Homebase Lab
Welcome to SDSU Homebase Lab!
About Us
The Homebase Lab is a welcoming space where students can find support, connection, and community. Through mentorship, academic and career guidance, and culturally responsive programs, we support first-generation, commuter, and underrepresented students as they navigate college. At Homebase, you are not just getting help. You are finding your people and a place to grow.
Mision and Vision Statement
The Homebase Lab advances student success through applied developmental interventions that promote belonging, well-being, and academic persistence. We design and evaluate innovative, culturally responsive practices that support first-generation, commuter, and underrepresented students, particularly young men of color, as they navigate the transition into and through college. Our mission is to cultivate a community where all students feel seen, supported, and empowered to engage fully in their academic and professional journeys.
We envision a campus ecosystem where every student has access to a reliable “home base” for connection, mentorship, and growth. Through evidence-based programming, collaborative partnerships, and community-engaged research, the Homebase Lab strives to become a national model for holistic student development. We aim to transform institutional environments so that students not only succeed academically but thrive as emerging adults, leaders, and social change agents.
Homebase Scholars Model
- Peer mentorship
- Academic and career scaffolding
- Professional skill-building
- Engagement in a supportive community
(3–7 PM, Mon–Thu)
High-touch, same-day support for students experiencing academic, social, or personal stressors. Staffed by peer mentors, graduate student trainees, and counseling psychology interns.Drop-In Student Success Support
A sequenced set of general studies courses designed for holistic student development each year. The curriculum integrates:
First-Year Experience (FYE) Courses
YMOCA & YMOC Partnership
Join the Homebase community.
Coming soon.
Homebase Lab Contact Form coming soon.
Homebase Lab Contact Form coming soon.
coming soon.
coming soon.
Dr. Pope leads several campus initiatives, including the Homebase Lab, the Young Men of Color Alliance (YMOCA) partnership, which centers culturally responsive mentorship and prosocial engagement as pathways to student success. His research examines service utilization, institutional attachment, and the developmental transitions of emerging adults. Guided by a scientist-practitioner approach, Dr. Pope’s work seeks to transform educational environments and elevate student voices to build more equitable and human-centered systems of support.
Dr. Ricky Pope is a licensed clinical psychologist and assistant professor at San Diego State University. He is the founding director of the Homebase Lab, an applied developmental research and intervention hub focused on improving college engagement, well-being, and academic success among first-generation, commuter, and underrepresented students, particularly young men of color. His work integrates principles of applied developmental science, psychological intervention, and holistic student support to design programs that cultivate belonging, resilience, and institutional attachment.
Recent scholarship
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Pope, R.J. The Homebase Approach: A First-Year University Seminar as a Secure Base for Students Who Self-Identify as Young Men of Color. Innov High Educ 50, 1787–1811 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/
s10755-025-09833-w
