UCLA launches Department of Labor Studies

After years of operating as a highly regarded interdepartmental program, UCLA Labor Studies has been elevated to a full academic department - the first of its kind at the University of California. The UCLA Department of Labor Studies will deepen its mission to educate the next generation of leaders on labor and social justice issues and connect them with community organizations across Los Angeles.

Founded in the early 2000s as a minor under the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE), the labor studies major and minor programs have trained hundreds of undergraduates to explore urgent social problems related to labor and inequality as they engage in rigorous hands-on research in community worker settings.

"Becoming a department brings labor studies into the mainstream of the university community, which will uplift the innovative work of our students and researchers who work closely with community partners," UCLA IRLE director Tobias Higbie said.

To complement current special courses like its Labor Summer Research Program, UCLA Labor Studies will broaden its course offerings, appoint faculty and eventually offer a master's degree program, which will be the first graduate program in the field on the West Coast.

"Establishing a Department of Labor Studies at one of the top public universities in the country is a momentous achievement not only for UCLA but for the entire interdisciplinary field of labor studies," said Chris Zepeda-Millán, who served as chair of the labor studies program from 2022 to 2025. "The new department legitimizes labor studies as a rigorous area of research and teaching and will hopefully inspire the growth of other labor studies programs in California and the nation."

The UCLA Department of Labor Studies will advance UCLA's mission of deepening its engagement with Los Angeles and enhancing research by facilitating collaboration between the next generation of scholars and local organizations working toward social, environmental and economic justice.

"I am especially excited about the innovative and expansive ways that students, faculty and community partners are reimagining what labor studies is and why it matters," said Jennifer Chun, newly appointed interim department chair. "As the department continues to deepen our commitment to excellence in research and teaching, I look forward to nurturing connections that foster more just, equitable, sustainable and dignified worlds."