Applied Research Graduate Scholarship Organization (ARGSO) @ UCLA

ARGSO@UCLA is dedicated to conducting peer-reviewed scholarly applied research on the international student community at UCLA. The organization is comprised of undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty from an array of disciplines. Members include both the South and North parts of campus and is welcome to all people interested in improving the lives of others on campus by means of applied research. The main purpose of ARGSO@UCLA is to serve as a nexus through which members of the Bruin community who may otherwise not meet, but have similar research interests, can co-mingle, brainstorm new research project ideas, and carry them out to fruition as publications in leading scholarly journals. The foci of these studies will be on the lived experiences of international students at UCLA. This often overlooked and under-served community will now be given a voice to express themselves via an array of research projects conducted between undergraduates, graduates, and faculty at UCLA. Meetings will take place once a quarter and offer a one-hour lecture on qualitative and/or quantitative research methods. The second hour will round off the meeting with a meet-and-greet and provide attendees the opportunity to establish new research project groups. The formation of such groups at UCLA is unprecedented. Its inclusive and diverse embrace of all people on campus (regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, nationality status, educational level, etc.) under the auspices of meaningful applied research makes it an organization unlike any other. ARGSO also intends to host an end of the year presentation of works-in-progress/published articles in collaboration with UCLA’s Spring Research Week. Throughout the year, undergraduates and graduates work in close-proximity with some of UCLA’s best faculty. Amidst student’s busy schedules, such opportunities rarely happen organically. We intend to make this process more intentional and do so while giving back to UCLA’s academic and student communities. Supporting UCLA’s trifold mission of education, research, and service is the main mission of ARGSO. With support of this organization from SOLE, UCLA can become the leader in encouraging members of higher education from all walks of life to work together toward building a common good. ARGSO believes that research is one indispensable part of supporting our international and global academic community here at UCLA.

jgelzhiser@ucla.edu

Signatories: Justin Gelzhiser, Paul Kurek, and Hui Xie

Advisor: Kristopher Kaupalolo