Welcome Home, Bruins!
Learn more about the Disability Studies Minor by watching this closed captioned video.
PROPOSED MAJOR IN DISABILITY STUDIES
The Disability Studies Faculty Advisory Committee has submitted a proposal to create an Interdepartmental Degree Program (IDP) in Disability Studies that will house a B.A. in disability studies. We hope to have an update on this proposal in mid- Spring 2023. Please check back on this website for any future updates.
Note to Current Bruins: At this point, no students can declare this major. If you are interested in learning more about the IDP in the future, please complete this MyUCLA form.
DISABILITY STUDIES AT UCLA
With 54 million Americans identifying as disabled, UCLA is committed to graduating leaders who will advocate for a world that values the contributions of all individuals, affirms the achievements and life experiences of the disabled, and celebrates the full range of human potential.
Disability Studies is a groundbreaking field that challenges and changes society’s attitudes toward disability. Led by some of UCLA’s most distinguished faculty, Disability Studies examines the meaning, nature and consequences of disability from a variety of perspectives, including arts and humanities, health sciences, social sciences, public policy, technology, and education. At UCLA, the conversation around disability has shifted: from exclusion to inclusion, from limitations to possibilities.
REDEFINING ‘NORMAL’
Disability—whether bodily, cognitive, emotional, or sensory—is part of the fabric of universal human experience, and yet it is often regarded as a deficit to be fixed, cured or hidden, with disabled individuals cast as unfortunate victims. UCLA’s robust Disability Studies program is challenging this view, changing attitudes and redefining ‘normal.’
By exploring disability as a social issue and cultural identity, rather than a medically defined condition, we prepare students to use the experience of disability as a lens to re-envision models of access, inclusion, participation, communication, and equality.
The result is graduates with deep insights into the human condition, keen analytical and observation skills, empathy, and capacity for self-reflection—part of a new generation that understands and embraces disability.
HELP REDEFINE NORMAL
You can help UCLA become the world-leading center of excellence in Disability Studies. Your support will transform lives, change the conversation around disability, and help move society forward.
For more information about philanthropy and how to support Disability Studies, please go to the Support Us webpage.
Click here for the Disability Studies brochure, which captures just some of the vibrant work that is occurring at UCLA around issues of disability.