phd political science ucla

UCLA Political Science Major, Diego Sarmiento, awarded 2024 Truman Scholarship

The Department of Political Science at UCLA is proud to announce that one of our graduating seniors, Diego Sarmiento, was awarded a 2024 Truman Scholarship.

Eric Min receives UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award

Because he came to academia with little knowledge about how it actually worked, Min makes it point to share the knowledge he has acquired with students. (Photo: Peggy McInerny/ UCLA.)

Remembering Professor Kirstie McClure

In Memoriam Prof. Kirstie McClure (July 15, 1951 – December 21, 2023)

It is with much sadness that I share with you the news that UCLA’s Prof. Kirstie McClure has passed away of coronary disease.

Prof. McClure was a formidable colleague and friend to many of us who will no doubt remember her with fond trepidation for her critical energies, her brilliance, her encyclopedic knowledge of the history of political thought, and her refusal to leave a thought unfinished. Her contributions to political theory, the history of political thought, feminist theory, and critical political theory were many, both published, institutional, and as a mentor to innumerable students and scholars currently teaching throughout the world.

Political Science Ph.D. Graduate, Rev. Robert A. Dowd , C.S.C., elected 18th President of the University of Notre Dame.

UCLA Political Science graduate appointed Dean of UCLA Law School

Yoon Jae (Eric) Lim ’16 named UCLA’s fourth Schwarzman Scholar

Professor Luwei Ying Receives Walter Isard Award

Q&A: UCLA political scientists on how the 2020 presidential campaign continues to reverberate

Lynn Vavreck and Chris Tausanovitch discuss their new book, ‘The Bitter End’

Congratulations to our 2022 Graduates

Professors Geddes & Posner elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Eight faculty members were elected on April 22nd, 2021, to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies.

Remembering Professor Leonard Freedman

Leonard Freedman, 1924–2020

With profound sorrow, the UCLA Department of Political Science reports the passing of Professor Leonard Freedman, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Dean Emeritus of UCLA Extension and Continuing Education, on September 30, 2020. Len leaves behind his wife Vivian, his children Elizabeth, Ali, Dave, and Steve, and his grandsons, Brian, Scott, and Gabriel. Prof. Freedman’s passing is a tremendous loss to our department, to the university, and to the discipline.

Remembering Professor James Tong

James Tong, 1947–2020

With profound sorrow, the UCLA Department of Political Science reports the passing of Professor James Wai Tong, our colleague of thirty-one years, on October 3, 2020, after a brave battle with cerebral hemorrhage. James leaves behind his companion Marita Kaw, his children Olivia and Brian, his grandchildren Ava and Harrison, siblings Victor, Nancy, and Paul, and many relatives and friends, including generations of colleagues and former students. Our department, university, and discipline has suffered a tremendous loss.

Joseph Asunka Named CEO of the Afrobarometer

Joseph Asunka (UCLA PhD 2014), currently Program Officer of the Global Development Program of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, will lead the Afrobarometer in early 2021 as its new Chief Executive Officer.

George Ofosu, Kristen Kao, and Jonathan Collins Receive American Political Science Association Awards

Over the summer, three of our recent PhD graduates received national distinctions awarded by the American Political Science Association.

John Branstetter Receives UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award

John Branstetter (UCLA PhD 2017), Lecturer, was recently selected to receive the 2019-2020 UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award. Only three non-Senate faculty in the entire university received this award.

Lynn Vavreck Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Six exceptional UCLA professors and leaders — Physical Sciences Dean Miguel García-Garibay, School of Law Dean Jennifer Mnookin, Education Professor Pedro Noguera, Political Science Professor Lynn Vavreck, environmental champion Mary Nichols and Hammer Museum Director Ann Philbin — were elected April 23 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies.

Political Science Professor Kathy Bawn received the 2019 campus-wide Distinguished Teaching Award

Political Science Professor Kathy Bawn received the 2019 campus-wide Distinguished Teaching Award along with the Eby Award for the Art of Teaching from the Academic Senate’s Committee on Teaching.

Professors Lorrie Frasure-Yokley and Matt Barreto received nearly $1 million from the NSF for the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-election Survey (CMPS)

A UCLA-led group of racial and ethnic politics researchers from across the nation are already gearing up to make sense of the 2020 presidential election.

Tackling the ‘resource curse’

UCLA researchers launch project to design policies in countries where corruption and conflict undercut natural abundance

UCLA team leading the way in the study of race and ethnicity politics

Researchers and scholars from across the country meet to prepare for the 2020 elections

Political Networks and Conflict

Professor Arthur Stein, Professor Robert Trager, and their research team have received a UC Multicampus-National Lab Collaborative Research and Training Award exceeding $3 million for their research project, “Political Conflict and Stability in Dynamic Networks.”

