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.