About Our Program
The Undergraduate Learning Assistants (LA) Program in the Sciences at UCLA is an evidence-based, multidisciplinary instructional strategy, in which undergraduate students who have succeeded in a course receive credit to learn how to help the next group of students succeed in that course. It is specifically geared toward large introductory science, engineering and math courses. LAs thus help facilitate active learning and collaborative instruction in discussion, lab, and/or lecture.
The mission of UCLA’s Learning Assistant program is to EMPOWER STUDENTS through inclusive STEM teaching. By facilitating collaborative and inclusive learning, LAs transform the STEM classroom into one that encourages EVERY student to ask, interact, explain, and deepen their own understanding.
The LA program aims to strengthen a few key aspects of UCLA courses:
- Enhance the ability of faculty to scale active and collaborative learning, to more equitably and effectively teach a large and diverse student body.
- Increase the level of student satisfaction and belonging in these courses, and for the LAs themselves.
- Provide feedback to instructors and TAs about ways to improve instruction, since LAs are often more aware of student perspectives and interests than the faculty and TAs teaching the courses.
- Increase the success and skills of the LAs themselves, as they refine their own content knowledge, while gaining new communication skills and a sense of community.
What are LAs doing after UCLA?
Alana Sur (Class of 2022)
Alana graduated with a double-major in Psychobiology and Neuroscience from UCLA in Spring 2022. Currently, Alana is a Medical Research Assistant at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, MA.
Christine Tseng (Class of 2022)
Christine graduated from UCLA with a double-major in Mathematics and Economics in Spring of 2022. Currently, Christine is a Ph.D. student studying Economics at Brown University in Rhode Island.
James Yoon (Class of 2022)
James graduated from UCLA with a degree in Chemistry and minors in Digital Humanities and Professional Writing. Currently, James is a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington in Seattle, studying Atmospheric Chemistry.
Mahfuzun Nabi (Class of 2022)
Mahfuzun graduated from UCLA with a degree in Physics and a minor in Math Currently, Mahfuzun is a Master’s Student in Physics at Cal State University Long Beach in Long Beach, California.
Michaela Bachani (Class of 2022)
Mica graduated from UCLA with a degree in Physics and a minor in Math.. Currently, Mica is a Ph.D. student in Physics at the University of California, Irvine.
Aly Ung (Class of 2021)
Aly graduated from UCLA with a degree in Bioengineering. After graduation, Aly becmae involved with education in Neurotechnology through teaching her own course. Currently, Aly is a Device Engineer at NovaSignal in Los Angeles.
Arliette Sulikhanyan (Class of 2021)
Arliette graduated from UCLA with degrees in Anthropology and Psychobiology. Following graduation, Arliette received her MPH from UC Davis. Currently, Arliette is a Research Fellow for the California Department of Public Health in Los Angeles.
Mia Navarro (Class of 2021)
Mia graduated from UCLA with a degree in Computational & Systems Biology in Spring 2021. Following graduation, Mia went on to receive her MPH from Stanford University. Currently, Mia is a Research Fellow in Epidemiology at Stanford Medical School in California.