The Community Engagement & Social Change Minor
The Community Engagement and Social Change minor is an interdisciplinary program that creates a unique opportunity for students to examine strategies for social change through sustained engagement in Los Angeles and beyond. It complements any major.
Special Attention
The Chair of UCLA Community Engagement and Social Change Minor and the Chair of the College Faculty Executive Committee has approved the Community Engagement and Social Change (CESC) minor’s request to continue offering credit for P/NP toward degree requirements for Spring and Summer 2021.
For students who elect to complete a course for Pass/No Pass (P/NP), they will satisfy the minor requirement so long as they earn a “Pass,” which is a minimum C grade. Please note that satisfactory completion of the minor requires a minimum 3.0 minor GPA. The class add/drop deadlines will be the same as a regular term, but the deadline to change your grading option to Pass/No Pass has been moved to Friday of Week 9.
*For courses listed in other departments (i.e. Psychology, Chicana/o Studies, etc.), please consult each department on what their P/NP Policy is for Spring and Summer 2021. Please note that not all departments are allowing optional grading basis for their courses.
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
Students pursuing the Community Engagement and Social Change minor must complete the following requirements:
| Requirement | Course Information | Units |
| 1 core course |
|
5 |
| 2 community engaged courses |
|
8 – 10 |
| 1 course on a strategy of social change |
|
4 or 5 |
| 1 upper division elective |
|
4 |
| 2 capstone community-engaged research courses
(Must be taken in successive winter and spring quarters) |
|
4 |
|
4 |
There is a maximum of 2 course overlaps between your major and the CESC minor. A minimum of 20 units applied toward the minor requirements must be in addition to units applied toward major requirements or another minor.
QUESTIONS?
Click here for a list of approved minor course options.
Special Programs
UC Center Sacramento
Students who participate in the UC Center Sacramento (UCCS) program can satisfy requirements for the Community Engagement and Social Change minor with the following courses:
| UCCS course | CESC Requirement satisfied |
|---|---|
| Political Science 192A:
Political Science Internship (5 units, Pass/No Pass) |
1 community-engaged course |
| Political Science 195:
The California Policy Seminar (4 units, Letter Grade) |
1 strategy of social change course |
| Political Science 196E:
Research Design & Methods (4 units, Letter Grade) |
1 upper division elective |
Course descriptions and syllabi for UCCS courses are available on the UCCS website .
UCLA Quarter in Washington
Students who participate in the UCLA Quarter in Washington program can satisfy requirements for the Community Engagement and Social Change minor with the following courses:
| UCLA Quarter in washington course | CESC Requirement satisfied |
|---|---|
| UCLA Political Science M194DC:
CAPP Washington, DC Research Seminars (same as History M194DC and Sociology M194DC) (4 units, Letter Grade) |
1 upper division elective |
| UCLA departmental 195CE
(department offerings vary by quarter)* (4 units, Letter Grade) |
1 community-engaged course |
| UCLA Political Science M195DC:
CAPPP Washington, DC, Internships (Same as History M195DC, Public Affairs M195DC, and Sociology M195DC) (4 units, Pass/No Pass) |
1 community-engaged course |
*For a list of 195CE course offerings, please visit the 195CE internship program page.
Course descriptions are available on the UCLA Registrar’s Office website .
APPLY TO THE MINOR
ELIGIBILITY
To apply to the minor, you must:
APPLICATION NOTES
Students interested in pursuing the Community Engagement and Social Change (CESC) Minor should contact Academic Coordinator, Megan Lebre, at mlebre@college.ucla.edu to schedule a meeting.
If you have been admitted to the CESC minor and would like academic advising and program planning, then please contact Academic Counselor, Maritza Sondhi, at msondhi@college.ucla.edu, to ask a question or schedule a meeting.