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UCLA Political Science Graduate named dean of UCLA School of Law

Statements and opinions, message from the chair.

Welcome to UCLA Political Science

Political Science is the study of how humans relate to one another and the systems of power and institutions of rule we construct in order to arrange our collective lives. These institutions can be formal like electoral systems, or international courts, or the various branches of governmental power; but they can also be informal and include the cultural practices of diverse ethnic groups, the public contestation of beliefs and values, and everyday forms of collective participation ranging from sporting activities, to political activism, to digital networking and beyond. What these diverse expressions of political activity share is an acknowledgment of the fact that we are many and that in order for the many to live peacefully with one another we must innovate ways to negotiate forms of power. It was Aristotle who in his Politics famously declared that humans are “by nature a political animal.” As Political Scientists we hope to understand how humans are political animals, as well as the diverse historical and contemporary ways that we express our political lives.

Publications

The enlightenment: and why it still matters, identity, citizenship, and political conflict in africa, the burdens of empire: 1539 to the present, the political economy of tanzania: decline and recovery, latino america: how america’s most dynamic population is poised to transform the politics of the nation, rancière′s sentiments, world politics in a new era (sixth edition), impressions of hume: cinematic thinking and the politics of discontinuity, how dictatorships work, crisis of conservatism the republican party, the conservative movement, and american politics after bush, the return: russia’s journey from gorbachev to medvedev, research design in the social sciences: declaration, diagnosis, and redesign.

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Best Political Science Programs

Ranked in 2021, part of Best Social Sciences and Humanities Schools

Political science is a discipline

Political science is a discipline that combines history, current events and analysis. Graduate students are often able to specialize in a certain area of politics. These are the best political science programs. Each school's score reflects its average rating on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding), based on a survey of academics at peer institutions. Read the methodology »

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Learn how you can make an impact on our nation’s future

Gain a deeper understanding of political behavior, movements, and decision-making at the highest levels

The Department of Political Science at UCLA is one of the nation’s top 10% undergraduate programs. The major offers a comprehensive and multidisciplinary education in International Relations, American Politics, Methods, Political Theory, Race Ethnicity & Race Politics, and Comparative Politics.

The Political Science Department is offering a 3 week program with introductory coursework in American Politics as well as career panel component, bringing special guests to speak on the field and various career paths one can take with a Political Science degree. Students will leave the program with a strong understanding of American Politics, five units of either letter grade or pass/no pass college credit to use towards their Bachelor/High School degrees, mentors in the grad and undergraduate levels, and an idea of how far-reaching political thought/influence is in our society.

For questions about the program, please contact [email protected] .

Political Science Summer Institute Program

Curriculum overview.

As the title suggests, this course is an introduction to politics in the United States of America. Politics is the process through which people engage in collective action. Understanding politics requires understanding why people engage in collective action to begin with, how they do so, and what the consequences are. In particular it will be important to understand how they create and sustain evolving institutions that organize this collective action, and how these institutions work. Although American politics may not always seem logical, the political system was created and persists to serve certain needs, and so it has a certain logic.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with basic facts about American politics, some explanation of the logic of American politics and an introduction to how social scientists learn about the world. Along the way we will engage with numerous examples from political history and current American politics.

Application Requirements

Application deadline: June 1, 2024 | Enrollment deadline: June 15, 2024

Applications are reviewed and admission to the program is granted on a rolling basis starting February 15 th . Applying at your earliest convenience, prior to June 1 st , is highly recommended.

The program has application requirements for admission. Eligible applicants who successfully submit all requirements will be reviewed and notified via email of an admission decision within 3 weeks.

Applicants are required to provide the following during the online registration process:

• If your school transcript utilizes a different grading system, please submit your transcript as is. If available, please attach a translation/equivalency guide.
• If your school has a translation/equivalency guide, please also include it with your transcript. If you do not have a translation/equivalency guide, please still submit your most up-to-date transcript as is for staff to review.
• Value statement : At the time of registration, ALL applicants will be prompted to submit a few short sentences reflecting on their pursuit of participation in a UCLA Precollege Summer Institute. Please note that students are strongly discouraged from relying on ChatGpt/AI tools for their application responses and are encouraged to submit original and authentic answers.

Housing – Mandatory

Due to the intense nature of the Political Science Summer Institute ( In-person ) and the time commitment involved, living in on-campus housing is  mandatory .

For more information on UCLA housing precollege programs, please see the  Housing for Minors  page.

