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Undergraduate Awards

  • Deans', Chancellor's and Steck Awards

    These awards recognize exceptional achievements in research projects or other creative activities, in order to encourage outstanding scholarship and promote research as an important part of undergraduate education.  Students may apply for the awards based on research projects they produced in courses taken in Spring 2021, Fall 2021, or Winter 2022, and will need to identify a faculty sponsor to write a letter in support of their application. Students can find the award guidelines and apply directly online, by going to the Deans’ and Chancellor’s Undergraduate Awards website, https://dca.ue.ucsc.edu. The deadline for students to submit applications for 2025: TBA

  • Daniel Briggs Memorial Award

    The Dan Briggs Memorial Award supports students and their sponsoring faculty annually as part of UCSC's Keeley Coastal Scholar program and will use the same criteria to select recipients. The Keeley Coastal Scholars program supports the continuity of research and education. It provides financial assistance to underrepresented students from California with an unmet financial need doing research connected to coastal sustainability. 

    Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to apply by submitting an online application, a project budget, a letter of support from a faculty mentor, and an unofficial copy of their transcripts. The sponsoring faculty member's letter must detail the student’s abilities and specific project responsibilities. The deadline to apply is March 3rd, 2025.

  • Gabriel Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship

    The Gabriel Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship Fund has been established to support undergraduate students in the Division of Social Sciences who are passionate about social issues and committed to public service. Gabriel “Gabe” Zimmerman graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2002 as a Sociology major, and he was working for Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords as her Director of Community Outreach when he was tragically shot and killed. Generous donations from more than 520 alumni, community members, and the general public funded this endowment. In 2022 up to $9,000 is available to award to one or more outstanding undergraduate students majoring in any of the departments within the Division of Social Sciences.

    Undergraduate majors in the social sciences are invited to apply for this scholarship by submitting: 1) a short essay (2-3 pages maximum) about their passion for social issues and commitment to public service, 2) a resume and 3) an unofficial copy of a transcript. Candidates must be in good academic standing. Applications must be submitted by March 1st, 2025 through this form.

     

     

  • Keeley Coastal Scholarship

    The Keeley Coastal Scholars program was established to support underrepresented undergraduate students from California with unmet financial need who are doing summer research and policy work connected to coastal sustainability. Up to two scholarships will be awarded in support of the sponsoring faculty member. Funds can be used by students for any expenses incurred during the summer months. For information about past winners, see the Social Sciences website.

    Undergraduate majors are invited to apply for this summer scholarship by submitting an online application, project budget, and an unofficial copy of their transcript. Candidates must be in good academic standing and have established financial need during the current academic year. The sponsoring faculty member should submit a letter detailing the student’s abilities and specific project responsibilities. Online applications can be submitted here. The deadline to apply is March 3rd, 2025.

  • Valerie Fuette Scholarship

    The Valerie Fuette scholarship was established to support aspiring, high-achieving students with financial need who have demonstrated the capacity to improve their performance and/or to overcome challenges or obstacles (academic, financial, or other) on the road to academic success.

    In 2022, a total of $2,300 will be awarded to one or more students. UCSC Politics majors in their Sophomore, Junior, or Senior years are eligible to apply for this award. Selection is based on academic merit (GPA of 3.5 or higher), financial need, and a record of overcoming challenges and showing improvement in achieving academic success at UCSC. Politics majors are invited to apply for this scholarship by submitting an application cover sheet and short statement addressing the student’s record of improvement and financial need, along with a resume and an unofficial copy of their transcript. Applications deadline for 2025: TBA

  • Benjamin Quaye Memorial Scholarship

    The Benjamin Quaye Memorial Endowment for Social Justice award is an annual undergraduate scholarship for a student with significant financial need who is pursuing educational and career goals in social justice, with a strong preference for a student who is the first in his/her family to attend college. Students who, like Benjamin, volunteer to help the underserved, such as foster youth, people with disabilities, and the homeless are ideal recipients of this award. Students will be nominated by their departments, and do not need to put forward an application for this scholarship. The award amount available in 2022 is $2,200.

    Students who feel they are good candidates are invited to submit to the department a 1-2 page letter describing their qualifications for the award. Such a letter should include an account of the student’s educational and career goals, whether the student is a recipient of Cal Grant or other forms of need-based aid, whether the student is a first-gen student, and anything else about themselves and their accomplishments that they think are relevant to the social justice theme of the award. The letter should be sent to Jerry Diaz by: TBA.

    Letters can be submitted here: https://forms.gle/r3LNf8Q76W7LY26j7