Public Impact Fellowship (I)

Fellowship details

Application Status
application status icon
Closed
Deadline
10/20/2023
Amount
$11,000
Period of Funding
Winter and/or Spring quarter(s)
Citizenship Requirements
No requirement
Contact

Overview

Public Impact Fellowships highlight and support doctoral and MFA students whose current research has the potential for substantial impact in the public sphere. Ideal candidates will be involved in research designed to significantly improve or enrich the lives of Californians and/or national and global communities. 

Award Information

$11,000 (distinguished fellow full award) or $1,000 (honorable mention award) to be used as a stipend. All schools are eligible to nominate students to compete for a total of fifteen fellowships. Each of the five full awardees will receive $11,000. Each of the ten honorable mention awardees will receive $1,000. Students may choose to accept the award during Winter 2024 or Spring 2024, or over both quarters, at their discretion.

Important Dates

Call for Nominations: September 5, 2023
Submission 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

Nominees must meet the following criteria:

  1. Have a minimum graduate-level UCI GPA of 3.7
  2. Be a current, full-time doctoral or MFA student.
  3. If a doctoral student, be advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. by October 20, 2023.
  4. Conduct research that has critical public impact. (Examples of relevant research include studies that aim to improve economic opportunity and well-being, health care, social justice, political participation, cultural engagement, and scientific or technical solutions to pressing social issues.)
  5. Be willing to have research spotlighted/featured on both the Graduate Division’s and UCI’s website, brochures and social networks, and be able and available to effectively communicate and discuss their research in lay terms with prospective donors, legislators and/or their staff, and the media during Winter and Spring quarters.
  6. If selected as a finalist, students must be available to give a brief presentation (via Zoom) to the selection committee, with no visual aids, immediately followed by a brief interview. These presentations and interviews will take place on November 13, 2023.

Nomination Process

Schools are asked to collect nominations from each department and forward the most promising nominees, based on merit and the potential public impact of the student’s research. There is no limit to the number of nominations. The final selection committee will consider several factors when choosing the awardees, including each student’s presentation, interview, ability to convey their research to a broad audience, academic record, letters of recommendation, degree progress, and potential research impact.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDENTS:

  1. Complete the Student Information Form
  2. Please email the following materials to your program’s graduate affairs staff member:
  • Completed Student Information Form with your signature.
  • Your current CV
  • Letter of recommendation from your primary faculty advisor/PI

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROGRAMS/DEPARTMENTS:

  1. Complete the Nomination Form
  2. Please create a single PDF file for each nominee in this order:
  • Nomination Form (signed by the Program Graduate Advisor and Associate Dean)
  • Student Information Form (signed by the student)
  • CV
  • Letter of Recommendation from the student’s primary faculty advisor/PI

 

Please email completed nomination packages to Turner Dahl (tdahl@uci.edu) on or before October 20, 2023.  Late or incomplete nominations will not be accepted.

Stipulations

  • Students should 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 before applying.
  • For students already receiving financial aid, acceptance of a Public Impact Fellowship may affect their overall financial need-based support package. In such cases, students are strongly encouraged to consult with the UCI Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.
  • Previous Public Impact Fellowship winners (full awardees and honorable mentions) are not eligible for this year’s competition.

Forms

Stipulations

  • Students should 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 before applying.
  • For students already receiving financial aid, acceptance of a Public Impact Fellowship may affect their overall financial need-based support package. In such cases, students are strongly encouraged to consult with the UCI Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.
  • Previous Public Impact Fellowship winners (full awardees and honorable mentions) are not eligible for this year’s competition.

Contact

Please direct any questions to Turner Dahl at tdahl@uci.edu

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