Emergence is a journal of advanced undergraduate scholarly and creative writing by students participating in the Arnhold Undergraduate Research Program in the Department of English at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It was launched in 2010 in conjunction with the Arnhold Undergraduate Research Fellows Program. The Arnhold Undergraduate Research Fellows Program is part of an initiative to help foster undergraduate research within the English Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) that was made possible by a generous donation from John and Jody Arnhold. John Arnhold received his B.A. in English from UCSB in 1975. In a letter describing the terms of their gift to the school, John wrote that he is “particularly interested in ensuring [this] support enhances teaching [by] integrating the undergraduate teaching and research experience.” 

The works that Emergence comprises are the result of students pursuing their intellectual and creative interests beyond the boundaries of the traditional classroom. Each Arnhold Undergraduate Fellow develops and designs their own original humanities-based project that can be written as a creative piece, a critical essay, or a hybrid between the two. The fellows work on their projects throughout the winter and spring quarters with the support of their peers and the Arnhold graduate fellow and faculty member. These projects are both independently created and student-driven and part of a wider scholarly community that is the Arnhold Undergraduate Research Program Fellows.