Current Fellowships

In addition to the continuous funding options on the Graduate Financial Support page, the Graduate and Professional Studies Office often receives announcements for other University or outside fellowship opportunities. Please refer back to this website often, as new fellowships will be listed regularly.
 

Other Resources

The Graduate Resource Center (located on the 3rd floor of the Gateway Study Center) holds funding workshop series that include information on how to apply for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) and to other training grants. The GRC also offers writing consultants to assist with proofreading of papers and grants throughout the year.

• Graduate Resource Center

Current Listings (scroll down for details)

• Within UCI
  • ARCS Foundation Scholar Award - May 30, 2023
  • 2024 UC-National Laboratory In-Residence Graduate Fellowship (UC NLGF) - June 1, 2023
  • 2023-24 UCI-LANL Graduate Fellowship Program - June 14, 2023
  • Graduate Division Completion Fellowships - July 1, 2023
• Outside UCI

Within UCI

ARCS Foundation Scholar Award

More information and application form can be found at https://grad.uci.edu/funding/current-fellowships/.

Deadline: Tuesday, May 30th

UCI Graduate Division is pleased to announce the ARCS Foundation Scholar Award. ARCS Foundation Scholar Awards are intended to recognize and reward our most academically superior doctoral students exhibiting outstanding promise as scientists, researchers and leaders. 

Award Amount

Each Scholar will receive an award in the amount of $5,000 per year for two years; the second year is contingent upon continued satisfactory academic progress.  Thus, selection during 2023-24 is expected to result in an aggregate two-year award of $10,000.  ARCS funding is in addition to existing support and may not be used as a substitute for other university support.

Eligibility Criteria

Nominees must have the following minimum criteria:

• Must have achieved a graduate level UC GPA of 3.5 or better through winter quarter 2023.
• Must have completed at least two years of full-time graduate study at UCI and have at least two years remaining before degree completion.
• Must be making satisfactory progress toward their degree goal.
• Must be a U.S. citizen.
• Must have identified their individual area of research interest and be willing to prepare a poster of their research for display at the ARCS Scholar Awards dinner to be held in March 2024.
• Must have exhibited excellent interpersonal and leadership abilities during their academic program.
• Must have advanced to candidacy at the time of application/nomination.

Stipulations

1. It is expected that the students will be able and willing to speak articulately about their career goals and research during an ARCS Foundation meeting. 
2. Acceptance of an ARCS Foundation Scholar Award may affect a student’s need-based financial support package.  In such cases, students are advised to consult with UCI's Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. 

Nomination Process

Select applicants will be required to participate in an interview where they are expected to speak about their career goals and research. Interviews are tentatively scheduled for the week of June 4th.

Application Materials

All nomination packages should include the following:

• A completed UCI ARCS Foundation Scholar Award Nomination Form
• A completed Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Student Biographical Profile with a 100-word student biography
• A current curriculum vitae
• A statement by the awardee of no more than 2-3 pages in length describing their research project (in terms that are accessible to a general audience), progress to date, and plan for completion
• A confidential evaluation of the student by their faculty advisor (multiple letters are acceptable)
• A letter from your Program Advisor

Apply

Please submit your application materials to your program by Tuesday, May 30th.

Contact

For questions, contact Turner Dahl at tdahl@uci.edu.

2024 UC-National Laboratory In-Residence Graduate Fellowship (UC NLGF)

More information and application form can be found here.

UC Research Initiatives is pleased to announce the release of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the 2024 UC-National Laboratory In-Residence Graduate Fellowship (UC NLGF), a funding opportunity for UC graduate students in any field of study that aligns with the missions of Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. The RFP for this opportunity is available on our website.

The RFP includes the following: 

• Program goals, guidelines, submission deadlines, and eligibility requirements; 
• Program contacts at the UC Laboratory Fees Research Program and National Laboratories; 
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs); and 
• Instructions for submitting the required Letter of Intent.  

We will hold two Program Information Sessions, featuring current fellows and national laboratory liaisons, to provide interested applicants with more information about the Program. Interested applicants are encouraged to attend one of the available sessions listed below. 

Program Information Sessions 

• Tuesday, April 25, 9-10am Pacific Time (Register here) 
• Friday, April 27, 11am-12pm Pacific Time (Register here) 

Deadlines

• Letters of Intent (LOI) due: Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 12:00 noon Pacific Time 
• Full proposals due: Thursday, September 7, 2023 at 12:00 noon Pacific Time 
• Graduate Fellowship start date: April 1, 2024 

Contact

You may contact us at UCRI@ucop.edu for additional guidance. Please check our website periodically for Program announcements throughout the application cycle: http://ucop.edu/research-initiatives/programs/lab-fees/index.html.

UCI-Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) 2023-24 Graduate Fellowship Program

Deadline: Wednesday, June 14th, 2023 at 11:59PM

The Samueli School of Engineering and the School of Physical Sciences have established a collaborative partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and have created a UCI-LANL Graduate Fellowship Program. Six Fellows were funded across the two schools in 2022-23: Engineering and Physical Sciences Fellows. 

For 2023-24, we are accepting fellowship applications as a joint multi-school program and are anticipating fully funding 4-8 Fellows. We encourage all engineering and physical sciences doctoral graduate students who are interested in and have the academic ability to conduct a joint research project that fosters new collaborations between UCI and LANL to consider applying. This fellowship provides unique training opportunities for graduate students, an important foundation for a future research career and enhanced competitiveness for extramural support. 

Fellows are required to be co-mentored by a LANL scientist with active engagement; this engagement is project dependent and may include time spent at LANL. Identification of a LANL mentor and a collaboration plan is required at time of application.

2023-24 UCI-LANL Graduate Fellows are expected to be announced July 2023.

