Professional Development Academies in Education

Professional Development Programs in Information Studies

UCLA’s School of Education & Information Studies is home to two departments. Each is a leader in their field, helping to pioneer what's next in the Education and Information worlds.

UCLA Ed&IS faculty are at the forefront of their fields, addressing issues of equality, access and social justice in the fields of education and information. Their scholarship has an international reputation for excellence and commitment to addressing the most critical issues facing our society.

An ecosystem of K-12 teaching schools where UCLA partners to develop, study, share, and advance innovative best practices.

The work at UCLA Ed&IS is guided by the principles of individual responsibility and social justice, an ethic of caring, and commitment to the communities we serve. Learn more about our mission and values, our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in our faculty and students, our history and more.

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are defining features of UCLA Ed&IS and we embrace them as a source of strength.

Department of Education 2023 Information Sessions

Department of Information Studies Programs

Department of Information Studies 2023 Information Sessions

Learn more about the undergraduate and graduate academic programs we offer, when program information sessions are being offered and how to apply.

Principles and Values

Racial justice is our guiding principle for an Ed&IS community and world in which white supremacy is abolished, and all systems of oppression are dismantled. In order to achieve racial justice, Ed&IS needs to build deliberate systems of support through proactive strategies. We believe that achieving racial justice is an active process, and can only occur in partnership, community, and conviviality with one another through accountable, equitable, and inclusive relationships. This requires our community to continuously reflect on how anti-Blackness and other forms of racism manifest in our practices, policies, and decision-making processes. We honor the lives of People of Color. We call our Ed&IS community to listen to the stories, voices, leadership, and collective power of Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous peoples to be uplifted and centered in our journey towards racial justice.

Racial Justice

Ed&IS is committed to challenging social, cultural, and economic inequalities imposed on individuals arising from any differential distribution of power, resources, and privilege. Striving for social justice requires distributing resources fairly and treating all members of our community with dignity and equitably so they feel safe and secure. 

Social Justice

Equity involves giving students, staff and faculty what they need to succeed academically and professionally. This requires understanding the unique challenges and barriers faced by individuals or by groups (e.g., Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+ students, staff and faculty) and providing additional supports to help them overcome those barriers. Equity involves giving its community members what they need to succeed academically and professionally, and Ed&IS seeks to ensure that every member of our community has equal opportunity to do so. Equity is practiced in Ed&IS by putting at the center of every decision those who are in need of most support so they can succeed.

Equity

We share a common belief, that diversity in our community is critical for us to fulfill our social justice mission. Diversity enriches the educational and work experiences of our community members. Ed&IS strives to increase the racial and ethnic diversity in our students, faculty and staff members, which is critical to our success, meaning that Ed&IS needs to reflect the people and communities that we serve locally, nationally, and internationally. We must make an effort to In addition, Ed&IS embraces a multidimensional definition of diversity, as such, Ed&IS is committed to increasing diversity, which is expressed in countless forms, including race and ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, language, culture, national origin, religious commitments, age, (dis)ability status, and political perspective. 

Diversity

More than simply diversity and numerical representation, inclusion involves authentic and empowered participation and a true sense of belonging at Ed&IS. Ed&IS acknowledges that institutional spaces may not feel safe, however we are committed to putting in the work necessary to make Ed&IS a space where all members of our community can grow and excel. To achieve inclusion, Ed&IS must engage in authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decision-making in a way that shares power.

Inclusion

Ed&IS acknowledges the fact that anti-Blackness empties Blackness of value, while systematically marginalizing Black persons and their issues. One way in which anti-Blackness is manifested in our community is overt racism. The second form of anti-Blackness is the disregard for anti-Black institutions, practices, habits, and policies. This indifference is the product of class, race, and/or gender privilege that certain individuals experience due to anti-Black institutions and policies. 

Anti-Blackness

Racism is a system where one racial group dominates/has power over others. Ed&IS recognizes the many forms in which racism takes place: Anti-Black racism, Anti-Asian racism, Anti-Latinx racism, and racism against Indigenous people and communities. Ed&IS will work actively to combat racism in all its forms as well as discrimination in all its forms. 

Racism

Ed&IS acknowledges the fact that oppression is interconnected, meaning that students, staff, and faculty who are marginalized often experience multiple forms of oppression, discrimination, and domination. Intersectionality is the lens through which Ed&IS can see how multiple forms of oppression and/or discrimination affects marginalized members of our community.

Intersectionality

Ed&IS will hold itself accountable for effectively combating anti-Blackness and any form of racism in our community. Ed&IS will generate specific and concrete plans of action and reforms to effectively combat deep-rooted systems of racism, White supremacy, power, privilege, oppression and colonialism.

Providing financial resources to incentivize research on anti-Blackness and other forms of racism.

Accountability

Ed&IS has the institutional responsibility to practice the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accountability. Practicing these values requires that each of us—students, staff and faculty—contribute to learning and working environments that support the interactions necessary to live the socially-just education that we seek.

Ed&IS is committed to focused and sustained actions, including but not limited to:

Educating our community about the history of African Americans and the Black experience.

Offering continuous training to all community members to challenge harmful stereotypes that prevent us from seeing Black people as individuals. 

Creating and implementing anti-racist policies (for example, allocating significant energy and resources to change and improve our curricula and pedagogical practices to reflect, advance, and strengthen Ed&IS’ commitment to our goals of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the teaching and learning process).

Partnering with local organizations involved in anti-racist efforts.

Speaking up against racism in our classrooms and work spaces.

Identifying systematic strategies to monitor, measure, and publicly discuss and disseminate our progress in achieving our goals for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Actions

The OJEDI shares Ed&IS’ commitment to combat inequities and racism. In order to fulfill our purpose and live our values, we aim to make our commitment to justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion evident in our mission, vision, organizational structures, policies, and practices. 

We are accountable to each other and transparent in our pursuit of equity. We will honor different and unique identities and nurture an accessible, welcoming and respectful environment for all members in our Ed&IS community.

UCLA Ed&IS' Office of Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (OJEDI) Statement of Values and Principles

In order to fulfill our purpose and live our values, we aim to make our commitment to justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion evident in our mission, vision, organizational structures, policies, and practices.