Many of our precollege programs with mandatory housing (only) also feature non-curricular evening and weekend activities, the availability of which is at the sole discretion of the academic department offering the program, and are not operated by UCLA Summer Sessions. To learn more about whether (and when) your selected program will host such activities, please consult the schedules for each program or contact the department in question directly: [email protected]

Most of our precollege programs with mandatory housing will hold check-in on the Sunday before the start of the program between 4-6pm, and hold check-out the Saturday after the final day of class at 11am. Please contact the department in question directly to confirm check-in and check-out times: [email protected]

Coursework & Grading

Political Science 40; 5 units

Grading Basis

Students will receive a letter grade upon completion. However, if you would like to change your grade type to Pass/No Pass (P/NP), please contact your instructor. To receive a “Pass” notation, students must earn a letter grade of C or better. See  University Credit, Grades and Transcripts  for more information about academic credit.

In order to successfully complete the program, students must not have more than  3  excused or unexcused absences.

Scholarships

UCLA Summer Sessions Summer Scholars Support

Qualified students attending grades 9th – 11th in Spring 2024 in the state of California may be eligible for  Summer Scholars Support , a need- and merit-based scholarship offered by the UCLA Summer Sessions Office. Students must be 15 years old by the first day of Summer Sessions 2024 on June 24th in order to participate in a Precollege Summer Institute and/or apply for Summer Scholars Support. A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available to support enrollment in SCIP/eSCIP, one Summer Course, or a Precollege Summer Institute.

Summer 2024 deadline to apply: March 15.

UCLA Political Science Scholarship

POLITICAL SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

The UCLA Department of Political Science offers full or partial, need-based scholarships. The award is not intended to cover travel costs and may not cover textbooks or other course materials. The final award amount will reflect the fees of the POLITICAL SCIENCE Summer Institute in which the applicant is enrolled.

IMPORTANT DATES

• February 15: POLITICAL SCIENCE Scholarship Application is available
• April 1: POLITICAL SCIENCE Scholarship Application is due by 5 p.m.
• April 26: Award announcements are emailed at 5 p.m.
• May 1: Students who have been awarded support must confirm acceptance by replying to the award announcement email.

ELIGIBILITY

To apply for the POLITICAL SCIENCE Scholarship, you must meet the following minimum eligibility criteria:

• Enrolled in grades 9 th  – 11 th during Spring 2024
• 14 years of age or older prior to June 24, 2024
• You have not received a POLITICAL SCIENCE Scholarship in the past;
• You will be a continuing high school student in Fall 2024 (seniors graduating in 2024 are not eligible);
• You have a family annual adjusted gross income of $100,00 or less

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Submit the  POLITICAL SCIENCE Scholarship Application  online. The application requires:

• Student Information
• School Information
• High School Transcript (does not need to be official)
• Parent/Guardian Information
• Essay Question 1: Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. (2-page limit)
• Essay Question 2 (optional): Please describe any additional information that you have not had the opportunity to share, including financial hardships or obstacles that have impacted you. What steps have you taken to overcome it, and how has it affected your academic achievement? (2-page limit)

Students will need to upload the following to the  POLITICAL SCIENCE Scholarship Application  online:

• *Federal Income Tax Form (1040) of your parent/s or legal guardian/s
• *W-2 Tax Form (if eligible)
• Letter of recommendation from a teacher or school counselor commenting on your ability to successfully complete a rigorous program. Please allow your recommender at least 2 weeks to write a complete letter of support before uploading the letter to the application.

*Before uploading your tax information, please redact social security numbers on the documents.

For questions, please contact us at  [email protected] .

Students interested in Political Science are encouraged to apply to the World Politics Summer Institute .

Program Dates:  June 23, 2024 – July 13, 2024

Program Type: In-person

Program Eligibility: 9th-12th grade in Spring 2024*

Application deadline:  June 1, 2024

Enrollment deadline:  June 15, 2024

*All participants must be at least 15 years of age by the first day of Summer Sessions 2024 on June 24th, no exceptions allowed.

The schedule and syllabus are subject to change. Enrolled students will be given updated materials closer to the program start date.

Fees and Payment Info

The program fee includes the unit fees for the UCLA coursework offered as part of the program and thus varies by UC student status. The program fee also includes the cost of UCLA Housing (for mandatory housing programs).  In addition to the program fee, students are assessed other campus and administrative fees during the summer. This is a summary of fees that commonly apply to the selected student type.

Actual tuition and fees are subject to change by the University of California. Visit the fees, payment, and financial aid section for important disclaimer, as well as more details on fees, payment instructions, and information on delinquency, refunds, and financial aid.

Meet your instructors

The Political Science Summer Institute curriculum is based on materials covered in the department’s undergraduate curriculum. Instructors for the Political Science Summer Institute are graduate students and alumni of the department’s prestigious PhD program.

Please visit  UCLA Department of Political Science  for more information about the Political Science undergraduate and graduate programs.

