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Tylor Lee '26 interned with Healthcare in Action, which provides healthcare and social services to unhoused people.

Are you interested in strategies to address inequality and social injustice in Los Angeles? We are pleased to offer the UEP & UEPI Summer Internship Program for students interested in areas of:

  • Affordable Housing
  • Homelessness
  • Community Development
  • Environmental Justice
  • Climate Justice
  • Public Health
  • Nutrition and disease prevention
  • Food Justice
  • Urban Agriculture
  • Immigration

 

More about the program
Read an article about the program

Meet our 2024 summer interns:

Affordable Housing, Community Development, and Environmental Justice
Program is supported by the President's Office, Politics Anderson, The Barack Obama Scholars Program, and Citizens Business Bank. Faculty mentor: Martha Matsuoka

2024 housing interns

Food Studies and Urban Agriculture
Program is supported by the USDA NIFA: AFRI REEU Program. Faculty mentor: Sharon Cech

2024 urban agriculture interns

Public Health
Program is supported by The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, The Barack Obama Scholars Program, and É«½ç°É Community Health Engagement Fund. Faculty mentor: Jessica Dirkes

2024 public health interns

Immigrant Rights & Social Justice
Program is supported funded by an anonymous donor. Faculty mentor: Mary Christianakis and Malek Moazzam-Doulat

2024 immigrant rights interns

Our 2024 Partnering Organizations

2024 uep site logos

Applications for Summer 2025 open in January!

PROGRAMS 

  • Affordable Housing, Community Development, and Environmental Justice
    Interns will work with professional staff on a variety of projects dealing with housing development, housing policy, housing advocacy, environmental justice, and community-based approaches to climate change, policy, and planning.
     
  • Food Studies and Urban Agriculture
    Interns will participate in a 2-week orientation course to learn about urban agriculture basics and food justice in Los Angeles that includes classroom activities as well as a series of experiential field trips where students engage in hands-on learning activities, and will then be placed at one of the urban agriculture organizations for an 8-week internship. Students will work alongside urban farmers and gain experience in urban food production methods, community engagement and workshops, as well as marketing, sales, and food assistance acceptance. â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹
     
  • Public Health 
    Interns will be placed with frontline public health organizations and clinics that serve vulnerable populations in Los Angeles. Students will work with staff from partner sites on projects related to the mission and goals of the organization. Students may work on projects related to women’s health, health education, nutrition and physical activity, healthcare access, and/or food assistance program enrollment.

  • Immigration Rights and Social Justice
    After a 2-day orientation/workshop to working with immigrant populations and community-based partner organizations, interns will be placed in an immigration-focused partner organization in Los Angeles for 8 weeks. During those 8 weeks, interns will work with staff to address matters such as legal immigrant rights, education, housing, work/employment, family, and health.  The particular work will depend on the mission of the partner organization. 

COMPENSATION AND REQUIREMENTS

The Occidental students selected for this internship will be paid a $6,300 study grant, will be provided with room and board on campus [based on income, but with a maximum payment of $150 (tbc) per week for the summer], and will work full-time for a community-based non-profit organization in Los Angeles. Additional funds for travel expenses may also be available. The number of internship slots will depend on the level of funding the program can raise.

Interns will be required to:

  • Work full-time for 10 weeks from May 29, 2024 to August 2, 2024
  • Present at the URC Summer Research Program Conference on July 31, 2024
  • Participate in weekly seminars with faculty mentors and other interns to discuss assigned readings and reflect on the internship experience
  • Keep a journal
  • Write a final paper

PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY

Open to all majors! All current students returning in the Fall semester are eligible to apply. Past recipients may apply to other program areas. Students graduating in May 2024 are not eligible. 

Affordable Housing
Must be interested in issues of affordable housing, homelessness, community development, improvement of conditions in low-income neighborhoods, environmental justice, and climate justice.

Possible Organizations:

  • Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment () 
  • Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movmement ()
  • Coalition for Economic Survival ()
  • East Los Angeles Community Corporation ()
  • East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice ()
  • Esperanza Community Housing ()
  • LA Community Action Network ()
  • LA Voice ()
  • LINC Housing Corporation ()
  • Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy ()
  • Neighborhood Housing Services ()
  • Nikkei Progressives ()
  • Pacoima Beautiful ()
  • Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing ()
  • Strategic Action for a Just Economy ()
  • Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education ()


Food Studies and Urban Agriculture
Must be interested in food systems and urban agriculture production and how urban agriculture can address issues of food access, food security, and diet-related diseases.

Possible Organizations:


Public Health  
Must be interested in public health and have completed Introduction to Public Health; or or Global Public Health before the start of the summer internship program.

Possible Organizations:

  • Saban Community Clinic ()
  • SEE-LA ()
  • Every Woman Counts (LA County) ()
  • Foothill Unity Center Client Services Department ()
  • Koreatown Youth and Community Center ()
  • New Familia Health Support Services ()
  • Meet Each Need with Dignity ()


Immigrant Rights and Social Justice
Must be interested in legal immigrant rights, education, housing, work/employment, family, and health.

Possible Organizations:

  • American Civil Liberties Union—Southern California (ACLUSOCAL)- ( )
  • Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) - ()
  • Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA- ( )
  • Central American Resource Center (CARECEN)- ( )
  • Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)- ( )
  • Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC)- ( )
  • Interfaith Refugee & Immigration Service (IRIS) - ()
  • International Rescue Committee (IRC)- ( )
  • Korean Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA)-
  • National Immigration Law Center (NILC): ( )
  • Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA)- ( )
  • Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF)- ( )
  • Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) - ()
  • Immigration Center for Women and Children (ICWC)- ( )
  • Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice- ()
  • Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)- ()
  • LACBA Immigration Legal Assistance Project- ( )

HOW TO APPLY - Deadline is in 2025, TBD

TBD

We'll need the following information: 

  1. Your name, É«½ç°É ID#, major, class (frosh, sophomore, junior), GPA, name of a faculty member who can serve as a reference, your method of transportation for the summer (personal vehicle, public transit, ride-share, or carpool), and whether you will need campus housing during the 10-week program;
  2. Identify the program you are applying for and list the three organizations that interest you the most. Note: You may apply to more than one program but must submit a separate application for each
  3. A 250-500 word statement (PDF or MS Word) explaining why you are interested in the program you are applying for, what skills will you bring (e.g. fluent in Spanish, proficient in Photoshop, etc), and what do you hope to learn at the internship site; share your future educational and professional plans and how this internship can help to support these plans. Also include information about any other related internship or volunteer experiences;
  4. Your resume (PDF or MS Word); and
  5. Your É«½ç°É transcript (unofficial is acceptable).
Contact Urban & Environmental Policy
Urban & Environmental Policy Institute

1882 Campus Road