Last updated: March 2025
Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarships (OURS) – http://scholarships.berkeley.edu/ – OURS manages the National Scholarships and Experiential Fellowships website, UC Berkeley’s clearinghouse for information on scholarships that are funded by sources outside the University. Competition for these awards may be local, national, or international in scope, and scholarship deadlines and requirements vary. Students may search for scholarships on the Scholarship Connection online database. To stay up to date on available awards, enrolled UC Berkeley students may also subscribe to the Scholarship Connection listserv. Subscribers receive biweekly e-mail updates on scholarships and related opportunities. In addition, the coordinator, Alicia Hayes serves as the campus representative of several national highly competitive and prestigious scholarships. Among these are the Rhodes, Marshall, and Truman Scholarships. Most of these awards require a campus endorsement before the applications can be forwarded to the final levels of competition. The office offers workshops and individual advising to help applicants prepare competitive applications for these awards.
SURF L&S: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (College of Letters and Sciences) – https://research.berkeley.edu/surf/ – Fellows receive $5,000 to carry out a project during the summer which will become their senior thesis. Eligibility requirements are listed on their website. Deadline is traditionally the beginning of March.
Haas Scholars Program –a senior capstone experience for all majors– http://hsp.berkeley.edu/– Each year, twenty highly qualified, academically talented undergraduates with financial need come together to build a supportive intellectual community during their final year at UC-Berkeley. Applicants are evaluated primarily on the merit and originality of their proposal for an independent research or creative project that will serve as the basis for a senior or honors thesis. Eligibility are available on their website: https://research.berkeley.edu/haas-scholars/student-eligibility-and-commitments/. Once selected, Haas Scholars receive close mentoring from members of the UC-Berkeley faculty, seminars and workshops to assist them in the research and writing process, the opportunity to present their work at a professional conference, and up to $14,800 each in financial support. Deadline is traditionally the last Monday in February.
Stronach Baccalaureate Prize – https://research.berkeley.edu/stronach-prize/ – The Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize supports intellectual and creative pursuits that heighten awareness of issues of social consciousness and the public good. The award (up to $25,000) gives bright, ambitious students the opportunity to extend and reflect upon their undergraduate work at Berkeley by undertaking a year-long public service project after their graduation. Winning projects are creative in the broadest sense, explore themes of significant interest to holders of the Prize, and strive to further understanding of what constitutes humane and effective participation in our worldwide community. The Prize is open to Berkeley graduates in any area of study who are awarded an undergraduate degree in the Fall of the year before or the Spring or Summer of the year in which the Prize is awarded, including international students.
Human Rights Center Student Fellowship – https://humanrights.berkeley.edu/programs/fellowships-program/– The Human Rights Center awards summer fellowships to students of the University of California to work with human rights organizations in the United States and abroad. The Student Fellowship offered through the Human Rights Center provides students with an opportunity to contribute to an organization’s work while also gaining practical experience that may influence their area of research, academic focus, or career trajectory. Partnerships with both non-governmental and governmental organizations are acceptable. Multi-disciplinary approaches to human rights fieldwork are welcomed. Eligibility and deadlines are available on their website.
Institute of European Studies Undergraduate Grants – https://ies.berkeley.edu/grants-undergraduates – Various awards and travel funding for UC Berkeley undergraduates with focuses in European Studies topics. Eligibility, deadlines, and more information are available on their website.
Undergraduate Fellowship in International Studies – https://iis.berkeley.edu/fellowships-grants/undergraduate-fellowship-international-studies –The Undergraduate Fellows Program is a year-long fellowship offered by IIS. The program presents a unique opportunity for a selective group of undergraduate students to work side-by-side with IIS affiliated faculty and graduate-level research associates on conducting original research. Note this program is not offered for 2024-2025.
The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program at UC Berkeley – https://artshumanities.berkeley.edu/diversity/mmuf – Berkeley’s MMUF program guides the intellectual and professional development of Fellows to realize their greatest potential as graduate students. The MMUF program prepares Fellows to become successful faculty members and role models for future generations.
The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) program at UC Berkeley targets students with exceptional academic promise in the humanities or social sciences and potential for academic careers that will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in the academy. The program supports Fellows by providing mentorship and the environment and resources to strive for the highest academic goals. Berkeley’s MMUF program guides the intellectual and professional development of Fellows to realize their greatest potential as graduate students. The MMUF program prepares Fellows to become successful faculty members and role models for future generations.
More specifically Fellows are mentored by faculty and graduate students. Through regular workshops that feature speakers and skill development Fellows have opportunities for professional enrichment and preparation for graduate school. Fellows develop their research and analytical skills and apply them to the required senior thesis. Ultimately, the MMUF program at UC Berkeley prepares Fellows to enter graduate school and successfully earn a doctoral degree leading to faculty careers.
Since the program’s inception in 2008, Berkeley MMUF Fellows have been accepted into graduate programs at Cambridge University (UK), New York University, Purdue University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles, University of Michigan, and the University of Southern California.
Firebaugh Scholars Program – https://grad.berkeley.edu/graduate-diversity/berkeley-undergrads/firebaugh-scholars-program/ – Marco Antonio Firebaugh Scholars are UC Berkeley undergraduate students who receive funding and academic support to design and complete a faculty-sponsored research project. Over the course of one academic year; Firebaugh scholars are prepared to apply to graduate school and post-baccalaureate opportunities in hopes of continuing to diversify the faculty and researchers at colleges and universities across the United States. The Marco Antonio Firebaugh Scholars Program is a collaboration between the Office for Graduate Diversity, Graduate Division, Graduate School of Education, the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Student Services and Fees, and faculty mentors across disciplines at UC Berkeley. Eligibility requirements and application details are available on their website.
For more information on fellowships, scholarships, and research opportunities, follow this link: http://research.berkeley.edu/
