Student Research

STUDENT RESEARCH

CAPSTONE PROJECTS

Each year the Institute supports graduate students from all three departments at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs for capstone research projects that align with and advance at least one of the Institute’s key research themes. Learn more about these opportunities.

APPLY: Graduate Student Capstone Award (Deadline: Dec. 15, 2025)

Building Power in a Hostile Policy Environment: Native Civic Strategies for Health Access Protection in Southern California

Graduate students: Cydni Baker, Charles Golding, Lydia Kelley, Citlali Perez, Suying Qu, Kelsey Rowland | Faculty advisor: Kenya L. Covington (2026)

Breaking the Silence: How the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations Can Address the Underreporting of Anti-Asian Hate Crimes and Hate Incidents

Graduate students: Fangyu Xia, Hanlin Meng, Jenny Jihyun Kim, Kosei Nagasawa, Masahiro Kimura, Yuki Asanuma | Faculty advisor: Michael Stoll (2026)

From “Oversight Theater” to Accountable Systems: Improving In-Custody Death Investigation Governance in California

Graduate students: Mollie Butler, Emma Christie, Naomi Eden, Amil Hogan, Cecilia Nuñez, Rachael Parker-Chavez | Faculty advisor: Emily Weisburst (2025)

Protecting California Farmworkers: Policy Strategies for Addressing Climate-Related Health Risks

Graduate students: Brett Cervantes, Michelle Gallardo, Lawrence Goun, Madison Hecht, Joy Ohiomoba | Faculty advisor: Michael Stoll (2025)

Logistics and Land Use in the Central Valley: The Case of the Wonderful Logistics Center

Graduate student: Clara Fuchshuber | Faculty advisor: Chris Zepeda-Millán (2025)

Dismantling Barriers to Undocumented Student Success in California

Graduate students: Ayah Hamdallah, Blanca Estela Alba Cedillo, Israel Ramos, Maria Villarreal, Ryan Hardmeyer | Faculty advisor: Kenya Covington (2025)

What Does Waymo See? A Critical Inquiry into Urban Surveillance by Autonomous Vehicles

Graduate student: Leila Harrison Ullmann | Faculty advisor: Kian Goh (2025)

Reducing the Racial Wealth Gap: Utilize Wealth to Fund California Baby Bonds

Graduate students: Jala Abner, Young Choi, Danielle Garcia, Yesenia Jimenez, India Woods | Faculty advisor: Michael Stoll (2024)

Empowering Autonomy: A Community-Based Approach to Sex Work Policy

Graduate students: Rizza Estacio, Leer Fu, Jada Jones, Sarah Nunnink, Vananh Tran | Faculty advisor: Michael Masserman (2024)

Do Small Landlord Lives Matter? An Analysis of Rental Housing Ownership Networks in Burbank, California

Graduate student: Nils Jepson | Faculty advisor: Ananya Roy (2024)

Recommendations for UNITE HERE! Local 11 to Address the Affordable Housing Shortage in LA County

Graduate students: Jack Kearns, Gloria Magallanes, Andrew Rock, Ana Rodriguez, Sydney Smanpongse | Faculty advisor: Michael Stoll (2024)

Raising the Bar: Improving Parole Hearing Representation Standards in California

Graduate students: Esmeralda Luevano, Kamilah Mims, Rachel Berger, Reese Howard, Reid Osherow, Sebastian Cazares | Faculty advisor: Michael Stoll (2024)

Hidden Hazards: The Impacts of Climate Change on Incarcerated People in California State Prisons

Graduate students: Aishah Abdala, Abhilasha Bhola, Guadalupe Gutierrez, Eric Henderson, Maura O’Neill | Faculty advisor: Mark Peterson (2023)

One Dollar Day: Labor Conditions within California Immigrant Detention Centers

Graduate students: Kamal Cheema, Laura Edwards, Thomas Hernandez, Mei Naito, Ibuki Yamada | Faculty advisor: Chris Zepeda-Millán (2023)

Surveillance Technology in Schools: Implications for Equity

Graduate students: Savana Doudar, Dinan Guan, Jaymie Park, Sydney Saubestre, Emily Silberstein | Faculty advisor: Martin Gilens (2023)

The “Miracle” of Cash and Connection: Unhoused Experiences of a Basic Income and Social Support Pilot Program

Graduate students: Keenan Leary, Tee Martin, JC Hall | Faculty advisor: Laura Wray-Lake (2023)

Justice Deserved, Not Justice Deferred: Improving School Achievement and School Discipline Outcomes for Black Youth in California

Graduate students: Mahreen Alam, Julio Alicea, Noann Villalobos-Sanchez, Ilan Zur | Faculty advisor: Wes Yin (2022)

Anti-Displacement & Community Ownership in Koreatown: Acquisition-Rehabilitation of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing

Graduate student: Nathan Keibler | Faculty advisor: Joan Ling (2022)

