Campus as a Living Lab
UCI’s Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) program is a hybrid seminar and internship experience that offers a unique interdisciplinary opportunity for undergraduates to become sustainability leaders on campus while preparing for the green careers of the future. The program is coordinated in partnership among UCI Biological Sciences, UCI Sustainability Resource Center, and UCI Housing Sustainability.
Students can participate in a three quarter seminar that introduces concepts weekly and applies them to our most pressing environment, social, and economic challenges. These credits qualify for requirements of the Global Sustainability Minor. Concurrently, each student partners with a UCI department to improve the sustainability of campus operations, systems, and practices through applied projects.
Student Applicants: Those interested in applying agree to participate in the seminar course (1 hour a week) administered by the SRC and serve as a CLL Mentee (4-9 hours per week, depending on credits) working on applied research and projects in Fall 25, Winter 26, and Spring 26 with a UCI Placement site/mentor. Potentially compatible with UCI College Corps placement.
Placement Sites: Those interested in serving as Project Placement Site agree to host, supervise, and mentor a CLL student for applied research and projects in Fall 2025, Winter 2026, and Spring 2026. Sites/mentors will prepare tasks and projects for each intern to support 4 to 9 hours of effort per week. Less than 25% of tasks should be administrative/clerical.
Applications close April 28th and Matching Interviews will take place from May 5th to May 16th.
What do Interns do?
The CLL program gives students valuable skills in project management, research, community outreach, and grant applications. Essentially it prepares students for the growing “green jobs” market. CLL students help UCI achieve its campus sustainability goals and gain recognition as a sustainability leader. On-campus projects make direct and substantial contributions to UC sustainability commitments.
Check out some site placements and projects students have participated in below!
At the ANTrepreneur Center, Maya has implemented TerraCycle zero-waste program and monitors the use of compost bins to progress the center towards their sustainability goals. She also serves as the sustainability consultant for undergraduate startups and leads outreach events to highlight the importance of proper waste management in every stage of business.
Through the CLL internship, Maya feels “more connected to the business community at UCI” and “learned a lot about the study of sustainability [in] the business world”. She hopes to transfer this passion in sustainability into her investing and consulting career.
At the Sustainability Resource Center, Brandon implements the Green Office Program initiative in several campus departments to analyze their workplace sustainability practices.
Through this CLL internship, Brandon has met his professional and personal learning goals in managing databases and communicating with professionals. He has learned how to communicate the “significance of sustainability” and teaches others how to take action. He hopes to apply these skills in his career interests of science policy and recommends students apply for CLL if they are “interested in making [UCI] a more sustainable place with others who share a similar vision!”
At UCI Dining, Katie leads outreach events to educate students on Dining sustainability programs, fair trade practices, and managing food waste. To reduce food waste in the dining halls, she hosts events to collect, measure, and display wasted food. She also conducts waste and sustainability audits of Dining locations on campus.
Katie feels that the CLL internship has helped her hone “interests in sustainability education” as well as given her “valuable experience in [her] field”. She enjoys the opportunity to apply knowledge and “have an influence on campus sustainability.” She feels prepared to apply these communication skills in her future career.