the Summer Research Incubator application.  The SRI application will be available in mid-to-late-March.

The SRI application consists of the following components:

  1. Statement of previous research experience, if applicable. Include the names of any previous UCLA research programs in which you have participated (200 words max)
  2. Area of research inquiry. Choose one area of inquiry that you would like to spend the summer working on. (See the Areas of Research Inquiry tab above.)
  3. Research interest statement: What interests you about this area of research? How does it relate to your major and your past or future academic coursework? What do you know already about it, and what do you hope to learn by researching it more fully this summer? How does it relate to your post-UCLA goals? (500 words max)
  4. Choice of back-up areas of research inquiry in case your first choice is not available
  5. Personal statement: Place your academic record into the context of your opportunities and obstacles. Briefly describe how receiving the scholarship and participating in the SRI will impact your short- and long-term goals. Make sure you describe your goals in detail. Include any special circumstances (i.e., personal, academic, financial hardships) that you feel are relevant to your application. (500 words max)

If you have any questions, please email the Undergraduate Research Center at urhass@college.ucla.edu or schedule an advising appointment with a Graduate Research Mentor. The Undergraduate Research Center also hosts Summer Research Opportunities Info Sessions in winter and spring quarters.

Undergraduate Research Center –
Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
A334 Murphy Hall
Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
(310) 825-2935
urhass@college.ucla.edu

STUDENT PROFILES

View the 2022 cohort of SRI participants and explore their research 

View the 2023 cohort of SRI participants and explore their research

AREAS OF RESEARCH INQUIRY

As part of your application to the Summer Research Incubator, you will be asked to choose an area of research inquiry. The areas below are the areas of inquiry from 2023. A new list of research areas for summer 2024 will be available in early March 2024.

Research Inquiry 1: What are the environmental injustices impacting communities of color in Los Angeles and how are they resisting?

In Los Angeles County, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to environmental injustices. The air, water, and soil that people of color rely on are polluted by extractive industries and are rarely held accountable. Even so, communities of color find ways to live and organize for more just futures in these environments. There is an increased interest in organizing around environmental and food justice in communities of color to foster relationships with the natural environment through the creation of urban gardens, climate change policy work, popular education, and art. This project will focus on understanding the social processes that sustain environmental injustices and how communities of color resist them. The project asks: How are environmental injustices unequally spaced out in Los Angeles? What political, social, and economic actors sustain environmental injustices in the city? How are environmental injustices experienced at the local and personal levels? What are communities of colors’ relationships with their natural environments? How are communities of color organizing to resist and transform their environmental conditions? This project aims to understand how environmental injustices come to be and the possibilities to create more sustainable just futures. It will provide students with the skills to analyze environmental injustices through the interconnections of race, space, and power, and may particularly interest students studying geography, food studies, ethnic studies, and political science.

 
Research Inquiry 2: How do we address translation and the role it plays—past, present, and future—within the struggle for social justice and equity? 

The practice, purpose, and business of translation are all undergoing incredible shifts as technology and global capital continue to evolve and morph. This research area will focus on the following questions: what role/s do/es language/s play in the struggle for social justice? Are certain translation practices better or more ethical than others when it comes to addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion? Can translation play a role in addressing what many see as a crisis of democracy occurring around the world? Are there historical examples where translation played a central role in addressing inequities in particular ignored or underserved communities? What are the future opportunities and risks as translation technologies (Google Translate, ChatGPT) alter, augment, or even remove the traditional role of the translator? Will these technologies lead to more possibilities for coalition building across time and space or will these technologies privilege and reinforce hegemonic biases? This research area will be of interest to students studying literature, cultural studies, media studies, political science, history, as well as linguistics and language studies more broadly.

 
Research Inquiry 3: How do migration and labor intersect in Los Angeles?

Los Angeles has a long history of migration and labor dating back to the late 1800s. The city currently houses thousands of workers in various industries, including the garment, service, care, and construction industries. Many of these workers are also migrants who arrived from regions such as India, Latin America, and Asia, often in response to social, political, and economic-based reasons. In addition, since the 1800s, the United States has called upon the labor of migrants from across the globe, resulting in ethnic and gendered shifts in labor. It is undeniable that migrants have greatly contributed to Los Angeles’ social and cultural, physical, and economic landscape. Yet, as much of the literature shows, migrants and workers in Los Angeles have historically faced and combatted various layers of social, political, and economic inequality. What would it mean to use analytical lenses from labor and migration studies to trace historical labor in Los Angeles? What new insights might we gain by exploring various facets surrounding migration and labor in Los Angeles, including globalization, gender, race, and physical space? Focusing on the case study of Los Angeles, this project will provide students interested in labor, history, migration, race, and gender with an opportunity to explore how migration and labor take shape in Los Angeles.

 
Research Inquiry 4: How does social media support, enhance, or challenge contemporary social justice concerns in North America?

In recent years, social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter have offered powerful means of engaging with and examining political issues and social justice pursuits within daily life. Previous studies have shown how Instagram activity can lead users into anti-racist discussions and how TikTok can be mobilized to advocate for diverse causes and often provides a means of establishing community for minority identities. Yet, more critical perspectives contend that the often-superficial content of memes, tweets, and Instagram infographics might, in fact, undermine the urgency of some social issues. This research project invites students to explore how social media activity facilitates, nuances, or limits the understanding of contemporary social justice issues and identity-based concerns. How might memes or tweets intervene into, or perhaps uphold, normative and stereotypical notions of race, gender, sexuality, class, or disability? Considering that online activity presupposes a wide-ranging audience, how might politicized social media content cater to specific viewers—what might creators presuppose about the audience of their posts? This project encourages students interested in media, cultural and ethnic studies, digital humanities, performance, and other disciplines to consider how seemingly ordinary interaction with digital realms not only reflects social change but actively create the conditions for its enactment and provides innovative, or potentially reductive, ways to critically explore politicized issues and identity categories.

 
Research Inquiry 5: How are schools addressing disability as a component of social justice?

Many public schools across the US have recently adapted their curriculums to include a call for social justice standards. These calls include both pedagogical considerations for inclusive teaching and for the material to address relevant topics such as identity, diversity, justice, and action. However, social justice curriculums seldomly include disability studies and ableism as part of their standards. As systemic racism is addressed through social justice, ableism and the segregation of disabled folks also need to be addressed for students not only to learn together but live and thrive together. This research project will focus on the following questions: How do social justice and disability studies connect? How do teachers relate social justice and disability? How is ableism being challenged through a social justice curriculum? What is the nature of the schools and teachers who are implementing social justice curriculums? Does the uptake of a social justice curriculum translate in the increase of inclusive practices for students with disabilities? Does the social justice curriculum permeate special education? This project will provide students who are interested in disability studies, special and general education, race, and ableism with an opportunity to explore the current educational teaching practices and curricula along with the impact they have on students with multiple minoritized identities.