Areas of Focus

Critical Race Studies

Home of the nation's first Critical Race Studies program and top scholars in the field, we prepare students for impactful careers in racial justice advocacy and scholarship.

At UCLA Law, students work directly with the thought leaders who built the foundations of Critical Race Studies. Led by these renowned scholars, our curriculum includes fundamental courses in civil rights and race theory. Students are challenged to think critically about forms of racial subordination in American legal history; to compare related legal and social subordination along other axes of identity; to apply the central themes in critical race theory to specific areas of the law; and to analyze how legal institutions erect racial hierarchies.

Students can choose to complete a CRS specialization, and advanced coursework is a vital component of the program whose hallmark initiatives include a full slate of opportunities outside of the classroom. Our annual CRS Symposium addresses the most innovative ideas and strategies to end racial injustice. And on-the-ground initiatives – including the Race and Re-Entry Initiative and the Race, Work, and Economic Justice Clinic – allow students to gain invaluable experience that bridges their study of theory and their work as attorneys of conscience.

Centers of Excellence
Centers of Excellence

Critical Race Studies

Led by renowned scholars, this program is the premier setting for studying the intersection of race and the law.

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Centers of Excellence

Native Nations Law & Policy Center

This center advances Indian nations’ laws and institutions while promoting cultural resource protections.

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News
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Jan 18, 2024

Taifha Natalee Alexander earns Emerging Scholar award

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Jan 09, 2024

A career of civil rights activism inspired by the Critical Race Studies Program

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