Student Opportunities

The mission of the Right Livelihood Center Student Club is to amplify systemic change through student-led action education, research, advocacy, and civic engagement related to the Right Livelihood Laureates, and building global solidarities between students and social movements at our Right Livelihood partner campuses.

Levels of Membership

1. Low: Meet Laureates, attend events, get the newsletters (0-1 hr/wk)
2. Medium-low: Same as above plus volunteer with our campaign (1-2 hrs/wk)
3. Medium: Same as above plus hold a position with our Center – see positions #8186285 (5+ hrs/wk) , #8186050 and #8186092 (10 hrs/wk) on Handshake.
4. High: Same as above plus join the Core Team (5+ hrs/wk)

Last year, we ran an opinion poll in the UCSC student elections asking “if a small fee to fund Right Livelihood was on the ballot, would you vote yes?” Here’s what we put forth and ways to help us get on this year’s ballot.

UCSC’s Right Livelihood Center (RLC) connects activism and academia, boosting urgent and long-term social change. We link students with winners of the Right Livelihood Award and the movements they are part of – some of the world’s most successful changemakers – to build solidarity with global movements and be more effective in our social and environmental change work. 

Founded in 2013, we are the only campus in North America in the global RLC network spanning five continents. Based on our success, UCSC has been invited to lead and coordinate this global RLC network, providing us a unique opportunity to increase student engagement and make major contributions to people and the planet. 

We have the leadership, network, and legacy of successful activism to build on and are considering adding a fee measure to next year’s ballot to amplify student engagement. The fee would go directly to fund student activism on our most important issues via workshops and training with changemakers, scholarship and grant opportunities for undergrad research, travel, and projects, and student leadership positions. See rightlivelihood.ucsc.edu/vote for more. 

The Everett Program for Technology and Social Change develops young leaders who use the technical, educational, and research resources of the university to work directly with communities, empowering people to develop practical solutions to persistent problems.

We’re partnering with the Everett Program for our fourth time in the 2023-24 academic year to engage students in building out our new role as Global Secretariat of the Right Livelihood College. The project will build global solidarities between student activists at UC Santa Cruz and our other eight Right Livelihood College campuses through online student-to-student events,  a new process for gathering content for our social media and websites rightlivelihood.ucsc.edu and rightlivelihood.college (the site for all nine campuses), and, if all goes well, an international Right Livelihood Student Conference at UCSC in spring 2024.

An internship with us is a great way to get involved, have an impact, and gain experience.

• Any quarter
• 2 or 5 units, senior internships welcome
• Work on any of the aforementioend projects
• Our internship is listed with the ENVS Internship Program, though students from all majors can enroll.

Environmental Movements, Social Justice, and the Cultures of India

You’re invited to India during summer 2024 for our first study abroad program! We’ll travel and earn UCSC credit while learning with and from Right Livelihood Laureates and Right Livelihood Colleges.

The program will be hosted at the Tata Institute for Social Sciences in Mumbai as well as at Right Livelihood Laureate Vandana Shiva’s Earth University, an internationally renowned center for agroecology and community development. The program also includes a weeklong cultural excursion into the Himalayas to temples, sacred sites, farms, and community seed banks. Join us for this life-enriching intercultural exchange & exploration of India’s diverse cultures & lands.

To receive email updates as more program and application becomes available, please join the listserv. You’re also welcome to contact Global Learning at globallearning@ucsc.edu with any questions.

Cultures of Sustainability and Social Justice (Anth 110-I, Summer, Online)

Brings together diverse forms of cultural knowledge and complexities of everyday life to illuminate longstanding concerns of sustainability and justice. Investigates multiple theories of sustainable development as well as tools, techniques, and contexts for ecological integrity, economic security, empowerment, responsibility and social well-being characteristic of sustainable communities. Case studies are drawn from around the world highlighting the work of Right Livelihood Award Laureates in tandem with UC faculty. (General Education Code(s): PE-E.)

<<<Click here for the syllabus>>> Note: This course features video interviews with 30 Right Livelihood laureates and 30 faculty from across the UC system! 

Politics 189B: Global & Community Health Policy in Practice, Fall 2024