FACULTY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Community Engagement and Social Change Minor’s Faculty Advisory Committee is made up of the following members:
| Jennifer Jay (Chair) | Civil & Environmental Engineering |
| Andrew Atkeson | Economics |
| Rashmita Mistry | Education |
| Amy Ritterbusch | Public Affairs |
| Rafael Romero | Neuroscience IDP |
| Ananya Roy | Urban Planning, Social Welfare |
| David Shorter | World Arts and Cultures |
CESC Alum Published in Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse
Congratulations to Class of 2019 CESC minor, Mulun “Jo” Huang, for her publication in the Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse! The paper featured in the journal was based on her thesis in the CESC minor.
To read the article, please visit the link: Racial dynamics among clients in a residential substance use disorder treatment program in South Los Angeles and its impact on clients’ treatment experiences
STUDENT CAPSTONE PROJECTS
To read a selection of the most recent capstone research papers, please visit: https://escholarship.org/uc/ucla_communitylearning
The following titles are examples of capstone research projects completed by students in the minor in previous academic years:
Social Sciences
- Who Will You Be?: Where Should the Career Development Path Begin and What Does it Mean for Your Future
- A Comparison of Nonprofits and Social Enterprise Organizations in the Modern Social Sector Impeding Self-Sufficiency
- How have self-help legal centers within California provided access to justice and addressed the access gap to the courts?
- American Perspectives of U.S.-Cuba Relations
- Like this post: Does digital activism lead to higher voter turnouts among the Millennial generation?
- How might a perception of competition relate to political engagement for UCLA students?
- Understanding Opt-Out Rates of California Community Choice Aggregation Programs
- A Community Cultural Wealth analysis on Big Citizen Hub
- Volunteer Learning and Engagement Outcomes in MEND’s Emergency Food Bank
- The Use of Language in Politics to Describe the Poor and How it Affects Bipartisan Politics
- The Effects of Immigrant Integration Programs in Los Angeles Businesses
- Deconstructing Oppression: Women Empowerment Through Agency and Education
- Interpretations of the Observed Changes in the Self-Concepts of Sex-Workers
- Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles: Cultural Competency Project
- Grow Together: A Health Intervention Plan
- Care Farming and Sense of Community with Continuation Students
Education
- The Foster System’s Structural Flaws and Their Impact on Education
- Student Veteran Data Collection: Interpretation and Utilization of Data in Veteran Resource Offices in Community College
- Early Childhood Education: A Look Into Preschool Programs for Students with Disabilities
- Women in High School Debate: A Study of Sexism and its Impact
- Work Study and Service Learning: The Development of a Critical Consciousness
- Do students with a structured military background overtly require personal mentoring support in transferring to a university?
- The Lost ones: A Case Study of Continuation High Schools in Los Angeles
- Challenges Faced in Predominantly White Institutions by Latinas in Higher Education
- The Mathematic Achievement Gap in Middle School
- Straight from the Third Grade: Student Engagement with a Cultural Relevant Literature Program
- Social Exclusion in the Special Education System
Public Policy/Public Health
- Urban Planning & its Effects on Minority Communities
- Social Trust: A Bridge between Socioeconomic Status and Civic Engagement
- The Political Feasibility of Congestion Pricing in Los Angeles
Humanities
- The Queer Armenians: A Study of the Experiences of Gay Armenian Men in Los Angeles
- Critical Consciousness Development: Disenfranchised Youth Engage in Social Justice Oriented Art
- The Representation of “I” in Latina and Community
Sciences
- Preventing Nursing Burnout
CONTACT US
INTERESTED STUDENTS
Students interested in learning about the minor, please contact: Megan B. Lebre, M.Ed.
Academic Coordinator, Community Engagement and Social Change Minor
Center for Community Engagement
A265 Murphy Hall
ADMITTED CESC MINOR STUDENTS
Students who have declared the CESC minor, please contact: Maritza Sondhi
Academic Counselor, Community Engagement and Social Change Minor
College Academic Counseling
A316 Murphy Hall