Give to the Graduate School of Education and Psychology

Celebrating 51 years, the Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) continues to further its mission as a ground-breaking learning institution where students from diverse backgrounds work together to foster academic excellence, social purpose, meaningful community service, and personal fulfillment.

Urban Fellows Program

The Urban Initiative is integrating a research component to evaluate the success of this program and to develop new methodologies for training students as the initiative matures. Research will take shape through the Urban Fellows program, which includes several key strategies, including exposing participants to the realities of urban environments in order to understand the damaging impacts of poverty; encouraging participants to examine the preconceptions – both positive and negative – that might influence how graduate students approach their work with urban residents; and broadening participant understanding of the complex interplay of economic, educational, familial, and cultural issues along with the impact of those issues on their capacity to provide quality service

Fellows will learn about common education and mental health issues that appear in urban settings, successful intervention methods, family dynamics, working with public and private agencies, and community building.

Fellows in GSEP's education programs will work in diverse settings, including Los Angeles Unified School District charter schools and high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools in Southeast Los Angeles.

Union Rescue Mission

The Psychology Division of GSEP has always been at the forefront of community service and, in 2001, partnered with the Los Angeles Rescue Mission (URM) to provide mental health treatment services for the homeless community. GSEP is operating a mental health clinic at URM's main campus in central Los Angeles. Clinic services are provided at no cost to homeless and poor persons and include individual and group therapy, psychological assessment, and psychoeducational programs.