Fellowships
Fellowships Through the UCSC Graduate Division
On this page
Admissions Fellowships
Please note: Candidates for these awards are nominated by departments at the time of admission.
Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship
Purpose
These state-funded, merit based fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis to first-year graduate students who have overcome significant social or educational obstacles to achieve a college education, and whose backgrounds equip them to contribute to intellectual diversity among the graduate student population. The Cota-Robles Fellowships are merit-based awards. Programs submit fellow nominations during the admissions process and funding begins Fall of the student’s first year.
Eligibility
- First-year PhD applicants for UC Santa Cruz admissions – fellowship offered during the annual admissions cycle (current students are not eligible)
- U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or AB 540
Support
The Cota-Robles Fellowship provides fellowship support plus in-state fees for three of five total years of graduate support. The department provides support for the other two years out of departmental fellowship funds, GSR funds, or ASE appointments. Note: The fifth-year fellowship is dependent on good academic standing; failure to advance to candidacy within normative time (four years maximum) will jeopardize fifth year fellowship funding. For each fellowship year, support will include the following:
- $30,000 stipend divided equally over the three quarters of the academic year
- $4,000 summer stipend
- University resident tuition and fees
History
Dr. Eugene Cota-Robles (pictured above) was nationally prominent as a microbiologist, as a leader in higher education, and for his efforts on behalf of minority students and faculty. Cota-Robles came to UC Santa Cruz in 1973 as vice chancellor of academic administration, director of affirmative action, and professor of biology. He had been chair of the Department of Microbiology at Pennsylvania State University, and had previously taught at UC Riverside and served in its administration. In recognition of his contributions toward advancing minority achievement at the University of California, the UC Regents named the Eugene H. Cota-Robles Fellowships for graduate students in his honor. Programs submit fellow nominations during the admissions process and funding begins Fall of the student’s first year.
Chancellor’s Recruitment Fellowship
Eligibility
- First-year PhD applicants for UC Santa Cruz admissions – fellowship offered during the annual admissions cycle (current students are not eligible)
- Nomination letter from the department
Support
For each fellowship year, support will include the following:
- $30,000 stipend divided equally over the three quarters of the academic year
- $4,000 summer stipend
- University resident tuition and fees
- Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition
Continuing Student Fellowships
Dissertation-Year Fellowships
Presidential Dissertation-Year Fellowship (DYF)
Purpose
The Presidential DYF is a UC-systemwide program, and the following guidelines must be observed: Presidential DYF fellowships are based on both academic merit and diversity criteria: the academic achievement of the nominee, the potential for success in academia, and the extent the nominee contributes to the diversity among doctoral degree recipients in the division.
Eligibility for Nomination:
- US citizen, permanent resident, or undocumented student who qualifies for nonresident supplemental tuition exemptions under AB 540
- Must be in a position to complete the dissertation by the end of the fellowship-supported year
- Advanced to candidacy one year prior to nomination
Chancellor’s Dissertation-Year Fellowship (DYF)
The Chancellor’s DYF is a fellowship based on academic merits of the nominee.
Eligibility for Nomination:
- Must be in a position to complete the dissertation by the end of the fellowship-supported year
- Advanced to candidacy one year prior to nomination
Application and Nomination Guidelines for the President’s and Chancellor’s Fellowships
Applications should include the following:
- A letter of application (2 pg. maximum) from the nominee/student for the specific award describing the current status of dissertation research, with a detailed timetable for completion by June 2024.
- A letter of support from the faculty adviser evaluating the student’s academic work to date.
- Each division may wish to add other specified selection criteria or other materials (e.g., a dissertation prospectus or summary, a writing sample of specified length, or a published article related to the student’s dissertation) as deemed appropriate for their discipline. Any additional selection criteria implemented by the division should be reported to Graduate Division with your final report.
Graduate Division emphasizes the importance of nominating candidates who will complete their dissertation in the fellowship-supported year. The President’s and Chancellor’s dissertation year fellowships are considered completion fellowships, and the nominations should be evaluated with the goal of likely completion according to the proposed schedule, as well as for academic excellence of the project.
Students are generally not allowed to hold two year-long fellowships concurrently. If a year-long DYF recipient receives another year-long fellowship, they will be asked to decline one of the fellowships. If the DYF is declined, the award can be re-assigned to an alternate. DYF recipients are also not allowed to TA or be employed without prior approval from the Graduate Division.
Support for President’s and the Chancellor’s Fellowships
Both the President’s and the Chancellor’sFellowship include the following support:
- $29,250 stipend divided equally over the three quarters of the academic year
- University resident tuition and fees
- Please note, non-resident tuition for international students more than 9 quarters after candidacy will not be covered by the fellowship and must be paid out of other sources.
Quarterly Dissertation-Year Fellowship (DYF)
In addition to the two Dissertation-Year Fellowships (Presidential and Chancellor’s) 41 dissertation quarter fellowships will be dispersed based on divisional doctoral enrollment. In deciding the allocation of the additional awards, the divisions can grant these quarter in one, two, or three quarter(s) (i.e., “year-long”).
Support for a Quarterly Dissertation-Year Fellowship
Quarterly DYF support will include the following:
- $10,000 per quarter
- University resident tuition and fees
Guru Gobind Singh Fellowship
History
In 1988 the University received a bequest from the late Mr. Karam Singh Maughan to establish an endowment to support graduate fellowships (named for Guru Gobind Singh, the Sikh religious leader) to be awarded to graduates of universities in a specific area of India and Pakistan for the purpose of pursuing graduate study at the University of California. Formerly administered by the Office of the President, this endowment has been reallocated to the Santa Cruz campus. Faculty from across the University of California system nominate candidates for this competitive fellowship.
Eligibility
- Student must be a graduate of an Indian or Pakistani university in the designated area.
- Student must be committed to returning to her or his country of origin after receiving the degree.
- Student must not have engaged previously in graduate study at any other institution of higher learning in the United States.
- Individuals already holding a master’s degree will have preference.
- Students at any stage of graduate study may be nominated.
- Nomination application from a UC faculty including three letters of reference (one from the student’s faculty sponsor), university transcripts, and any other documents that may serve to support the candidacy
Support
For the fellowship year, support will include the following:
- $30,000 award
- Nonresident Tuition Fellowship, if applicable/as needed for the duration of the Fellow’s program (assuming continued satisfactory academic progress) commencing with the year following the Singh award year.
IN THIS SECTION