Joshua Ferrer

Joshua Ferrer is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles, with concentrations in American politics, methods, racial and ethnic politics, and comparative politics. His research focuses on the link between electoral institutions and representation, partisanship, and participation, with a special emphasis on U.S. election administration and local and state election officials. He also studies the politics of electoral reform, direct democracy, primary elections, criminal justice, and New Zealand politics.

He holds a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master of Arts degree in Politics from the University of Otago, which he earned on a Fulbright Grant to New Zealand. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Amherst College with majors in Political Science and Music. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as The American Political Science Review , The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , and Representation ; in reports with the Bipartisan Policy Center and Transparency International; and in media outlets such as The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage and The Conversation . His work has also received coverage from major news sites including NBC , NPR , and The Guardian .

Political Science Summer Institute FAQ

What prior knowledge do students need of political science.

Students do not need to have any prior knowledge of Political Science to succeed in this Summer Institute. Beginning students will be taught everything they need to know through the core course in American Politics.

What materials are needed for the Political Science Summer Institute?

Students will be required to bring:

• Laptop/tablet
• The Logic of American Politics (9th Edition)
• The Logic of American Politics
• Why We’re Polarized

Still have questions? Check out the general Summer Institutes FAQ.

Fernando B. Mello

Post Doctoral Researcher at  IC3 JM . I received my P.h.D in Political Science and a M.S in statistics from UCLA

[email protected]

Google Scholar

I am a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the POLARCHATS project, at the Institute Carlos III Juan March.   My research interests are comparative politics, polarization, social media, elections, public policy and lobbying.

I examine the causes and consequences of polarization and how social media and organized groups affect the behavior of voters and politicians. I am also interested in how social media affects lobbying, and in the effects of public policies (such as the pension system and housing policy) on voting behavior and citizens' lives.

My research combines experimental designs to study political elites, survey experiments to understand voters’ behavior, in-depth interviews with political actors, and the collection of millions of observational datapoints to address canonical questions about how politics works. 

I have experience teaching Latin American politics, introduction to comparative politics, and research methods.  I am a recipient of the UCLA Deans' Schoolarship, the Tinker's Foudation grant and the Dissertation Year Fellowship.

I have published books in Portuguese and English. My research has been published at Latin American Politics and Society  and Democracy and Society. In the past, I have worked as an political and investigative reporter in Brazil.

UCLA grad workers walk out over UC handling of pro-Palestine protests

O n Tuesday, hundreds of UCLA academic workers walked off the job to protest the UC system’s handling of pro-Palestine protests on multiple campuses.

Workers gathered for a noon rally at Bruin Walk before marching to Royce Quad to establish a picket line on the site of the former Palestine solidarity encampment.

“I’m striking in solidarity with this historic student movement protesting the genocide in Gaza,” said UCLA graduate worker Sebastian Cazares. “We’re also protesting the Gene Block administration and UCLA policies that have targeted journalists, suppressed free speech, abused students and sent weaponized state sanctioned violence on peaceful protesters.”

The striking workers are members of UAW 4811 , which represents 48,000 workers at ten UC campuses and is coordinating a series of rolling walkouts across several schools. Workers at UC Santa Cruz kicked off the walkouts last week and were joined Tuesday, May 28, by their union siblings at UCLA and UC San Diego. The union says workers at three more campuses could walk out by Friday.

Although the strike comes near the start of summer break, it still has the potential to be very disruptive because graduate and postdoctoral students play an essential role in finalizing student grades, teaching summer courses and conducting time-sensitive research.

“I’m here today because I can’t watch my friends and students get shot with rubber bullets and have their arms get broken by the cops on my campus and be forced to work as if it’s business as usual,” said graduate worker Noura Alaboudi at the rally, referring to the May 2 police clearing of the encampment.

“We union workers have the organized power to rewrite the narrative and shift global politics and we’re here to reaffirm our dedication and make it loud and clear: Palestinian Liberation now,” she added.

The union says that the strike is in response to “egregious unfair labor practices” committed by the UC System. The allegations include using law enforcement to “violently eject and arrest peaceful protesters” at UCLA , UC Irvine and UC San Diego; disciplining employees who participated in protests; and making changes to academic freedom and free speech rights on campuses.

The UC system, however, believes that the union’s complaints are fall outside its scope as a labor union and the strike is therefore illegal.

“UAW’s strike is unlawful because the goal is to pressure the University to concede to a list of politically motivated demands closely linked to the protests occurring across California and the nation,” said the UC System in a May 1 statement. “While the University continues to support free speech, lawful protests, and its community’s right to engage in the same, UAW is a labor union and its negotiations with the University must be tied to terms and conditions of employment.”

