About

We are pleased to announce the San Diego Chapter of the ARCS Foundation will fund a total of 26 scholars at $10,000 per scholar for the 2021-22 academic year and we anticipate selecting at least 16 new scholars. 

Award Details

The ARCS Scholar fellowship provides a $10,000.00 stipend.  This award does not include tuition/fee payments.  ARCS funding is to be provided in addition to any funding already provided by the nominee's academic home program/department and/or advisor.

Eligibility

• Nominee must be a U.S. citizen with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. They may be a naturalized citizen, but supporting documents must be on file.
• Nominee must be registered full-time for the entire academic year and should be starting their second, third, or fourth year of study. They must NOT be in their first or final year of study during AY 2021-22. Ideally nominees should have at least three years of study remaining, as the fellowship is renewable for up to three years (contingent upon good academic standing, full-time registration, and available funding) and the preference is to build a cohort of scholars over multiple years. Please do not nominate those who don’t meet these timing guidelines. If you have questions about a particular nominee’s eligibility, please create a ticket in the Services & Support Portal by emailing gradfellowships@ucsd.edu. 
• Nominee must be a doctoral student/candidate in one of the following graduate programs:

Bioengineering

Bioinformatics

Biological Sciences

Biomedical Sciences

Biostatistics

Chemical Engineering

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Computer Science and Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Materials Science

Mathematics

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

NanoEngineering

Neurosciences

Physics

Public Health – Epidemiology

Public Health - Global Health

Public Health – Health Behavior

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Structural Engineering

Evaluation Criteria

• ARCS Foundation fellowships reward excellence in research. Selection is based primarily on the exceptional promise of the nominee to make a significant contribution to the advancement of science, and to the material and intellectual welfare of all people.  https://www.arcsfoundation.org/san_diego/

Nominations

• 2021-22 Nomination Procedures: Each eligible program may nominate up to two qualified doctoral students/candidates. Students may not self-nominate.

• To nominate, a department representative should submit this form and attach the requested materials as .pdf documents:
  • One confidential letter of recommendation addressed to Dr. James Antony, Dean of The Graduate Division, from a UC San Diego faculty member and co-signed by the graduate program chair.
  • Nominees expanded CV/resume showcasing all academic achievements, including: 1.) short abstracts of published papers, presentations, speaking engagements, etc. and 2.) all post-secondary honors/activities/leadership/service. (updated for clarity on 8/16/21)
  • An unofficial UC San Diego transcript.

• Submit nominations here: https://forms.gle/VmDGWynhre4M2KHt9

Deadlines

The nomination deadline is Wednesday, August 25, 2021. Awards will be announced shortly thereafter.

Questions? Please create a ticket in the Services & Support Portal by emailing gradfellowships@ucsd.edu. 

FAQs

• Question: Is the minimum 3.5 GPA requirement flexible? Can I nominate a student who has a 3.4 GPA? 
  • Answer: The 3.5 GPA minimum requirement is set by the ARCS Foundation and is standard across all partner schools. All UC San Diego nominees must meet the minimum threshold of a 3.5 cumulative GPA.  
• Question: My UC San Diego program/department is not listed here, but I think it would be a good fit for the ARCS Scholars program, what should I do?
  • Answer:  Departments are added or subtracted within a rigorous ongoing review process which seeks to ensure that ARCS Awards are given only to the most highly ranked departments and scholars across science, engineering and medical research fields. If you are interested in having your program considered for future ARCS Awards, please email Tamara Schaps at tschaps@ucsd.edu indicating the following:
    • 1) How your program compares to similar programs at peer institutions across the country, to be successful your program must be highly ranked 
    • 2) How your program is focused on rigorous scientific research and how you involve doctoral students in that research, please share information on other extramural funders currently investing in your department/program
    • 3) The name and email address of the person who will be the program/department contact for the ARCS Foundation application process
• Question: Can I accept the ARCS award if I am also a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)? 
  • Answer: Because ARCS is not considered a federal fellowship, recipients can concurrently accept ARCS and also be a recipient of the NSF GRFP (See: page 27 Fellowship Details and Conditions).

Current Recipients

Past Recipients

Since 2018-19