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.


Current Listings (scroll down for details)

Within UCI

Public Impact Fellowships

Deadline: Monday, October 17th

More information and application form can be found here.

Public Impact Fellowships highlight and support doctoral and MFA students whose current research has the potential for substantial impact in the public sphere. Ideal candidates will be involved in research designed to significantly improve or enrich the lives of Californians and/or national and global communities.

Award Amount

$11,000 (distinguished fellow full award) or $1,000 (honorable mention award) to be used as a stipend. All schools are eligible to nominate students to compete for a total of fifteen fellowships. Each of the five full awardees will receive $11,000. Each of the ten honorable mention awardees will receive $1,000. Students may choose to accept the award during Winter 2023 or Spring 2023, or over both quarters, at their discretion. 

Eligibility Criteria

Nominees must have the following minimum criteria:

  • Have a minimum graduate-level UCI GPA of 3.7.
  • Be a current, full-time doctoral or MFA student.
  • If a doctoral student, be advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. by October 24, 2022.
  • Conduct research that has critical public impact. (Examples of relevant research include studies that aim to improve economic opportunity and well-being, health care, social justice, political participation, cultural engagement, and scientific or technical solutions to pressing social issues.)
  • Be willing to have research spotlighted/featured on both the Graduate Division’s and UCI’s website, brochures and social networks, and be able and available to effectively communicate and discuss their research in lay terms with prospective donors, legislators and/or their staff, and the media during Winter and Spring quarters.
  • If selected as a finalist, students must be available to give a brief presentation (via Zoom) to the selection committee, with no visual aids, immediately followed by a brief interview. These presentations and interviews will take place on Thursday, November 17, 2022.

Notes

  • Students should review the terms of any funding that they have accepted for AY 2022-2023 to ensure that they are eligible to receive additional fellowship funding before applying.
  • For students already receiving financial aid, acceptance of a Public Impact Fellowship may affect their overall financial need-based support package. In such cases, students are strongly encouraged to consult with the UCI Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.
  • Previous Public Impact Fellowship winners (full awardees and honorable mentions) are not eligible for this year’s competition. 
  • All awardees (full and honorable mention) may hold an ASE appointment or GSR position while receiving this award.

Application Materials

Instructions for Students:

  • Complete the Student Information Form
  • Please email the following materials to your program’s graduate affairs staff member:
    • Completed Student Information Form with your signature.
    • Your current CV
    • Letter of recommendation from your primary faculty advisor/PI

Apply

Please submit your application materials to your program by Monday, October 17th.

Contact

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

Chancellor’s Club Fund for Excellence Fellowships

Deadline: Friday, October 21st

More information and application form can be found here.

The Graduate Division is pleased to announce the AY 2022-2023 competition for the Chancellor’s Club Fund for Excellence Fellowships. Chancellor’s Club Fellowships are intended to recognize our most academically superior doctoral and MFA students — those who exhibit outstanding promise as scholars, researchers, and public leaders. Please note, nominated students must be first-generation college students, with neither parent having received a four-year degree.

Award Amount

Each Chancellor’s Club Fellowship recipient will be awarded a six-month stipend to total $12,000 for the period of January 2023 through June 2023. These fellowships do not include tuition and fees. Awardees’ Schools will be expected to cover the cost of the tuition and fees for Winter 2023 and Spring 2023.

Eligibility Criteria

Nominees must have the following minimum criteria:

  • Plan to complete their Ph.D. or MFA degree by the end of Fall quarter 2023
  • Have a minimum graduate-level UCI GPA of 3.7
  • If a doctoral student, be advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. by October 31, 2022
  • Demonstrate financial need
  • Be willing to present their dissertation research at a Chancellor’s Club dinner or other function
  • Exhibit excellent interpersonal and leadership abilities
  • Be a first-generation college student, with neither parent having received a four-year degree

Notes

  • Students receiving this award are required to file all final degree paperwork by the end of Fall quarter 2023. Award funds will be returned by the school to Graduate Division if the student does not meet this requirement.
  • The faculty advisor’s letter of recommendation should include the student’s expected graduation date and express the advisor’s level of confidence in the student’s ability to complete as planned.
  • If students have applied for and accepted Financial Aid loans or Work-Study awards and subsequently receive any fellowships, the additional support may affect their eligibility for need-based financial aid. Students should contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships to determine if their eligibility will be affected. Students should also review the terms of any funding that they have accepted for AY 2022-2023 to ensure that they are eligible to receive additional fellowship funding.
  • Awardees Schools will be expected to cover the cost of the tuition and fees for Winter 2023 and Spring 2023.
  • Awardees may hold an ASE appointment or GSR position while receiving this award.

