Alternative Breaks at UCLA is a program within the Community Service Commission which sends small groups of UCLA undergraduate students to outside communities within the United States to engage in meaningful service during their academic year breaks. Students perform short-term projects for community agencies and learn about issues facing those communities. Being immersed in diverse environments enables participants to experience, discuss, and understand social issues in a significant way. As a result, individuals grow as leaders while learning about social justice issues during their immersive service experience.

Alternative Breaks is a great opportunity for students who are passionate about social justice looking to spend their holiday break on a productive and interactive service learning experience.

Each site has a different timeline for the week. Participants will be working with the local community partners to learn about, advocate for, and/or alleviate a plethora of social justice issues such as poverty, homelessness, LGBTQ+ issues, immigration, and environmentalism. Near the end of the day, participants reflect on their experience as a group and individually. Furthermore, participants will have the opportunity to explore their respective cities.

New perspectives , Unique experiences, Opportunity to reflect and think critically about pressing issues, Exposure to a new location and community, A new group of friends all interested in service and creating a better world, Life-long memories , An incredible winter or spring break

Each trip consists of a range from 10-12 people: 2-3 site leaders and 7-10 participants.

This year, all trips will take place during Spring break (Approximately March 22 – March 30).

Depending on the trip (especially with distance and economic climate), trips start as low as $70 and can go up to $300 depending on which site you participate on. The cost includes housing, transportation (flights/cars), food, volunteer fees, and honorariums. However, meals eaten at restaurants are not covered in the cost. To alleviate the expense, there will be scholarship opportunities available to AB participants that will reduce the total cost. AB and the respective sites will also hold fundraisers.

As with any travel, there are dangers but steps has been taken to minimize all risks because safety is the top priority for all Alternative Breaks trips. Each trip’s routes and sites are screened carefully to ensure the safety of all participants. During the trips, participants will be participating in AB-led activities from night to day so participants will never stray from the group.

All AB participants will travel with their groups to their respective trip location. For in-state trips, participants will be using CSC vans as their mode of transportation. For out-of-state trips, participants travel to their respective location via plane and may use public transportation or rental cars. Throughout the various AB trips, participants should prepare to walk, use various modes of public transportation, or be driven.

The trip expense will pay for everything besides personal expenses and meals eaten at restaurants. Participants will be sleeping on bunks, cots, or in sleeping bags throughout the trip. Most meals will be home-cooked by participants but there will be opportunities to try local restaurants. Strict dietary preferences will be accommodated for if specified.

There is zero tolerance for use of alcohol and drugs during the Alternative Breaks experience. Alcohol and drugs affect group dynamics, participant safety, the local community, and the university. Any instance of a participant possessing or consuming drugs or alcohol during the trip will result in the participant being sent home and charged the full price of transportation with no chance of refund.

Please refer to our Join AB page for more information on how to join. Attendance for our information session is not mandatory. However, we highly encourage you to attend one of the sessions since you will get to know our sites better in order to rank them on your application.

The only requirement for Alternative Breaks is that participants make it to all AB events to prepare for their service trips. Alternative Breaks is a wonderful opportunity for those who are interested in a public service career, policy, grassroots organizations, or community service. That does not mean that you have to have an interest in those specific areas to apply for Alternative Breaks. At the core, Alternative Breaks coordinators are looking for bright individuals who are passionate about social justice and embrace the core of AB, including learning, community service, and active citizenship.

Participants are selected based on their application. Once submitted, your application is given a number in place of your name to eliminate bias and base our selection solely on your content. Applications are reviewed based on the quality of responses and the commitment the applicant expresses towards the AB experience. No previous service experience or involvement level is required. After reading the applications, the staff will decide which applicants have been selected for an interview. We ensure that board members and site leaders do not interview potential participants they already know.

After interviews, the AB team decides who would be most suitable for each trip. Participants are placed on trips depending on their preferences and our desire to create a well-rounded team from many different backgrounds, experience levels and perspectives. This means that while participants may not get their top choice trip, that is not due to any inadequacy on the part of the participant or their application. 

We want to allow as many different students as possible to participate in an AB experience. Hence, students are limited to one AB experience per school year.

Unfortunately, applicants are NOT guaranteed a spot on a trip. Due to logistical and financial limitations, we are unable to accept every applicant for an AB experience.

