Senior Practicum
The Senior Practicum is a year-long capstone program for all IoES Environmental Science majors and one of the best environmental science and policy educational experiences in the world.
We have designed the Practicum to launch our students into impactful careers. And it works: alumni routinely describe it as the best thing they did as a UCLA student–a life-changing year. In some cases, students go on to work for the clients.
The program pairs teams of five to seven students with a faculty member or other environmental expert. Then it connects them with clients ranging from the Natural Resources Defense Council to the U.S. National Park Service to Northrop Grumman.
Real World Solutions
Clients from across the nation come to IoES with environmental systems and sustainability problems. Students conceive and deliver science-based solutions, working in small groups with support from faculty and outside experts. The Practicum empowers our students to take the lead in finding answers to critical questions, such as:
- How seriously do hydraulic fracturing spills threaten groundwater supplies?
- Do industrial livestock operations increase antibiotic resistance to critical drugs?
- Can spectral light reduce the numbers of malarial insects-protecting millions by changing light bulbs?
- How can we save bobcats and other free-ranging wildlife from pest control poisons?
- How can a mid-sized California city go carbon neutral?
Real World Clients
Our partners include leaders in government, the non-profit world and business—prominent institutions such as the National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy, Walt Disney Imagineering and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Clients often return to participate year after year—the Practicum generates valuable information and resources for their missions. Meanwhile, they’re making a valuable contribution by educating the next generation of environmental problem-solvers.
Among their many accomplishments, our students have:
- Mapped potential groundwater pollution from lead and manganese contamination in the City of Maywood, CA, moving research closer to identifying a source for this long-standing problem with the area’s water supply.
- Investigated the potential for recreational coastal waters to serve as an under-appreciated reservoir of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), ultimately increasing the likelihood of beachgoers and surfers being exposed to pathogens.
- Found that affluence, ethnicity and childhood environment shaped what type of nature Los Angeles residents wanted to experience in their urban parks. This suggests city parks should be tailored to neighborhood communities rather than dictated by top-down planning
- Researched the potential for using sensors mounted on industrial-scale drones to enforce low-sulfur fuel standards for cargo ships in California waters, and detect violations when ships use cheaper, dirtier, illegal fuels that contribute hazardous air pollution to port communities in Los Angeles.
- Created methodology to identify and assess social, financial, and environmental co-benefits that may stem from carbon offset projects related to livestock operations. Demonstrating the full value of offsets, therefore incentivizing the continuation and expansion of offset programs for both public and private sectors.
Interested in Becoming a Practicum Client?
2022-23 Partners
- L.A. County Department of Public Health
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Center for Biological Diversity
- California Office of Health Hazard Assessment
- The Nature Conservancy
- The City of Los Angeles
- The Bay Foundation
- Agriculture for Africa
- Aquarium of the Pacific
- Los Angeles Waterkeeper
- Sustainable Production Alliance
- LARC – The Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability
- WILDCOAST
- City Plants
2021-22 Partners
- L.A. County Department of Public Health
- NASA/JPL
- South Coast Air Quality Management District
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- ActiveSGV
- Agriculture for Africa
- Aquarium of the Pacific
- Los Angeles Waterkeeper
- Oceanswell
- Pueblo Action Alliance
- Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP)
- Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Areas Steering Committee
- Sustainable Production Alliance
- Westwood Greenway
2020-21 Partners
- California Public Utilities Commission
- The City of Los Angeles
- The City of Santa Monica
- Aquarium of the Pacific
- The Bay Foundation
- Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve
- Early Head Start/Allies for Every Child
- HBO
- IBM and the Nature Conservancy
- Los Angeles Waterkeeper
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Union of Concerned Scientists
- WildEarth Guardians
2019-20 Partners
- The ADEPT Group, Inc.
- The Bay Foundation
- Bludso’s Bar & Que Restaurant
- Centro de Ecología Aplicada de Neuquén and The Nature Conservancy
- Conservation International
- La Brea Tar Pits and Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
- SEED LA
- Sustainable Conservation
- Taylor Guitars
- UCLA IoES
- WildEarth Guardians
2018-19 Partners
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- The ADEPT Group, Inc.
- The Bay Foundation
- Bludso’s Bar & Que Restaurant and the J Howard Restaurant Group
- The Blue Prosperity Program at UCLA
- Los Angeles Waterkeeper
- Los Cerritos Channel Watershed Group
- Mountains Restoration Trust
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Producers Guild of America – Green (PGA Green)
- Surfrider Foundation
- Taylor Guitars
2017-18 Partners
- L.A. County Department of Public Health
- City of Los Angeles
- Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti
- City of Santa Monica
- The ADEPT Group, Inc.
- The Bay Foundation
- Environmental Charter Schools
- Fetzer Wineries
- Gimball-Prod
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Social Justice Learning Institute
- Taylor Guitars
- Theodore Payne Foundation
- TreePeople
2016-17 Partners
- The Bay Foundation
- Council for Watershed Health
- National Park Service – Sequoia National Park
- National Park Service – Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
- STAND L.A.
- SNAPP (Science for Nature and People Partnership)
- Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project
- Sustainable Conservation
- Taylor Guitars
- Tejon Ranch Conservancy
- TreePeople
- USC Sea Grant