Closing the Digital Divide in Telemedicine with a Focus on LA County

Graduate students: Sophia Li, Stacy Songco, Xinyuan Qi, Yixuan Yu, Ziyi Wei | Faculty advisor: Martin Gilens (2022)

Border Health Justice: Ensuring Due Process and Public Health Safety Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Graduate students: Melissa Candell Villacreses, Nivedita Keshav, Jose Negrete Manriquez, Ashley Reyes, Olivia Ho Wu | Faculty advisor: Wes Yin (2022)

Evaluating the Impact of the L.A. County Office of Immigrant Affairs in Supporting Immigrant Residents

Graduate students: Julie Aguilar, Rayan Bacaloni, Shannon Camacho, Kathreen Lopez | Faculty advisor: Zachary Steinert-Threlkeld (2021)

Interrupting the Cycle of Incarceration for Individuals with Mental Illness: An Analysis of Los Angeles County’s Rapid Diversion Program

Graduate students: Jess Bendit, Joshua Segui, Courtney B. Taylor, Rachel Vogt | Faculty advisor: Wes Yin (2021)

Unheard Voices: Perspectives from the Inside During COVID-19

Graduate students: Ron Calderon, Bernice O. López, Antonio Shallowhorn | Faculty advisor: Laura Wray-Lake (2021)

Diverting Black Girls in Los Angeles County from the School-to-Prison Pipeline through Intersectional Policy Solutions

Graduate students: Amanda De La Cerda, Amy Sage, Mariela Nevárez, Savannah Ramirez, Cassandra DeWitt | Faculty advisor: Wes Yin (2021)

Los Angeles County Youth Diversion: Prioritizing Contract Accessibility for Community Based Service Providers

Graduate students: Kaylyn Canlione, Monique Cardona, Sara Omanovic, Savannah Walker | Faculty advisor: Martin Gilens (2021)

Cambodia Town Thrives: Our Roots, Our Story, Our Future

Graduate student: Daniel Luu | Faculty advisor: Karen Umemoto (2021)

Mutual Aid to Survivors of Gender and Sexual Violence

Graduate student: Mariesa Samba | Faculty advisor: Lee Ann Wang (2021)

Housing in Honolulu: Analyzing the Prospect of Taxing Empty Homes

Graduate students: Adam Barsch, Erika Cervantes, Mary Daou, Dickran Jebejian, Michael Rios | Faculty advisor: Mark Peterson (2020)

The State of Student Loan Servicing: An Analysis of Public Opinion and California Recommendations to Alleviate a National Crisis

Graduate students: Rosie Brown, Na Li, Lorraine Perales, Dulce Vasquez | Faculty advisor: Wes Yin (2020)

Legal Reform and the Olympics: Applying Lessons Learned from South Korea and Japan to Los Angeles

Graduate student: Spike Friedman | Faculty advisor: Stephen Commins (2020)

“Sanar Será Nuestra Revolución”: Radical Activist Care in Colombia for Social Justice-Driven Social Work Praxis

Graduate student: Olivia Miller | Faculty advisor: Amy Ritterbusch (2020)

Piercing the Corporate Veil of LLC Landlordism: A Predatory Landlords’ Eviction Machine of Black and Brown Bodies in Los Angeles’ Working-Class Neighborhoods, 1996-2019

Graduate student: Joel Montano | Faculty advisor: Ananya Roy (2020)

Latinx Mixed-Status Families: Navigating & Making Home in Boyle Heights

Graduate student: Alma Esperanza Villa Loma | Faculty advisor: Ananya Roy (2020)

Tools for Insurgency: Popular Education and Transformative Urban Planning

Graduate student: Amanda Britney Zeidner | Faculty advisor: Kian Goh (2020)

Establishing a Consent Policy for Youth Diversion in Los Angeles County

Graduate students: Susan Baik, Oceana R. Gilliam, Lindsay Graef, Nicollette Lewis, Erica Webster | Faculty advisor: Wes Yin (2019)

Tenants In Foreclosure: An Analysis of How Renters Experience the Financialization of Housing in Los Angeles County

Graduate student: Terra Graziani | Faculty advisor: Ananya Roy (2019)

Secondary Units for Whom? Assessing Interventions Into Informal Housing in San Francisco and Oakland

Graduate student: Meg Healy | Faculty advisor: Paavo Monkkonen (2019)

Education Beyond Incarceration

Graduate students: Shonte Johnson, Angela S. Garcia, Javier Rodriguez, Andres Garcia | Faculty advisor: Amy Ritterbusch (2019)

DOCTORAL RESEARCH AWARDS

The Institute invites proposals from UCLA doctoral students across campus for grants up to $10,000. Below are summaries from our doctoral awardees over the years. Learn more about these opportunities.

APPLY: Ideas and Organizing Doctoral Awards (Deadline: Nov. 7, 2025)