UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) is a leader in equitable transportation research and education, building educational and research capacity to understand and address injustices in the transportation system.

A combination of societal and technological trends are changing the transportation field's focus from outputs to outcomes — evident in the shifting emphasis from mobility to accessibility. Transportation access examines whether and how people connect with the social, educational, economic, and recreational opportunities that improve their lives. Today, many public agencies seek to understand and correct injustices brought on by structural ableism, classism, heterosexism, homophobia, racism, and xenophobia in transportation.

Your gift to the Excellence in a Transportation Equity and Justice Capstone Prize will support students conducting impactful research to advance transportation equity and justice.

How UCLA ITS will use your gift:

Your contributions demonstrate the support for excellent students pursuing public-benefit transportation equity and justice research for their graduate capstones and dissertations. Each year, ITS will award the Excellence in a Transportation Equity and Justice Capstone Prize to the student whose work best advances transportation equity and justice through a combination of intellectual merit and potential for broader impacts. 

Because representation matters, some funds raised may also be used to provide equitable merit-based aid to international students and students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. These groups are ineligible for existing U.S. Department of Transportation-funded tuition assistance restricted to U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

“Representation matters in transportation equity and justice. These structural injustices result from a lack of representation of those who have been marginalized in transportation decision-making.” - ITS Director Brian D. Taylor 

UCLA is among the most competitive transportation graduate programs in the nation, attracting top-tier students each year. While at UCLA, our graduate students are challenged by their coursework, research, and each other. This demanding environment leads to exceptional student work. Our students have won dozens of scholarships and awards, including four of the past five national awards for best policy and planning capstone.

Transportation Equity and Justice Curriculum

2020-21 courses include:

Just Transport and Inclusive Economies: Land-Use and Financing Strategies to Create Equitable Transit

Oriented Communities

Transportation and Economic Outcomes 

Colonial and Decolonial Transportation 

Dimensions of Transportation Equity Seminar and Discussion Series (UC-Wide) 

Poverty and Inequality

CLICK HERE TO READ THE UCLA FOUNDATION'S DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS FOR DONORS.