Our commitment to diversity is evident in our supplemental requirements and selection process. Many arts programs across the country, via their portfolio or audition requirements, implicitly require the student to have had access to formal arts instruction in order to be recognized as a valid candidate for admission.

Our program requirements welcome students from a wide variety of backgrounds, including and especially entirely self-directed candidates.

Architectural Studies does not ask for an architectural portfolio * Art does not ask for observational or figure drawing * Dance welcomes students who come from social/street/community dance forms and have never been in a classroom setting * Design|Media Arts does not require technology-generated artwork * World Arts and Cultures holds space for scholars who practice in community and ancestral right: foodways, customs, spirituality and religion, aesthetics, healing, philosophy, et al.

We recognize that many students do not have access to arts instruction, but if they are resourceful enough to find a way to make/do art, then we are proud to offer the opportunity and space for their imaginations, viewpoints, and positionalities.

Director Laura Young is a charter member of the UCLA Arts Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (AEDI) Commission.