The Graduate Division is pleased to announce the AY 2023-2024 competition for the Chancellor’s Club Fund for Excellence Fellowships. All Schools are invited to submit one nomination each.

Chancellor’s Club Fellowships are intended to recognize our most academically superior doctoral and MFA students — those who exhibit outstanding promise as scholars, researchers, and public leaders. Please note, nominated students must be first-generation college students, with neither parent having received a four-year degree.

Award Information

Each Chancellor’s Club Fellowship recipient will be awarded a six-month stipend to total $18,000 for the period of January 2024 through June 2024. These fellowships do not include tuition and fees. Awardees’ Schools will be expected to cover the cost of the tuition and fees for Winter 2024 and Spring 2024.

Important Dates

Call for Nominations: September 5, 2023
Nomination Deadline: October 20, 2023

Please note that Schools and Departments typically have earlier internal deadlines for fellowship submissions. Please contact your School or Department for details.

Eligibility Criteria

All Schools are invited to nominate one outstanding doctoral student who meets the following minimum criteria:

Plan to complete their Ph.D. or MFA degree by the end of Fall quarter 2024
Have a minimum graduate-level UCI GPA of 3.7
If a doctoral student, be advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. by October 20, 2023
Demonstrate financial need
Be willing to present their dissertation research at a Chancellor’s Club dinner or other function
Exhibit excellent interpersonal and leadership abilities
Be a first-generation college student, with neither parent having received a four-year degree

Nomination Process

Each School’s package should be submitted by the School’s Associate Dean and must include:

A completed Chancellor’s Club Fellowship Nomination Form
A completed Chancellor’s Club Student Information Form, including the financial need, student profile, and student research sections
The student’s current curriculum vitae
A confidential letter of recommendation from the faculty advisor/mentor including the student’s planned term of graduation and expressing the advisor’s level of confidence in the student’s ability to complete as planned

Nominations will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Demonstration of financial need
Evidence of strong communication skills
Demonstration of leadership ability
Academic achievements and promise
Likelihood of degree completion by the end of Fall quarter 2024

Stipulations

Students receiving this award are required to file all final degree paperwork by the end of Fall quarter 2024. Award funds will be returned by the school to Graduate Division if the student does not meet this requirement.
The faculty advisor’s letter of recommendation should include the student’s expected graduation date and express the advisor’s level of confidence in the student’s ability to complete as planned.
If students have applied for and accepted Financial Aid loans or Work-Study awards and subsequently receive any fellowships, the additional support may affect their eligibility for need-based financial aid. Students should contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships to determine if their eligibility will be affected. Students should also review the terms of any funding that they have accepted for AY 2023-2024 to ensure that they are eligible to receive additional fellowship funding.

Forms

Chancellor’s Club Fellowship Nomination Form

Chancellor’s Club Student Information Form

Contact

Questions should be directed to Turner Dahl, at tdahl@uci.edu