Application Materials

Apply

Please submit your application materials to your program by Friday, October 21st.

Contact

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

NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00)

Deadline: Monday, October 24th

More information and application form can be found here.

The purpose of the NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00) is to encourage and retain outstanding graduate students recognized by their institutions for their high potential and strong interest in pursuing careers as independent cancer researchers. The award will facilitate the transition of talented graduate students into successful cancer research postdoctoral appointments and provide opportunities for career development activities relevant to their long-term career goals of becoming independent cancer researchers.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) does not allow applicants to propose to lead an independent clinical trial, but does allow applicants to propose research experience in a clinical trial led by a sponsor or cosponsor.

The F99/K00 award is intended for individuals who require 1-2 years to complete their Ph.D. dissertation research training (F99 phase) before transitioning to mentored postdoctoral research training (K00 phase). Consequently, applicants are expected to propose an individualized research training plan for the next 1-2 years of dissertation research training and a plan for 3-4 years of mentored postdoctoral research and career development activities that will prepare them for independent cancer-focused research careers. Please note: It is not required that cancer be the topic of predoctoral work, but it is required for postdoctoral work.

NCI intends to commit $1.1 M to fund up to 24 awards in FY2023. UCI may put forward one nomination for this award opportunity and is therefore soliciting applications from qualified predoctoral students interested in pursuing postdoctoral work in cancer research.

Dates and Deadlines

  • Internal UCI Graduate Division Nomination Due Date: October 24, 2022 by 5:00 p.m..
  • The selected applicant will be notified by October 31, 2022 by 5:00 p.m.
  • The external deadline to submit an application to NCI is November 18, 2022 by 5:00 p.m. local time of the applicant organization

Nomination Process

To apply, interested applicants should send the following application materials (in a single combined PDF) to Turner Dahl (tdahl@uci.edu):

  • Specific aims of applicant’s predoctoral to postdoctoral work in cancer research. One page per NIH guidelines (For help please review this guide).
  • If the applicant’s pre-doctoral work is not cancer-related, an additional ½ page may be used to present a clear plan for cancer training.
  • Applicant’s CV

For more information about this opportunity, please review the full RFA at NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00)

Contact

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

 

Outside UCI

Google Ph.D. Fellowship Program

Deadline: Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 12pm (noon)

Google Ph.D. Fellowship students are a select group recognized by Google researchers and their institutions as some of the most promising young academics in the world.

Award

  • 2-year Fellowship with opportunity to extend to 3rd year
  • Full tuition and fees (enrollment fees, health insurance, books) plus a stipend to be used for living expenses, travel and personal equipment
  • Google Research Mentor

Eligibility Criteria

  • Full-time graduate students pursuing a Ph.D.
  • Students must be in at least their 3rd year of a Ph.D. program by the fall semester or quarter of the year when the Fellowship begins. The nominating university will be asked to confirm the student’s Ph.D. program start date.
  • The recipient must remain an active, full-time student in a Ph.D. program during at least two academic years of the award or forfeit award.
  • Google employees, and their spouses, children, and members of their household are not eligible.
  • Students that are already supported by a comparable industry award are not eligible. Government or non-profit organization funding is exempt

Application Materials

  • Student CV with links to website and publications (if available)
  • Transcript of current and previous academic records
  • Research/dissertation proposal including references (recommended length 4-5 pages, no longer than 8)
  • 2-3 letters of recommendation from those familiar with the nominee's work (at least one coming from the thesis advisor)
  • Short (1-page) CV of advisor
  • Cover sheet signed by the Department Chair confirming the student passes eligibility requirements. (See the eligibility requirements for students)
  • Student essay response (350-word limit) to: Describe the desired impact your research will make on the field and society, and why this is important to you. Include any personal, educational and/or professional experiences that have motivated your research interests.
  • Student essay response (350-word limit) to: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
    • A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or taking the lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about what you accomplished and what you learned from the experience. What were your responsibilities?
    • Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church, in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities. For example, do you help out or take care of your family?