The UC system has filed multiple unfair labor practice charges with the Public Employment Relations Board in hopes of getting an injunction to halt the walkouts.

“We have maintained from the beginning that UAW’s actions violate our mutually agreed contracts,” said Missy Matella, associate vice president for systemwide labor relations. “We are eager to see a quick and just resolution to this matter so that our students, faculty and staff can end this academic quarter without further disrupting their education and progress towards degree completion.”

So far the university’s effort has been unsuccessful. Last Thursday, PERB rejected the UC system’s demand to immediately stop the strike. The board is still considering the UC system’s unfair labor practice charges, but a ruling is not expected for at least three weeks.

Graduate worker Desmond Fonseca dismissed the UC system’s appeal to PERB as “a ridiculous attempt at union busting.”

“They’re afraid of workers taking united mass action to protest their illegal activities,” he said. “It is very clear to us to our workers, I think it’s clear to the university as well, that they know that they violated our contract and they violated our rights to free speech.”

Related links

• 1st arrest of accused attackers of UCLA pro-Palestinian protesters
• As UCLA Chancellor Block testifies in Congress, students launch new campus protest
• UC Irvine leaders defend response to student protests in answers to Academic Senate
• 47 arrested in UCI protest, encampment crackdown; Chancellor says ‘I’m brokenhearted’
• UCLA pro-Palestinian encampment left in a rubble as students vow campus protests ‘are not over’

Over 200 protesters were arrested at UCLA on May 2 when police forcibly cleared the Palestine Solidarity Encampment, including many members of UAW 4811.

“We see this as a fundamental violation of our rights as workers to practice free speech to peacefully demonstrate,” said Fonseca.

Less than 48 hours before the encampment was cleared, protesters were attacked by a Pro-Israel mob with bear mace, pepper spray and wooden planks — an incident which resulted in over 25 protesters being sent to the emergency room, according to medics at the encampment.

Approximately a third of faculty members at UCLA have signed a letter vowing they will not perform any labor, such as grading student assignments, to replace the striking workers. Among them is political science professor Michael Chwe, who spoke at Tuesday’s rally.

The letter signed by more than 900 faculty members also calls for Chancellor Block’s resignation and for full amnesty to be granted to all students, faculty and staff who participated in the encampment.

“We will do everything we can to support the UAW 4811 strike,” Chwe said. “We stand with our students as you lead us into the future.”

©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit dailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

UCLA Humanities posted a profile of History and Classics double major Kaitlyn Coons

UCLA Humanities posted a profile of History and Classics double major Kaitlyn Coons here

6265 Bunche Hall Box 951473 University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90095-1473 Phone: (310) 825-4601

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UCLA police chief steps down temporarily after criticism over response to protests

By Marissa Wenzke

Updated on: May 22, 2024 / 1:12 PM PDT / KCAL News

The chief of the UCLA Police Department will step down temporarily following criticism over the university's response to campus protests on the war in Gaza, Vice Chancellor Mary Osako said Wednesday.

Chief John Thomas will be "reassigned" while the university completes "an examination" into its security processes, Osako said in a statement. The university named Gawin Gibson the police department's new acting chief on Tuesday, the latest in a series of administrative shake-ups made in the wake of widespread criticism of UCLA's handling of protests on April 30 and May 1. More than 600 faculty members at the university have called for the resignation of Chancellor Gene Block.

Thomas was named UCLA's chief of police in January. He is a former LAPD lieutenant and previously worked as the USC Department of Public Safety's executive director and chief from 2013 to 2022, before joining UCLA.

On May 5, Block announced he was moving oversight of UCLA police and the Office of Emergency Management away from the Office of the Administrative Vice Chancellor and under a new department called the Office of Campus Safety. The new office is being led by Rick Braziel, a former police chief for the city of Sacramento who will serve as an associate vice chancellor. 

UC President Michael V. Drake – who oversees all 10 campuses within the public university system – announced there would be an independent investigation into UCLA's handling of the protests. The UC system hired security firm, 21st Century Policing Solutions, which is led by national experts on policing and civil rights, according to a statement from UC President Drake.

Demonstrations at UCLA drew national attention on May 1, when more than 200 people were arrested as police officers in full riot gear dismantled an encampment set up on campus by pro-Palestinian protesters. A day earlier, violent clashes broke out at the encampment and some were tear gassed.

LA Mayor Karen Bass called for a "full investigation" into what happened while Gov. Gavin Newsom said his office was "closely monitoring the situation at UCLA" and was in touch with law enforcement agencies. 

Similar encampments have surfaced at universities across the country, from Texas to New York, as the conflict in Gaza has continued for more than seven months. UCLA's protests attracted crowds of hundreds of people, who gathered in the center of the campus before law enforcement officers were called in. Block said he made the decision to call LAPD and other agencies as a safety measure, but that move drew considerable criticism from many in the campus community.

