UC Essential Needs Research and Evaluation
Robust system-wide essential needs research and evaluation is crucial to understanding students’ lived experiences of hardship and resilience, the effects of basic needs challenges on student well-being and success, and the impact of campus basic needs programs.
At the Center for Economic Justice and Action, we support a wide range of essential needs research and evaluation, with the goal of providing evidence to policymakers, academic communities, and the families of UC students that our interventions are reducing food and housing insecurity, fostering health and well-being, and increasing retention and student success.
We are also building a strong learning community of essential needs practitioners and researchers. To join our networks, contact ceja@ucsc.edu.
UC Essential Needs Research Grant Program
The UC Essential Needs Grant Program funds research related to UC students basic/essential and assessments of UC basic/essential needs programs. Awards for a maximum of $100,000 will be considered, with all research activities completed within 12 months. Our next call is available now, the deadline is May 1, 2025 at 5:00p.m. (PST). The guidelines are available here.
An information session was held on April 10, 2025 and the zoom video recording can be found here.
Awarded Research Projects
Congratulations to the CEJA UC Essential Needs Research Grant awardees! Please consider applying and joining this growing list of funded research. View abstracts.
| Principal Investigator(s) | UC Campus | Title | Award Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camelia Hostinar | UC Davis | Changes in Food Security and Stress in Recipients of CalFresh and AggieFresh | Spring 2024 |
| Matthew Landry and Laura Enriquez | UC Irvine | Fulfilling the UC PromISE: Strengthening Access to Essential Needs Services for Undocumented and Immigration-Impacted Latinx UC Students | Spring 2024 |
| Suzanna Martinez | UC San Francisco | Exploring the SNAP application process for college students | Spring 2024 |
| Blanca Meléndrez, Richard S. Garfein, and Elisabeth Mari | UC San Diego | Testing Student-Driven Solutions to Improve Food Security at UC San Diego | Spring 2024 |
| Jesse Rothstein | UC Berkeley | Broadening the Safety Net: The Impact of Increased CalFresh Access for California College Students | Spring 2024 |
| Wendelin Slusser, May C. Wang, and Theodore F. Robles | UC Los Angeles | Basic Needs: Learning from our Community | Spring 2024 |
| Danny Rahal | UC Santa Cruz | Housing Insecurity and Consideration of Off-Campus Housing: Accounting for Commute Times and Ambiguity in Decisions from Campus Housing | Fall 2024 |
| Laura Beth Bugg | UC Santa Cruz | Basic Needs for First Gen Transfer Student Well-Being: Participatory Action Research on Person, Place and Planet | Fall 2024 |
–
Recent essential needs research publications by UC faculty
The Center for Economic Justice and Action is compiling a clearinghouse of UC essential needs research. Visit often, as our library grows! If you would like to contribute a publication to this database please email us the title and link to: ceja@ucsc.edu