Data Justice Scholars

The Data Justice Scholars program fosters collaborative digital humanities and community-engaged learning experiences for undergraduates. Over the course of the year, students will enroll in two courses to consider the intersections between data-based research and social justice. Students will also engage the Los Angeles Data Justice Hub, a critical and interactive educational tool offering a curated list of open-source datasets.

Data Justice Scholarship:
The Mellon Social Justice Curricular Initiatives Program, Digital Humanities Program, and the Center for Community Engagement are pleased to offer this scholarship opportunity for undergraduate students titled the “Data Justice Scholarship.” We seek either junior or senior undergraduate students majoring or minoring within the Divisions of the Social Sciences and Humanities. Students who demonstrate a commitment to social justice through their scholarship and community engagement are sought.

Requirements:
The first required course is cross-listed as Digital Humanities M121 and Community Engagement and Social Change M121. You can enroll under either DH M121 or CESC M121: no substitutions for other courses are allowed. DH M121/CESC 121 will meet from 2-5 PM on Monday in Fall 2024. If you have a scheduling conflict with this course and can’t enroll, you will not be able to receive the Data Justice Scholarship. This course, titled “Whose Lives Count?: Race, Gender, and Data” will introduce students to key themes in Critical Data Studies while also offering training on how to directly work with open-source datasets. With the approval of the program director, students will then take a second course of their choosing to deepen their critical and applied understanding of data. The second required course must be an elective that relates to data justice and/or data science. As a result, students gain a critical understanding of how data-based technologies, search engines, and algorithms shape everyday experience, but also how data skills can be applied to strategically address community concerns and social inequities.

The Award:
Specifically, we will offer scholarship awards of $6,000.00 for the academic year 2024-2025. Under the guidance of the program director of the Data Justice Scholars, a cohort of social justice scholars will also participate in collectively analyzing data sources useful for research on social justice issues in Los Angeles. Since the purpose of this cohort is to create a sense of “learning together,” the Data Justice Scholars will meet together once in the fall and again in the winter. These two cohort meetings (once a quarter) of “Data Justice Scholars” will culminate in a panel presentation of the Data Justice Scholars at Undergraduate Research Week in Spring 2025.

Eligibility:
UCLA junior and senior undergraduate students in any discipline.

Application Process:
Submit the application and upload your CV.

Scholarship Requirements: The Mellon Data Justice Scholars will participate in the following activities during the academic year 2024-2025.

• Attend an introductory meeting and training at the start of Fall Quarter 2024
• Enroll in the Digital Humanities course taught by Dr. Munia Bhaumik (Program Director of Mellon Social Justice Curricular Initiatives”) in Fall 2024
• Enroll in a second course of their choice related to “Data Justice” in either Winter 2025 or Spring 2025 (with the approval of the Program Director)
• Pursue a research question over the course of the academic year
• Check-in through brief virtual individual meetings about trainings and assignments designed to enhance the work of the “Los Angeles Data Justice Hub”
• Attend a second cohort meeting in Winter 2025
• Present at Undergraduate Research Week in Spring 2025

For further information about the “Data Justice Scholarship” supported by the Mellon Social Justice Curricular Initiatives grant program, please contact Dr. Munia Bhaumik, Program Director of the Mellon Social Justice Curricular Initiatives (munia@college.ucla.edu).