More than 900 faculty and staff members from universities across the UC system – including UCLA – signed a petition demanding the resignation of Chancellor Block. Professors and lecturers from several departments spoke out, accusing the police response of being violent and saying the university infringed on students' and other protesters' right to free speech.

"We will not stand by as our students are assaulted and silenced," reads the petition.

On May 9, UCLA professors and other faculty members who signed the petition protested at the campus, some accusing the university of failing to protect students and others saying law enforcement officers had done little to help the situation.

"Many students and faculty were left on the ground bleeding, gassed or concussed while private security personnel and LAPD riot police stood by without intervening," said Michael Cooperson, a professor of Near East Languages and Cultures.

Along with the UC's investigation, LAPD and other law enforcement agencies continue to investigate violent clashes that happened during one evening of demonstrations. On Tuesday, LAPD Assistant Chief Daniel Randolph said the agency was helping UCLA police track down who had attacked pro-Palestinian protesters on April 30. During an LA Police Commission meeting, he said detectives are looking at photographs of that night to identify potential suspects involved in any of the violent crimes committed.

Marissa Wenzke is a journalist based in Los Angeles. She has a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Santa Barbara and is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School.

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In her research, Professor Giuliano studies the nexus of culture, economics and political economy. She holds prestigious research positions at the National Bureau of Economic Research (Cambridge), the Centre for Economic Policy Research (London) and the Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn).

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Consistently awarded the MSBA faculty excellence award, Bodapati ’s Customer Analytics course addresses marketing problems in value creation, value communication, customer acquisition, customer development, customer retention and the assessment of customer response to marketing. 

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A multiple MSBA faculty excellence award winner,  Mišić focuses on decisions in uncertainty, customer choice problems and machine learning-based optimization in his operations analytics course.

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Following UC Santa Cruz's Lead, Academic Workers at UC Davis and UCLA Join Strike Over Response to Pro-Palestinian Protests

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Nearly a third of the academic and graduate student workers of the University of California are on strike after the union of 48,000 members escalated its labor standoff by walking off the job at UCLA and UC Davis this morning.

With as many as 2,000 UC Santa Cruz graduate students and academic workers picketing since last Monday, Tuesday’s job action brings 12,000 more out of classrooms and laboratories, potentially crippling the university’s mission of educating the roughly 80,000 undergraduates at the three campuses, just two weeks before students begin to take their end-of-quarter finals.

Workers, including teaching assistants, academic researchers and graders, are striking not over pay and benefits but instead over the UC’s response to pro-Palestinian protesters who were arrested by police or suspended from their campuses. Some union members were arrested or suspended for their role in the protests. Core to the union’s demands is that the UC offer “amnesty for those who experienced arrest or are facing University discipline,” the union’s public writings state.

Some 60 academic workers began picketing at Royce Quad at UCLA by 9 a.m., where just weeks ago, students at a large pro-Palestinian encampment were attacked by counterprotesters.

“UC, UC you’re no good, treat your workers like you should,” the picketing academic workers chanted, their ranks gradually growing as more striking workers arrived under a gray sky. “When free speech is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back,” went another chant, the rhythmic pulses of a snare drum accompanying the picketers, who grew to more than 200 by 10:30 a.m.

Origins of strike

UC’s Office of the President calls the strike illegal , saying that its contract with the union — itself the result of a six-week-long strike in late 2022 — includes a no-strike provision. The union, UAW 4811, vehemently disagrees with that analysis, citing legal precedent that a union can strike over unfair labor practices that fall outside the scope of a union contract. It’s a view shared by at least one UCLA law professor .

Both sides have leaned heavily on the state’s Public Employment Relations Board to adjudicate their disputes.

Two days after police swept the encampments at UCLA and arrested scores of protesters , the union filed an unfair labor practice violation with the labor relations board. The union then filed similar violations after police cleared encampments at UC San Diego and UC Irvine, which also led to arrests of protesters — and another alleging that the UC changed its disciplinary rules unilaterally to punish academic workers.

“By summoning the police to forcibly arrest and/or issuing interim suspensions to these employees, the University has violated their employee rights,“ the union wrote in one of its submissions to the labor relations board. The union said its workers were not only rallying against the war in Gaza but also seeking ways to remove academic research funding sources tied to the U.S. military . Workers also oppose “the discrimination and hostile work environment directed towards Palestinian, Muslim, and pro-Palestine Jewish employees and students.”

Unlike a systemwide strike, this “stand up” strike will pursue labor stoppages at certain campuses, a strategy employed by Detroit autoworkers in their successful campaign for higher compensation last year . The approach is meant to apply gradual pressure to management.

