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Fellowships and Scholarships

Prestigious Scholarships – http://scholarships.berkeley.edu/ – The Office of Undergraduate Research and Prestigious Scholarships manages the Scholarship Connection 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) – http://surf.berkeley.edu/surf-ls– Fellows receive $4,200 to carry out a project during the summer which will become their senior thesis. Eligibility: Students in all L&S majors, 3.0+ GPA. AB540 and international students OK. Deadline is traditionally the first Monday in 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: 3.450+ gpa, financial need (AB540 and international OK), and graduating Fall 2017 or Spring/Summer 2018. 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 $12,600 each in financial support. Deadline is traditionally the last Monday in February.

Stronach Baccalaureate Prize – http://research.berkeley.edu/stronach/ – 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 Stronach Baccalaureate Prize is open to Berkeley graduates in any area of study who are awarded an undergraduate degree in Fall 2017, Spring 2018, or Summer 2018. AB540 and international OK.

The UC Berkeley McNair Scholars Program – http://www.aap.berkeley.edu/mcnair-scholars-program

The McNair Scholars Program prepares selected UC Berkeley undergraduates for graduate study at the doctoral level. Twenty to thirty McNair Scholars are selected each year to participate in both academic and summer activities. The McNair Scholars Program aims to increase numbers of groups underrepresented in doctoral programs.

Who Qualifies?

Students who meet the following criteria:

  • Completion of at least 60 units
  • 3.0 minimum cumulative UC Berkeley GPA
  • US Citizenship or permanent US Residency
  • Qualify as either a first-generation college student who also has a low-income level established by the US Department of Education; or a member of a group that is underrepresented in graduate education.
  • Must be enrolled at UC Berkeley during Spring 2018
  • Preference is given to students who have previously participated in a TRIO program.

The Benefits

  • Mentorship from a UC Berkeley faculty member
  • $2,800 stipend for Summer research
  • Opportunity to publish in the UC Berkeley McNair Journal
  • Research findings presented at the Annual California McNair Scholars Symposium
  • Fully funded GRE Prep Course
  • Assistance to ensure admission to graduate programs of choice
  • Fee Waivers from participating institutions graduate applications
  • Strengthening of academic skills

Academic Year Activities

  • For-credit seminar covering research topic selection, research methods, writing, and time management
  • Individual tutoring
  • Mentor selection/matching
  • Individual assistance with graduate school applications and financial resources

Summer Research Activities

  • Faculty mentored research culminating in publishable research paper
  • Participation in the Annual California McNair Scholars Symposium
  • Weekly research skills seminar
  • Advising on graduate admissions
  • Research Tutoring

A list of the UC Berkeley McNair Scholars and their research papers are available in the Berkeley McNair Journal. For more information, write: Harold Campbell, Director / hcampbel@berkeley.edu or Juan F. Esteva, Research Coordinator / juanfesteva@berkeley.edu

Human Rights Center Summer Fellowships

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.

Fellowships enable students to build connections between their academic studies and complex issues in the field.

Student fellows have come from a wide range of disciplines, including anthropology, political science, law, environmental science, public policy, public health, and medicine. Some fellows have learned how to design and implement grassroots advocacy campaigns on behalf of the landless, poor, or urban workers in Asia, Africa, Central America, and the United States. Others have helped draft legal briefs on behalf of political asylum seekers in the United States, worked with the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, campaigned for adequate medical care for AIDS victims in Russia, or worked with organizations fighting for the rights of farmers displaced by the construction of large dams in India.

For more information: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/11947.htm

European Union Center of Excellence Senior Thesis Summer Research Fellowship

The European Union Center of Excellence announces the availability of a fellowship of € 750 (equivalent in US dollars at time of disbursement) for undergraduate students proposing to write a senior thesis on a topic related to the European Union.

Undergraduate students from all UC campuses are eligible to apply, but please note the following provisions. For UC Berkeley students, this award may be used for research related expenses including travel, archive work, and book and journal purchases. For students from UC campuses other than Berkeley, funds may only be used to reimburse research-related travel.

The EU Center welcomes all proposals but particularly applications for research on policy issues of special relevance and timeliness falling into one of the thematic areas of the EU Center:

  1. Transatlantic Relations in a World of Competitors
  2. The Euro, the European Union, and the World
  3. Facing New Challenges: EU-US Collaboration and “Best Practices” to Solve Global Health, Energy, and Environmental Problems
  4. Challenges of Integration and Norm diffusion

However, applicants may apply a broad definition of “policy issues” and “policy relevance.” Interests that are “policy relevant” do not necessarily need to focus directly on a matter of current and intense concern to EU policy makers. Students from fields such as history, modern languages, literatures and linguistic policy, the humanities, popular culture, and other disciplines that may be outside the immediate purview of government officials are encouraged to apply, as long as the applicant explains convincingly why and how their interests are relevant at some level, even indirectly, to the formation of policy as a whole.

Download Application

Please send applications as both hard copies and electronic files. Electronic applications should be mailed to eucenter [@] berkeley.edu and faxed copies sent to (510) 643-3372. Send printed items to the EUCE at the address below.

Please address all other questions to Noga Wizansky (nwizansk [@] berkeley.edu). Send printed items to the EUCE at the address below:

European Union Center of Excellence

Attn: Undergraduate Senior Thesis Research Fellowship
207 Moses Hall #2316
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-2316

510 643-4558 | 510 643-3372 fax

Undergraduate Conference Travel Grants

The Institute of International Studies (IIS) Undergraduate Conference Travel Grant supports undergraduate students who plan on traveling to a conference to present a research project, paper, or poster on any topic related to international affairs.  Students from all departments are eligible and IIS encourages applications from a wide range of disciplines.  The travel grant provides opportunities for individuals to gain valuable educational experience beyond the classroom and recognizes that many UC Berkeley undergraduate students engage in research projects that may require travel to national or international conferences.  Grant amounts will depend on the location of the conference (domestic or international).  Students must be registered for the term in which they are planning to attend their conference and be presenting a paper or poster at the conference.

Application Details:

  1. A one-page description of the research to be presented;
  2. A budget plan;
  3. Confirmation of invitation or acceptance to the conference;
  4. A letter of support from a faculty member, PI, or department advisor attesting to the academic merit of the trip.

Submission Instructions:

The application webform can be found here.  Please ask your recommender to e-mail the recommendation letter directly to iis.grants@berkeley.edu.

Application Deadline:

The application deadline is rolling.  IIS will accept applications over the course of the academic year.

Eligibility:

Open to any UC Berkeley undergraduate student who has completed at least one semester of study in residence at Berkeley. All majors are eligible and encouraged to apply. Concurrent enrollment students are not eligible to apply.

Award Amount:

Grant amounts will depend on the location of the conference but will generally be in the range of $300-$400 for conferences within California, $400-$600 for conferences elsewhere in North America, and up to $1000 for international conferences.

The Mellon Mays Undgraduate Fellowship Program at UC Berkeley

MMUF targets students with exceptional academic promise and potential for careers that will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in the academy

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.

The MMUF program commits to funding Fellows for two years as an undergraduate student.

For more information: http://mellonmays.berkeley.edu/

For more information on fellowships, scholarships, and research opportunities, follow this link: http://research.berkeley.edu/