Applicants not initially selected for an AB trip may get placed on a waitlist for a specific site. If a selected participant will no longer be attending their AB trip, a waitlisted applicant will be contacted.

Due to the number of applications we received, we currently fill all spaces on all Alternative Break trips. There are many students who apply who, unfortunately, we are not even able to place on any experience. If you would like to be switched to a different team to attend with someone you know, we assure you that the AB community is a welcoming one – you will meet so many new people and you and your friend will be able to share your different experiences with each other!

If you would like to switch trips due to the location, we assure you that all AB experiences will provide equally rich experiences and the focus of the AB program is not solely the geographic location but rather the community you will interact with and the social issue you will explore. Therefore, when spots become available, we first offer the open spots to students who have not yet been placed on any experience. If you choose to drop the experience you have been selected for, it is not likely that you will be able to participate in another AB experience.

We wish that we had enough spaces to allow all interested students the opportunity to participate in any Alternative Break experience; however, due to transportation, housing, and community partner capacity, each trip is limited in the number of students we can take. Applications are reviewed based on a number of factors. Reviewers are looking for well thought out and completed applications. Participants are assigned to trips based on reviewers’ application ranking and the participants’ listed preferences. We work extremely hard to place participants as adequately as possible based on the information they provide on their applications. We have had participants who did not get their top trip choice but nonetheless enjoyed their experience tremendously!

Yes! 

Unfortunately, due to funding and liability concerns, our trips are for undergraduates only.

Yes! Be prepared to explain why you feel an additional AB trip would be beneficial to you.

For Winter Break applicants, you can apply if you are away in the Spring. For Spring Break applicants, you can apply if you are away in the Fall. We will conduct your interview over video call. 

On the application form, you can rank up to three sites you are interested in applying to.

Details on the time commitment can be found on the Alternative Breaks application. All accepted participants must attend all AB meetings, the details of which are released via email and text. Additionally, there are site-specific meetings (in the fall quarter for winter sites and in the winter quarter for spring sites) that you are required to attend to learn more about the issues focused on in the trip and to meet fellow participants. The timing of site-specific meetings will be arranged by your site leaders depending on you and your fellow participants’ schedules.

The Alternative Break experience is more than a one week trip. You committed to the extended AB experience when you initiated your application and signed the Participant Agreement. Pre and post-trip activities are what make the AB experience so significant and are necessary for you to be prepared for your trip. Participants are required to attend all pre/post trip activities and may be asked to drop from the team roster if they are not fully engaged. If you have work or a class that you cannot work around for scheduled AB events/meetings, be sure you follow up with your site leaders about any key information.

Payments will be due in increments so there is no need to pay all at once. Payments are broken up into two amounts: the deposit and the rest of the cost of the trip. If you have trouble covering the cost of the trip, you can contact your site leaders. Payments can be made via Venmo or cash. 

If your worries are about having to spend your break with a new group of people, we encourage you to take the plunge and apply! AB is a welcoming community, with staff and participants coming from many different backgrounds. Whether you’re a freshman, a senior, a transfer, a commuter or from any other background, there is a place for you.

Yes, absolutely! We believe non-traditional students – including but not limited to commuter, veteran and parenting students – have much to offer AB. You can contribute a perspective that has been substantially broadened or enhanced by your life experiences, and in turn expand the worldviews of others. AB will also be a fantastic addition to your undergraduate experience – past participants from non-traditional backgrounds have greatly enjoyed themselves. Please contact us if you would like to be put in touch with a non-traditional student who can share their experience.

We provide scholarships to reduce the monetary cost of going on these trips. Scholarships will not cover the cost of the entire trip but can substantially reduce the amount you would have to pay. In your application, you will be able to indicate if you would like a scholarship to subsidize the cost of your trip, and explain the importance of the scholarship to you. Individual sites and AB as a whole will also hold fundraisers to further lower the costs for each participant. If you have further concerns about this, feel free to speak to any of our board members or site leaders – we do not want to let money deter you from participating in AB.

In addition to making new friends, participants in past trips have come back and joined new organizations on campus that focus on what they are passionate about. They have also brought back new ideas to UCLA. Some have joined nonprofit organizations in LA, or discovered new career paths and interests as a result of the topics explored in their AB trips. Others, like ourselves, return for even a second and third year as returning volunteers, site leaders, or committee members.