About The Program

ArtsIn is a program for students to identify and engage the urban, subversive creative practices of their neighborhoods through arts-based research. Creative practices vary from street photography, graffiti, and murals to nameplate jewelry and nail art and can be studied to learn more about the neighborhoods and broader communities from which they belong to. ArtsIn seeks to uplift these urban creative practices to showcase forms of knowledge that arise from within our own neighborhoods. We use this stance to advance the belief that the university is far from the only place that legitimate knowledge can be found.

At ArtsIn, undergraduate juniors, seniors and first year transfers join a cohort of students, where they will be invited to draw on the knowledge from places that they consider home:

1. Our cohort will begin by studying alongside one another on select arts-based research methods that are best tailored for their anticipated research projects.

2. During this period, our students will also be encouraged to immerse themselves in an existing or emerging creative practice that resonates with that of their own their neighborhoods. Our students will select a practice in consultation with the cohort coordinator and with ongoing peer feedback.

3. By the end of the program, our students will be expected to use their selected research methods to complete a research project that takes on these practices through a critical lens.

We place priority on urban creative practices that have been historically excluded as legitimate sources of research inquiry.

The creative practices serve as the base for their work; we foreground this practice as an alternative to dominant academic practices in the university that uphold institutional hierarchies in research.

As the cohort coordinator, my goal is to guide and learn with students through my personal background as a neighborhood-based photographer and my training as a PhD student. Alongside/together with my credentials though, I have a love and respect for these crafts that goes beyond UCLA and academia. I envision a place where I can share my joy for the practices that help sustain me as a graduate student and that remind me of the riches my community has when I’m away from it. Nos vemos!

– Brian

How To Apply

First, make sure you are eligible.

Arts IN applicants must:

  • Be an AAP Junior, Senior, and/or Transfer student
  • Have an art practice, passion for the arts, and/or be engaged in social justice, critical praxis, and community-based arts
  • Have the motivation to engage in independent research
  • Be interested in learning about graduate or professional school programs

After ensuring eligibility review the following steps to apply:

Part I: Fill out the ARTS IN Application please sign in using your g.ucla.edu email.

Part II: Upload the listed items as PDFs to the PDF Submission Box.

  • Research Statement (500 words max.)
  • Personal Statement (1,000 words max.)
  • CV/Resume (if relevant, you can also share your artistic portfolio, but it is not required)
  • Your 2020-21 Electronic Financial Aid Notification (eFAN)
  • Unofficial Transcript downloaded from MyUCLA

Part III (OPTIONAL): Request your faculty mentors to directly submit their letter of recommendation to the Letter of Recommendation Submission Box.

ArtsIn is a program for undergraduate juniors, seniors and first year transfer students to identify and engage in urban, subversive creative practices using arts-based research. We use this stance to advance the belief that the university is far from the only place that legitimate knowledge can be found. We place priority on urban creative practices that have been historically excluded as legitimate sources of research inquiry. I look forward to reading more about you and your work!

– Brian.

Contact Cohort Coordinator:

Brian Zamora, bzamora@college.ucla.edu

Program Timeline

FALL QUARTER

  • Meet with Arts IN Coordinator to learn more
  • Apply

WINTER QUARTER

  • Enroll in the weekly Arts IN Program 2-unit Honors Collegium Seminar (HC 193A)
  • Attend weekly one-on-one meetings with the Arts IN Coordinator
  • Learn the nuts & bolts of graduate or professional school application
  • Procure a faculty mentor
  • Develop a research proposal

SPRING QUARTER

  • Enroll in a SRP 99 or Departmental 199 with faculty mentor
  • Attend regular cohort meetings with the Arts IN Scholars
  • Attend weekly one-on-one meetings with the Arts IN Coordinator
  • Create a portfolio of relevant documents for graduate applications
  • Present research project at the annual UCLA Undergraduate Research Week

Program Alumni

An image of the 2020 - 2021 Arts In Cohort taken over Zoom.
2020-2021 Cohort (in alphabetical order): Sara Ballesteros, Giselle Littleton, Charleen Molina, Isa Moreno, Jocelyn Perez, Evan Sakuma, Amber Salazar, Brendan Thompson