Students can participate in a two quarter seminar that introduces sustainability concepts and how they can be applied to our most pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. Concurrently, each student partners with a UCI staff member working to improve the sustainability of campus operations, systems, and practices through applied projects. The desired outcome is for students to gain hands-on experience and conduct applied research and projects to meet actual needs. The collaboration also aims to provide critical capacity to support project sites in initiating or furthering sustainability efforts. Past project sites have included UCI-Nature, Dining, Housing, Physical & Environmental Planning, Facilities Management, and the Sustainability Resource Center.

The CLL program gives students valuable skills in project management, research, community outreach, and grant applications, preparing students for the growing “green jobs” market. CLL students help UCI achieve its campus sustainability goals and gain recognition as a sustainability leader. On-campus projects make direct and substantial contributions to UC sustainability commitments, such as the Carbon Neutrality Initiative, the Global Food Initiative, and the Sustainable Practices Policy. CLL students have also applied for and won thousands of dollars in funding for their on-campus sustainability projects. Moreover, CLL helps UCI gain recognition for these sustainability efforts, helping our campus achieve the top spot in Sierra magazine’s “Coolest School” ranking for three years running, as well as our campus’ first-ever platinum rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s prestigious Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System.

Internships should be designed for remote work. The option to work on-site will be evaluated given each placement host’s return to site plan in accordance with campus Environmental Health & Safety as well as intern availability. On-site work will not be required.

As an interdisciplinary program, CLL is open to upper-division undergraduate students from across campus. The 2020-21 cycle of CLL will run Winter and Spring 2021. Students participate in the seminar (1 hours a week) and serve as a CLL intern (3 to 8 hours a week, 2-4 credits of BioSci 193) working on applied research and projects.

The application deadline for the 2021 cycle of CLL has now closed. Please check back in Spring Quarter for details on the 2022 cycle.

The CLL program is hosted through a partnership between Student Housing, Sustainability Resource Center (SRC), and The School of Biological Sciences.

For questions regarding the seminar, contact Rachel Harvey

For questions regarding the internship, contact Udara Abeysekera