Life Science Dean’s Award for Summer
Application for Summer
About the Award
Dean’s Awards for Life Science Research are available for undergraduate students to support full-time activities in the summer that will enhance their academic and career goals. Usually, this award is used to do research, however, other activities, such as job-shadowing, community-based research, volunteer work, clinical work, or life sciences-based internships or externships, are also appropriate. These efforts must comprise 40 h/week for approximately 10 weeks.
Currently, the award is for $6,400 for the summer.
Dean’s Awards are intended to allow Life Sciences students who need to earn money during the academic year or during the summer to do so while engaged in an experience that will further their career goals. For example, if you work in fast food or clean houses to help make your rent or pay for food, but your career goal is to be a scientist or physician, then these funds are intended to allow you to quit that irrelevant job and instead be paid to employ your time and talents in an experience that will help you attain your career goal while staying housed, clothed, and fed.
People from backgrounds underrepresented in the life sciences such as Black, Latinx, AB540 eligible, and 1st generation college students are more likely to have to work a job to support themselves or their families while in college. If the job they find is irrelevant to their career, then it is more of a challenge to advance as far in that career than it is for others who were able to put their foot in the door earlier, which is one of the reasons why people from these communities are underrepresented in these careers. These awards are funded by donations that have been given to allow financial needs and career goals to align better during the undergraduate years.
Applications for the summer open on the first day of the Spring quarter and close at the end of week 5 of the Spring quarter, Sunday 11:59 PM.
All applications must be received by the deadline in order to be considered.
Eligibility
- Students must be current undergraduates with a major in Life Sciences (Biology, Cognitive Science, Computational & Systems Biology, Ecology, Behavior & Evolution, Human Biology & Society, Integrative Biology & Physiology, Marine Biology, Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology, Neuroscience, Psychobiology, Psychology)
- Students must have financial need
- Students with AB540 status are eligible and are encouraged to apply
- Previous awardees may reapply
Apply
Instructions
- To apply, download and fill out the form below
Download Dean’s Award for Life Science Research Application
Submit the completed application by the deadline using the Box Upload Widget below. If the upload widget does not load, please use this link to upload your application.
We expect to notify students by the end of week 7 of the Spring quarter whether they have been selected for the award for the following summer.
Awards are distributed as stipends through Financial Aid. If you have any questions about how this award might impact an existing financial aid package, please contact the Financial Aid office. Please note that the Dean’s Award for Life Science Research cannot be awarded to duplicate other awards or wages for the same work.
The Dean’s Awards for Life Science Research are funded by private donors. As a condition of accepting the award, each student will be required to provide a thank you letter to a donor and attend a luncheon or other event with donors and students if requested.
If you have any questions, please email contact COMPASS-Life Science Program Representative Larone Ellison (larone@lifesci.ucla.edu), or the COMPASS-Life Sciences Directors, Dr. Gina Poe (ginapoe@ucla.edu) and Dr. Megan McEvoy (mcevoymm@ucla.edu)