While the strike is technically distinct from the larger protest movement against the war, the two movements are related. Last Thursday, several hundred UCLA members of the UAW 4811 held a rally in support of their impending strike. Moments later, they joined a student-led protest demanding that the UC call for a cease-fire and divest from weapons manufacturers and the Israeli economy. That same day, protesters erected a short-lived encampment and temporarily took over a campus building before being pushed out by police .

It was a clear sign that, despite hundreds of arrests in May, thousands of students, union members and some faculty remain passionate about their pro-Palestinian advocacy.

Legality of strike debated

Almost 20,000 of the union’s 48,000 members voted on whether to strike two weeks ago and nearly 80% of those who did vote approved the strike authorization.

The UC sought an injunction to legally halt the strike, but the labor relations board wrote last week that UC hadn’t established that an injunction is “just and proper.” The union hailed the ruling. However, the board wrote that it was leaving UC’s request open in the event the university provided better evidence.

In a partial victory for the university, the board issued a complaint that the union “failed to provide adequate advance notice of its work stoppage, and failed and refused to meet and confer in good faith.” The UC press office, in announcing the board’s response, wrote that the labor board “found enough evidence to suggest that a violation may have occurred, and further examination is warranted.”

The union argues in its latest unfair labor practice violation that the UC unilaterally implemented a disciplinary policy that affects UAW 4811 workers. The union seeks an order telling the UC to “cease and desist from unilaterally changing the terms and conditions of employment related to discipline.”

A spokesperson for the UC Office of the President disputes that characterization, writing that these policies aren’t new and reaffirm existing rules. The spokesperson, Heather Hansen, sought to invalidate the central thrust of the union’s demands, writing to CalMatters last week: “By requesting amnesty, UAW is asking the University not to follow its processes but rather to make an exception for its members so that they are not subject to the same accountability measures applicable to all other members of the UC community.”

Effect on student learning

Not all unionized workers have jobs with labor to withhold. Some are paid with fellowships to advance their own research. But most perform a job duty that’s integral to the academic mission of the university. Systemwide, about 20,000 workers are graduate student teaching assistants, tutors or other instructional assistants.

Graduate students teach classes, especially introductory courses, run discussion sections and grade student work.

Last week, about 60% to 70% of UC Santa Cruz workers who could withhold their labor did, estimated Rebecca Gross, the unit chair of the union at the campus.

On the social media platform Reddit, individuals identifying themselves as UCLA students wrote that some of their discussion sessions are being canceled and that some of their courses are moving online. It “is tragic for me bc I learn 80% of the material from discussion and problem-solving sessions,” wrote one poster.

Who’ll pick up the work that the striking workers won’t do is an open question. The governing body of UCLA faculty sent a message to professors that “faculty members cannot be required to take on additional responsibilities for teaching related to a work stoppage.”

Graduate worker anger

Most protesters, including UAW 4811 members, who were arrested, were cited for failing to follow police orders to disperse . At UCLA, administrators sent a notice to students and protesters on April 30, a day before police cleared the encampment, that “the established encampment is unlawful and violates university policy” and asked the participants to leave the area or face sanctions. The notice also said that “law enforcement is prepared to arrest individuals, in accordance with applicable law.”

The notice added that “for students, those sanctions could include disciplinary measures such as interim suspension that, after proper due process through the student conduct process, could lead to dismissal.”

Members of the encampment replied the same day, writing in part, “We will continue to remain here steadfast in our demands.”

That night, counterprotesters attacked those in the encampment with pepper spray, wooden sticks and at least one firework as police stood by for hours and made no arrests. Local and national news outlets brought around-the-clock coverage of the violence.

The next afternoon, police ordered members of the encampment to disperse. Hours after those orders, police arrested more than 200 people.

“In contrast to the lack of police response to the violent attack by anti-Palestine counterprotesters on April 30, 2024, the University summoned a massive number of police officers on the evening of May 1, 2024, for the purpose of ejecting and arresting the employees engaged in peaceful protest in the UCLA Palestine Solidarity Encampment,” union lawyers wrote in one of the unfair labor practice violations submitted to the state labor relations board .

Kye Shi, a mathematics doctoral student at UCLA, pushed back on the reason to call the police in the first place. “Just because the police say it’s unlawful doesn’t mean that they’re right,” he said.

“The unlawful assembly is an excuse by the university to shut us down,” Shi said.

UC San Diego issued at least 40 suspensions in the middle of May related to the pro-Palestinian protests, the union wrote in one of its unfair labor practice violations. “Such extreme disciplinary measures in response to peaceful protest activity suppress free expression of ideas and violate the First Amendment,” it read .

“We are standing up for justice in the workplace, in a way that directly affects not just us, but our students,” said Anny Viloria Winnett, the unit chair of the local UCLA union chapter.

