The UCLA College commencement was a celebration of remarkable graduates and the strength of the university's values in a shifting world.
“It's very interdisciplinary,” said senior Sydney Reimer of the graduate program she will begin in Berlin this fall. “[I]t feels like it's going to draw on my background here [at UCLA] and help me apply that a bit more to active practices and make tangible impacts on the community.”
Graduating senior Ixchtel Aguilar-Moore acquired broad research, study abroad and community engagement experience during her four years at UCLA.
The annual International Development Studies Academic Award commemorates graduating seniors for exceptional academic achievement in the IDS major, particularly in upper-division coursework.
International development studies senior Clara Prideaux (UCLA 25) grew up in Manila and arrived in Westwood to study statistics, only to find that the interdisciplinary nature of international development studies better suited her intellectual interests.
The Activist Award of the International Development Studies Program is conferred annually on one or two seniors for outstanding commitment to making a difference on issues significant to international development through activism, service and leadership.
Senior Joaquin Garcia (UCLA 25) reflects on his journey from a small ski town to the nation's top public university, where he found his academic calling, honed his passion for advocacy and laid the groundwork for a future in law and public service.
At a recent CERS and CNES event, Amín Pérez detailed how Pierre Bourdieu and Abdelmalek Sayad forged a politically committed sociology during the Algerian War of Independence.
At a recent evening event hosted by the UCLA Global Development Lab, student members gave presentations about the lab's educational workshops, on-site internships and the community projects developed by Project Incubator participants over the past year.
At a recent International Institute event, speakers discussed how community-engaged research and volunteer projects have taught them to listen to and work with residents who are already addressing local needs. Such engagement can expand on-the-ground contributions to public policy and strengthen global solidarity.
This year's conference on "MIT (Made-in-Taiwan), Redux: New Approaches to Material and Technological Cultures in Taiwan" is presented as part of the UCLA-NTNU Taiwan Studies Initiative, a partnership of UCLA and National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) that aims to create research synergies to promote cutting-edge research in Taiwan studies.
At a recent Latin American Institute event, UC Irvine professor Alexander Huezo described how Afro-Colombian communities on Colombia's Pacific coast experience and resist environmental violence.
U.S. tariff policies, a rapid shift to green energy in Asia and policies that promote a carbon-dominant economy in the U.S. are likely end the dollar's status as the dominant trade financing vehicle and preferred global savings asset, said Mark Blyth at the Burkle Center.
Ann Kerr, coordinator of the Visiting Fulbright Scholar Enrichment Program at UCLA, received an honorary doctorate from USF and delivered the commencement address to graduate students of its College of Arts and Sciences on May 16, 2025.
