Application Deadline: 

Monday, October 4, 2021

Graduate Division is now accepting nominations for the 2021-22 Public Impact Fellowships. These 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 Amount

$12,000 (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 fourteen fellowships. Each of the four full awardees will receive $12,000. Each of the ten honorable mention awardees will receive $1,000. Students may choose to accept the award during Winter 2022 or Spring 2022, or over both quarters, at their discretion.

Deadline

The Chemistry deadline for nomination materials is Monday, October 4. Please note that this is earlier than the posted Graduate Division deadline.

Eligibility Criteria:

  1. Nominees must meet the following criteria:
  2. Have a minimum graduate-level UCI GPA of 3.7
  3. Be a current, full-time doctoral or MFA student.
  4. If a doctoral student, be advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. by October 15, 2021.
  5. 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.)
  6. 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.
  7. 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 Wednesday, November 15, 2021.

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. The Department of Chemistry will be sending 3 nominees to the School of Physical Sciences for review. 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 and save it as a Microsoft Word document (please save as "IMPACT APP - SID#.doc", e.g. "IMPACT APP - 12345678.doc")
  2. Please email the following materials to Garrett Yoshitomi (gyoshito@uci.edu) by Monday, October 4:
    1. Completed Student Information Form saved as a Microsoft Word document using the naming convention described above
    2. PDF of the completed Student Information Form with your signature.
    3. Your current CV
    4. Letter of recommendation from your primary faculty advisor/PI (You advisor may send directly to Garrett, if desired)

Notes

  • Students who receive full $12,000 awards may not be appointed as ASEs during the award period, but may be appointed as GSRs. Students who receive $1,000 honorable mention awards may be appointed as ASEs or GSRs. 
  • Students should review the terms of any funding that they have accepted for AY 2021-2022 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 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

Questions should be directed to Turner Dahl at tdahl@uci.edu or (949) 824-0490.