Eligibility Criteria

• Students must have a nomination letter from their doctoral advisor. Both student and advisor must have a primary appointment in either the Samueli School of Engineering or the School of Physical Sciences.
• Applicants must be Ph.D. students who are in their 2nd year or beyond as of Fall 2023. Applicants are expected to have advanced to candidacy or are on track with every expectation of being advanced to candidacy prior to April 1, 2024. Applicants closer to graduation must be research active and a UCI graduate student at least through June 30, 2024.
• Applicants of all nationalities are welcome; however, since LANL is a U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory, there may be extra paperwork and screening requirements for non-U.S. citizens.
• An identified LANL co-mentor is required at time of application who will provide a letter of support.

Application

Applications should be submitted via “2023-24 UCI-LANL Graduate Fellowship: Application Form” google form by Wednesday, June 14, 2023, and must include:

1. Nomination letter from the applicant’s doctoral advisor providing concurrence and approval of the proposed research, confirmation that the applicant is in good standing, and indication when the student advanced or will advance to candidacy, and, for more advanced students, when the student is expected to graduate (max of 2 pages).
2. A fellowship proposal (1” margins, 12 pt font, single spaced) that must include the following sections:
   • Abstract: (2400 characters / ~350 words) Provide a brief description of the proposed scope of research, and identification of the specialized facilities, data, instrumentation, or other unique resources that will be used at LANL.
   • Research Plan: (3 pages) Identify the specific aims, research activities, and scholarly contributions of the proposed research, including the innovative components that will advance scholarship in the proposed field. Include a description of the lab facilities, data, or resources that the applicant will use, and explain the importance of conducting the research with a LANL mentor. The proposed work is for a one-year time frame (Fall 2023-Summer 2024), but the applicants should provide a general overview of how this research fits in with their overall doctoral research.
   • Collaboration and Training Plan with LANL: (1 page) The proposal must outline the mentorship structure and value the LANL co-mentor will provide. This could include specific training and mentorship activities, resources provided, and joint mentorship structure.
   • Applicant Statement: (1 page) This statement should describe the applicant’s background and why they are meritorious for this fellowship. Include research and career goals and how this LANL partnership will advance these goals. The applicant should explain how they enhance the diversity of the research pipeline via personal experience or outreach/mentorship or how they bring perspectives historically underrepresented in their field or research area.
3. A letter of support from the LANL mentor endorsing the applicant and committing to providing the necessary resources, mentorship, and training as described in the proposal (max of 1 page).
4. The applicant’s CV or resume (max 2 pages).

Application Review

Applications will be reviewed by a joint UCI-LANL committee. Each application will be evaluated for:

1. Qualifications of the applicant and quality of academic preparation: The applicant’s academic record should demonstrate their potential to conduct successful research and make significant progress to degree with minimal start-up time, and include evidence of strong, appropriate preparation for the research through both coursework and prior research or training.
2. Technical merit of the research plan: The results of the proposed research should make a significant advance in scholarship and should be appropriate for the level of the student’s stage in the Ph.D. program, and be feasible in the proposed one-year timeframe. Relevance of the research to LANL resources and mission must be clearly demonstrated, and endorsed by the LANL mentor.
3. Strength of collaboration and training and potential for long-term collaboration with LANL: The quality and engagement of the LANL mentor and UCI dissertation advisor’s support and endorsement of the proposed research and training plan, and level of supervision should be evident. The strength of the collaboration and training plan should ensure the student receives adequate time and supervision and has access to all necessary resources. A proposal should demonstrate collaborative and integrated oversight by both the UCI faculty advisor and LANL mentor and a research plan that requires a collaborative approach with potential for future partnership.
4. Additional considerations: Alignment of applicant with the diverse workforce needs of LANL and their advancement of diversity in STEM. Programmatic decisions could be made to ensure a variety of fields across engineering and physical sciences are representative.

Contact

For questions, please contact Dr. Lori Greene (legreene@uci.edu).

Graduate Division Completion Fellowships

Apply here!

Deadline: Saturday, July 1st, 2023

The events of the last few years have impacted everyone in some way; however, extreme health and research circumstances have substantially affected many of you. If these issues have considerably delayed your academic progress, you may apply for one-quarter of funding from a Completion Fellowship. The quarter must be in the academic year 2023-24 (not in the summer) and cannot be combined with other UCI stipends or appointments. The goal is to give you a final quarter of funding to finish your dissertation. We will prioritize those with a matching quarter of additional support from their school — if more than one quarter is needed. Students can also plan to combine the fellowship quarter with an additional quarter during which they can go on filing-fee status — for up to three-quarters of work leading to the completion of the degree.
 
If an additional quarter of NRST funding is needed, it will be included with the Completion Fellowship.

• If you are out of funding that would cover the cost of a quarter, you may apply for one quarter from the Graduate Division.
• Applicants must specify how their research or other academic work was delayed. Applicants may also provide information about how events affected them, although details are not required.
• A letter of support and any matching funds available from their associate dean, chair, or adviser.
• Applicants must submit a timeline for completion of the degree.
• Completion fellowship recipients must file their dissertation during the 2023-2024 academic year and file their degree no later than summer of 2024. Departments/Schools/Colleges will be required to re-pay the awarded funds to the Graduate Division if the filing requirement is unmet.  
• Completion Fellowship recipients cannot hold any university employment, including but not limited to TA/Associate/Reader/Tutor or GSR/GSAR/ positions during the fellowship quarter.

There will only be one call for submissions for the next school year. No applications will be accepted after July 1st, 2023.

Contact

For questions, please contact Jaymi Smith (jaymis@uci.edu).

Outside UCI