Funding
opportunities
UC Merced is proud to provide extensive financial support for our graduate students. Nearly all of our doctoral students receive full financial support during the academic year via teaching assistantships, graduate student research assistantships, and/or fellowships. Most Ph.D. students also receive summer support, and many of our programs provide support for travel to conferences, summer workshops and other professional meetings.
Full Funding Commitment
Doctoral students are typically supported by teaching and research assistantships, and on occasion fellowships, which include payment of mandatory tuition and fees.
Types of Funding Available
TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS (TA)
TA positions provide graduate students with opportunities to gain experience in their field of study, and also provide invaluable experiences to students who plan to pursue an academic career. TAs help provide instruction in larger courses, and may also lead lab or discussion sections, assist in preparing class/lab materials, and grade exams and papers.
GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCHER (GSR)
GSR positions allow students to gain experience in research techniques and methods while working closely with faculty, postdoctoral scholars, other graduate students and even undergraduate students on spcific research projects. Some projects may provide opportunities for advanced students to lead certain efforts — especially valuable for graduate students who plan on pursuing careers in research.
FELLOWSHIPS
Fellowships are awards made directly to graduate students to support advancement in their academic programs and careers. While supported by fellowships, students can focus 100% on their research and have more time to produce scholarship and advance to their degree.
fellowship
Information
Internal Opportunities
> Chancellor's Fellowship for Inclusive Excellence
> Earle C. Anthony Fellowship
> Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship
> Fields Family Fellowship
> Graduate Dean's Recruitment Fellowship
> Health Sciences Fellowship
> Hotchalk Fellowship
> John and Victoria Elia Fellowship
> Renewable Energy Fellowship
> Southern California Edison Recruitment Fellowship
Graduate Division fellowship awards can take the form of a stipend, cover fees or both. Make sure to check out each award's eligibility requirements on our website.
External Opportunities
This list of externally funded fellowships and awards are available to new graduate students. See our website for direct links to each program. Examples include:
> NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
> NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA)
> Ford Foundation Fellowship
> DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (CSGF)
> NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program (GSRP)
> NASA Interns, Fellows & Scholars (NIFS) One Stop Shopping Initiative (OSSI)
> National Defense Science and Engineering Fellowship
> Envrionmental Protection Agency Science to Achieve Results (EPA Star)
> UC MEXUS- CONACYT Doctoral Fellowships
> Fulbright U.S. Student Program