The review committee advises that proposals are more successful in the review process when the advisor takes an active role in reviewing and editing the proposal.

Contact

Please submit application materials as a single PDF file to Turner Dahl in the Graduate Division no later than 12 noon, September 29, 2022. Recommendation letters should be confidential and must be submitted by the same deadline as a signed/scanned attachment emailed to tdahl@uci.edu directly from the recommender.  Feel free to contact Turner Dahl via email with any questions.

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP)

Deadline: Saturday, October 22nd, 2022

The National Science Foundation (NSF) offers fellowships to students in the early stages of pursuing a research-based Master’s or Ph.D. degree. The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) affords our nation’s research leaders of tomorrow exceptional funding with three years of graduate support worth thousands of dollars.

To learn more about this fellowship, you can visit www.nsfgrfp.org.

GRFP Fellows Receive the Following:

Graduate Division will be hosting several workshops about applying for fellowships. The following workshops will be hosted virtually; you can find the list as well as other events via Graduate Division’s Campus Groups Page):

  • August 2nd 3:00-4:00PM | NSF Information Session and Q&A | Register
  • August 9th 3:00-4:00PM | NSF GRFP: Developing your Research Plan | Register
  • August 16th 3:00-4:00PM | NSF Writing Clinic: Developing your Research Plan | Register

While preparing your application materials, we encourage you to reach out to the following individuals:

  • Faculty Advisor = to guide you on the application process and review your research proposal and personal statement.
  • Lori Greene = specializes in personal statements for NSF proposals. You can contact her directly at legreene@uci.edu. 
  • Fellowship Mentors: Peer graduate students who have strong fellowship writing experiences provide one-on-one feedback to applicants for NSF and Ford Fellowships.
  • Writing Consultants: Peer graduate students who have strong writing experiences provide one-on-one writing feedback, including fellowship application materials.
  • Fellowship Advising with Dr. Anderson-Natale: One-on-one meetings with Dr. Anderson-Natale to ask questions about fellowship applications, and to get non-writing feedback on applications.

Contact

For questions regarding the NSF GRFP, please contact Kayleigh Anderson-Natale (kayleiga@uci.edu) in Graduate Division.

DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Study Scholarships and Research Grants

Deadline: Friday, October 28th at 5pm

UCI may nominate one (1) priority candidate for consideration by the DAAD selection committee.

Study Scholarships are available to those who have received an undergraduate degree of all disciplines for a full master's degree program at a German university, or for study at a German university as part of a postgraduate or Master's degree program completed in the home country. Visit the link for complete eligibility and application information.

Research Grants-One Year Grants are available to highly qualified candidates who have completed a Master’s degree or in exceptional cases a Bachelor's degree at the latest by the time they begin their grant-supported research in Germany. Visit the link for complete eligibility and application information.

Research Grants-Bi-nationally Supervised Doctoral degrees/Cotutelle are awarded to highly qualified doctoral candidates and graduates who have admission to a doctoral program at the time they begin their grant-supported research. The aim of this program is the funding of bi-national doctoral projects at the home university and at a university in Germany.  Visit the link for complete eligibility and application information.

*Please note: applicants for the Short-Term Research Grant and applicants in the artistic fields do not apply via the internal process and should follow application instructions on the DAAD website. 

Submission Process: 

  • Applicants should submit the following by the UCI internal deadline of 5:00 p.m., October 28, 2022:
  • Submit all requested documents via the DAAD online-portal.
  • Send the reference form (available on portal) to your professors and ask them to email a signed copy to Turner Dahl at tdahl@uci.edu.

Once the applicant has submitted all required documents via the online portal, a PDF file of the application summary will become available.  Please send this to Turner Dahl (tdahl@uci.edu) at the Graduate Division by the internal application deadline.