She said the union is taking on a “fight for our ability to be safe on campus, our ability to have free speech and protest on our campus, but it’s also a fight that our students led … and we’re just a continuation of that.”

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At U.C.L.A., Protesters Briefly Form Encampment and Occupy Building Before Police Move In

The actions came as the university chancellor testified before Congress. The university said that it was not aware of the police making any arrests.

Protesters Take Over U.C.L.A. Building

Pro-palestinian demonstrators blocked entrances at dodd hall before police officers moved in and cleared them out..

Whose university? Our university! Whose university? Our university!

By Jonathan Wolfe ,  Grace Whitaker and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs

Jonathan Wolfe and Grace Whitaker reported from Los Angeles, and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs from New York.

• May 23, 2024

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the University of California, Los Angeles, briefly formed a new encampment and then took over a campus building on Thursday before police officers in riot gear moved in to disband the efforts.

The protests, which drew hundreds of people, came on the same day that the U.C.L.A. chancellor was grilled in a hearing on Capitol Hill over his handling of a similar encampment last month.

By the afternoon, about 70 protesters had entered Dodd Hall, an academic building, sealing off doors with computer cables and jackets. One protester, speaking into a megaphone, asked anyone not affiliated with U.C.L.A. to leave and acknowledged the ad hoc nature of the protest: “We’re building this plane as we fly it.”

But just a few hours after the protesters had gotten inside, police officers in riot gear barged in and cleared the building — a contrast to what Republicans lawmakers criticized as a slow response to the demonstrations in late April.

Protesters had initially set up a small encampment earlier on Thursday in an area known as the Kerckhoff Patio, but quickly abandoned it after officers wearing helmets and carrying batons moved in. The protesters then fled to an area by Murphy Hall, amassing about 300 people at one point, and then some eventually moved into Dodd Hall.

In recent weeks, student activists have been calling on the university to divest from companies that they view as enabling Israel’s war in Gaza. Their demonstration in April was one of the most high-profile campus protests this year. More than 200 protesters were arrested after a group of pro-Israel counterprotesters attacked the encampment. None of the counterprotesters have been apprehended.

Thursday’s protests were short-lived and relatively calm, as the police moved in quickly and students fled. The university said that it was not aware of the police making any arrests.

In a statement, university officials said that the demonstrators were “disrupting campus operations” because they had blocked off a part of campus.

“Demonstrators have been informed that if they do not disperse, they will face arrest and possible disciplinary action, as well as an order to stay away from campus for seven days,” the officials wrote, adding that the order would apply to anyone, regardless of university affiliation.

Thursday’s actions came as U.C.L.A.’s chancellor, Gene D. Block, and the leaders of Northwestern and Rutgers testified before a Republican-led House committee about allegations of antisemitism on their campuses. Dr. Block defended his university’s response to the April encampment, but also said that he was concerned about the rise of antisemitism on campuses across the country.

“With the benefit of hindsight, we should have been prepared to immediately remove the encampment if and when the safety of our community was put at risk,” said Dr. Block, who is set to step down as chancellor at the end of July.

He faced tough questioning from Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, who demanded to know why none of the counterprotesters who attacked the pro-Palestinian camp last month had been arrested. Dr. Block said that the university was investigating the attack.

The U.C.L.A. chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine said the hearing was “a textbook example of political theater” that conflated “calls for Palestinian liberation with antisemitism” in an effort to curb pro-Palestinian movements. It condemned what it described as a “McCarthyist” effort to censor protesters.

Jonathan Wolfe is a senior staff editor on the newsletters team at The Times. More about Jonathan Wolfe

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports on national stories across the United States with a focus on criminal justice. He is from upstate New York. More about Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs

The Campus Protests Over the Gaza War

News and Analysis

​​Weeks after counterprotesters attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, the university police have made the first arrest related to the attack .

​​A union for academic workers in the University of California system announced that an ongoing strike challenging the system’s handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations would extend to two more campuses , U.C.L.A. and U.C. Davis.

​​With speeches canceled , students at the City University of New York School of Law ceremony chanted, carried signs and walked out .

Making Sense of the Protests:  In the weeks leading up to graduation, our reporter spoke with more than a dozen students at Columbia University and Barnard College about how the campus protests had shaped them .

A Complex Summer:  Many university leaders and officials may be confronting federal investigations, disputes over student discipline  — and the prospect that the protests start all over again in the fall.

Graduation’s Pomp Goes On:  Commencement is the rare American ritual that still has rules. T hat’s why it’s ripe for disruption .

A New Litmus Test:  Some Jewish students say their views on Zionism — which are sometimes assumed — have affected their social life on campus .

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