Most UCLA clubs do not choose their members, but many do not say so either. This guide covers the groups that say it outright. Of the 1,161 clubs in this directory with a researched How to join note, 59 state in their own words that anyone can join: no application, no audition, no cuts, all levels welcome, drop in any time. They are listed at the end, and the sections below pick out examples by interest.
The list is strict on purpose. Plenty of other clubs are open in practice but have not written it down anywhere we could find, and a club whose note mentions an application, audition or tryout is left off even if that step is only for its board. If a club you like is missing, its first general meeting will usually tell you.
An interest form is not an application
The same Google Form can mean very different things. An interest form puts you on a mailing list. An application is read by someone who can say no. The form usually tells you which it is, if you know where to look:
- The word "application" and a deadline. An interest form stays open all year. An application closes on a set date, often in week 1 or 2.
- Interviews, coffee chats or decisions. Any mention of a second round, invite-only events or a decision date means the club is selecting.
- Questions about you. An interest form asks your name, email and year. An application asks why you want to join, about your experience, or for a résumé.
- A UCLA login. Not decisive on its own, since some sign-up forms ask for one too, but most applications do.
Some clubs use both, which is where people get confused. Bruins Public Health Club has an interest form that adds you to its mailing list and a separate application that decides membership. Synthesis Dance Theater keeps an interest form open for updates while it auditions dancers. Filling out the interest form for a selective club is still worth doing, because that is how it tells you when the real application opens.
The reverse happens too. Circle K calls its sign-up a membership application, but it says there are no cuts: you fill it out, pay dues and come to events. Active Minds is the opposite case. Anyone can attend its Tuesday general meetings, but becoming a general member takes an application, which for fall 2026 closed on October 11.
Arts, music and hobbies
Creative clubs without auditions tend to be the easiest to try. Tinig Choral says all voices are welcome and holds no auditions. VibeCheck teaches a dance combo every Tuesday night with no commitment, and Line Dancing @ UCLA holds free drop-in lessons; the Daily Bruin reported in February 2026 that it has no dues and no application. The dance guide covers the rest of the dance scene.
Westwind, UCLA's undergraduate arts journal, is rare among publications: you join its staff by coming to meetings, Wednesdays at 4 pm in Dodd 78 this fall, and weekly attendance can earn two units through English M192.1. For hobbies, Cubing Club meets Thursdays in Haines 122, Confections for a Cause takes new bakers throughout the quarter through its Discord, and Whistling Club meets Tuesdays in Rolfe 3108.
Sports and the outdoors
A few club sports teams take anyone who comes to practice. Quadball welcomes new players all year on the IM Fields, and men's Ultimate asks for no experience. The club sports guide separates these from the teams that hold tryouts. Outside club sports, Backpacking Club needs no sign-up beyond its Slack, and Bruin Street Workout trains Monday and Wednesday evenings at Drake Stadium at every level.
Service, advocacy and the environment
Many service clubs select volunteers, because the work needs training or a fixed team. The ones below do not. Crafting for Cancer says to just come to a meeting, Wednesdays at 6 pm in Kaplan Hall; $15 covers crocheting supplies. CALPIRG holds open core meetings Mondays from 6 to 7 pm, and Science Policy Group takes anyone without an application and lets you pick a program or writing team after a general meeting. SWC Earth and Dig, the campus garden group, both welcome anyone; the environmental clubs guide has more like them, and the service guide covers the selective programs.
Tech, research and careers
Project teams in engineering usually apply, but a few take anyone. Engineers Without Borders lets you join any of its project teams, each with its own weekly meeting. Cyber opens every event to the public and asks active members only to complete one activity a quarter, such as a workshop series or a capture-the-flag competition. 3D4E, a 3D printing and design club open to all majors, runs open lab hours on weekdays in Boelter 6514.
In research and careers, National Student Data Corps makes you a member when you join its Slack, and Quantum Computing Student Association charges no fee and has no application. Business is mostly selective, but Bruin Finance Society offers general membership with no application, and Business in Entertainment Association takes members year-round with no interview for $10 a year. Its committees apply separately. The selective clubs guide covers the rest.
Faith, culture and identity
These groups are almost all open, and many say so. Open Origins makes you a general member when you attend any meeting or event, with no cost. UTeaLA, which studies the Japanese tea ceremony, needs no experience, just its email list. Fellowships such as Canaan Fellowship, which meets Fridays in Ackerman Union, say everyone is welcome. See the cultural organizations and faith communities guides for more.
Getting started with an open club
- Pick two or three clubs from different sections of this page.
- Join each one's channel first: the Discord, GroupMe, Slack or mailing list in its How to join note. That is where meeting rooms are posted.
- Go to one meeting of each in the same week, and go back to the one you liked for a second, ordinary week.
- Ask about dues and active-member requirements at that second meeting. Open clubs can still ask for both.
Open clubs take members all year, so none of this has a deadline. The guide to joining later in the year covers clubs that recruit again in winter and spring.
Every club that says it is open
These 59 groups say in their own How to join note that they take anyone. A few serve one community, such as one school's students, graduate students or transfer students, so check who each is for on its page.
3D4E at UCLAAlcanzarAWS Cloud Club at UCLABackpacking Club at UCLABiomedical Engineering SocietyBruin Auto ClubBruin Bladers & RollerskatersBruin Finance SocietyBruin SportfishingBruin Street WorkoutBruins Encouraging Active Minds at UCLA (BEAM)Bruins for RecoveryBruinXRBusiness at UCLABusiness in Entertainment AssociationCalifornia Public Interest Research GroupCanaan FellowshipChristian on CampusCircle K at UCLAComputer Science Graduate Student AssociationConfections for a CauseCrafting for CancerCubing Club at UCLACyberDig: The Campus Garden Coalition at UCLAEngineering a Better WorldEngineers Without BordersEta Kappa Nu Iota Gamma Chapter (IEEE-HKN)Grupo Folklórico de UCLAIndian Cinema Collective (ICC)Iranian Dental Students Association (IDSA)Jewish on Campus at UCLALatinx GraduationLine Dancing @ UCLAMaster of Legal Studies Students of ColorMedical Student Council Class of 2029 at DGSOMMedical Student Council, Class of 2027MentorSEASMilitary and Veteran Student NetworkMuoi (Salt)National Student Data Corps at UCLAOffbeat SessionsOpen Origins @ UCLAPhilosophy ClubPhotography Club @ UCLAQuadball (Co-ed Club Sport)Quantum Computing Student Association at UCLA(Re)Defining HealthReformed University FellowshipScience Policy Group at UCLASWC EarthThe Sephardic ClubTinig ChoralTransfer Leadership CoalitionUltimate (Men's Club Sport)UTeaLAVibeCheck at UCLAWestwind: Journal of the ArtsWhistling Club at UCLA
Sources
- Daily Bruin: Line dancing club builds community (February 22, 2026)
- Each club's How to join note on its page here, compiled from the club's own Instagram, Linktree and website.