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The Activating Innovative Graduate Research Award makes funds available to graduate students in the sciences at UC Santa Cruz for early-stage research to explore interdisciplinary and high-risk, high-reward projects for which funding from faculty or agencies is unattainable. Such funding could enable the pursuit of innovative projects with freedom, entrepreneurship, and independence—all of which are crucial for academic and professional development.

Amount & use
Amount: up to $7,000 for research materials and travel expenses for conferences

Requests for expenses above this amount may be considered in extraordinary circumstances. The faculty member with whom the student is enrolled in an independent study course will oversee the project and manage the award funds through their research account.

Eligibility & Requirements
  • Graduate student in good standing and enrolled in an independent study course
  • Proposals should demonstrate innovation and potential impact
  • Other funding sources are unavailable or insufficient
  • The research goes significantly beyond or lies outside of the faculty advisor’s existing work
  • At this time, we will fund only one project per graduate student

If you have questions, please contact the awards manager at sciawards@ucsc.edu.

Deadlines
  • Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and awards will be made until the funding runs out.
  • Any unused funds at the end of the project period will be returned to the fund for use by another project.
Apply

Application form