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Each year, the Science Division will receive one Presidential Dissertation-Year Fellowship and one Chancellor’s Dissertation-Year Fellowship, to be awarded as year-long (3 quarters) fellowships. Several smaller awards will be given out on a quarterly basis, and the number of quarter-long awards given may change from year to year. These merit-based fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis to doctoral students who are in the process of completing their dissertations. Students may not apply for themselves, and must instead be nominated by their respective departments. Each department may only nominate two students per fellowship (4 total).

Amount & use
Dissertation-Year Fellowship: $30,000 per year; multiple awards given

Dissertation-Quarter Fellowship: $10,000 per quarter; multiple awards given

Eligibility & Requirements
  • You must be PhD student in the Science Division
  • You must expect to finish your dissertation in the same year you receive funding
  • You may only hold one full year fellowship at a time

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

Deadlines
  • Nomination submissions are due by Sunday, April 14.
  • Award recipients will be forwarded to the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies for final approval by Monday, April 22.
Selection criteria
Selection criteria: Recipients are nominated by their respective departments. Nominations will be evaluated based on the quality and strength of:

  • The student letter, including the current status of dissertation research, with a detailed timetable for completion by the end of the academic year.
  • Faculty recommendation letter, evaluating the student’s academic work to date and any significant challenges which have been overcome by the student.
  • The student’s financial need based upon their funding history since arriving at UCSC.

Selection process: The Sciences Graduate Award Committee, composed of faculty in the Sciences at UC Santa Cruz, will review the application materials, rank each nomination, and select recipients.

Submit a Nomination
Submit the following via Google form:

  • A letter of application (2 pp. maximum) from the nominated student for each award for which the applicant is eligible. The application should describe the current status of the student’s dissertation research, with a detailed timetable for completion by June 2025.
  • A letter of support from the faculty adviser evaluating the student’s academic work to date.
  • Nominated student’s current CV with a list of publications.

Nomination form