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Apply to Undergraduate Scholarships/Awards

Below you find information about some of the more relevant award and scholarship opportunities for Sociology students, including a few through the Sociology Department and the Social Sciences Division. Students should also work with the financial aid office for grants and scholarships.

Popular Award & Scholarship Opportunities:

  1. The Sociology of Race, Class, and Gender Senior Thesis Award - Due: May 6, 2024
  2. The Fanny Carruthers Award in Sociology - Due: May 6, 2024
  3. Walsh Family Scholarship - Rotates Departments. Sociology available in 2027
  4. Deans', Chancellor's, and Steck Award - Due: March 29, 2024
  5. The Gabriel Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship - Due: April 1, 2024
  6. Benjamin Quaye Memorial Endowment for Social Justice - Due: April 12, 2024
  7. Transforming Futures: Summer Internship Scholarship Program - Due: May 1, 2024
  8. The Rick Hooper Scholarship - Due: March 8, 2024
  9. Koret Undergraduate Research Scholarship - TBD
  10. Blum Scholar Grant Award - TBD
  11. Judy Yung Memorial Fellowship in Asian American/Pacific Islander Studies - Due: February 20, 2024
  12. Joel Frankel Memorial Scholarship - Open throughout academic year
  13. Nancy Pascal Field Study Scholarship - Opens Spring 2024, TBD
  14. Cynthia Mathews Scholarship - Opens Spring 2024, TBD
  15. The Steiner Prize - Opens Spring 2024, TBD
  16. The Keeley Coastal Scholars Program - Due: March 8, 2024
  17. Donald A. Strauss Scholarship - Due: February 14, 2024

   

Looking for additional funding opportunities?

Check out this extensive guide that includes both UCSC and non-UCSC awards and scholarships:

click to search an excel sheet with awards

 

The Sociology of Race, Class, and Gender Senior Thesis Award

Sociology Award

Deadline to Apply: May 6, 2024

Award Amount: up to $2500 to one or more students

This award is given to a Sociology major who has completed the best senior thesis on race, class, and gender during the academic year. The award amount varies yearly. Students who are currently working on their thesis but are not yet ready to apply, are eligible to apply in Spring of the following academic year, even if the student has graduated. This means students who are working on their senior thesis for the 2023-24 academic year but are not ready to apply, may apply in Spring of the 2024-25 academic year. Similarily, students who completed a senior thesis for the 2022-23 academic year, may apply this Spring for the 2023-24 award.

Application Materials Required:

1) A letter by the senior thesis faculty advisor to the Sociology Department’s Interim Undergraduate Education Chair (Amy Argenal aargenal@ucsc.edu), with a copy to the Department’s Undergraduate Advisor (Tina Cossaboom, socyadvising@ucsc.edu), nominating the senior thesis; specifying how it examines issues of race, class, and gender, and describing the merits of the thesis.

2) A letter by the nominee stating that a) they are submitting their senior thesis for consideration for the Sociology of Race, Class, and Gender Senior Thesis Award, and b) that, should they receive the award, they are willing to have their name and the title of their senior thesis announced as the recipient of the award.

3) The nominee submits a PDF version of the senior thesis as an email attachment to the Sociology Undergraduate Advisor, Tina Cossaboom, socyadvising@ucsc.edu.

The Fanny Carruthers Award in Sociology

Sociology Award 

Deadline to Apply: May 6, 2024

Award Amount: up to $4,500 to one or more students

 
Anne Jane "Fanny" Carruthers Howard died on February 15, 1972, leaving a portion of her estate in a trust to be used to fund scholarships for undergraduate or graduate students attending the University of California, Santa Cruz, who have need of financial assistance. This award is specific to undergraduate and graduate students who graduated from a High School in Santa Clara County and have chosen Sociology as their major. This award is based on financial need and academic merit. The award amount varies each year.

 Eligibility:

  • Current undergraduate or graduate student of UCSC.
  • Graduated from a high school in Santa Clara County.
  • Majoring in Sociology.
  • Have financial need. (Currently receiving financial aid through UCSC.)
  • Have high academic merit.

Application Materials Required:

  1. A one page letter, in PDF format, explaining why you are a good candidate for this scholarship. Indicate whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, your student ID number, the high school you graduated from, and contact information including address and phone number.
  2. Unofficial transcript(s).
  3. A faculty letter of recommendation. Sociology faculty are preferred, but not required.

 Please email your materials to the Undergraduate Advisor, Tina Cossaboom, at socyadvising@ucsc.edu.

Walsh Family Scholarship

Rotating Divisional Award 

Sociology received this award in 2020. The next time Sociology will be eligible for this award is in 2027.

The Walsh Family Scholarship is an award to one or more undergraduate students in any of the majors within the Division of Social Sciences. This award rotates annually among the departments in the division. Selection is based on academic merit and financial need.

  

Campus Awards

Deadline to Apply: March 29, 2024 (Faculty letters must be uploaded by April 8th)

The Deans and Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz wish to recognize excellence in research and creativity among undergraduate students as evidenced through projects and theses performed in the normal pattern of academic activity at UCSC. Click here to see a listing of current and previous winning projects.

Review guidelines and application process

Please contact  ur_hnrs@ucsc.edu if you have any questions regarding the application or the application guidelines

 

The Gabriel Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship

Social Science Division Award

Deadline to Apply: Monday, April 1st, 2024 to the Sociology Department

NOTE: Departments in the Social Sciences Division set their own internal deadlines. If you are majoring in another department, please check their deadline to apply.

The Gabriel Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship Fund was established to support undergraduate students in the Division of Social Sciences who are passionate about social issues and committed to public service. Gabriel “Gabe” Zimmerman graduated from UC Santa Cruz (Sociology) and was working for Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords as her Director of Community Outreach when he was tragically shot and killed. Generous donations from more than 520 alumni, faculty, community members, and the general public funded this endowment.

The Gabriel Zimmerman Scholarship is awarded based on a meritorious, ongoing, and demonstrated commitment to public service combined with academic excellence. More information about the award, and about the past recipients of this award, is available on the Social Sciences website.

Undergraduate majors in the social sciences are invited to apply for this scholarship through their department by submitting a short essay (2-3 pages maximum) about their passion for social issues and commitment to public service as well as a copy of their resume. Candidates must be in excellent academic standing and submit an unofficial copy of their transcripts with their essay and resume. Each department may select up to two ranked candidates for this award and submit their application packet for review along with a nomination letter detailing why these candidates were chosen. The selection committee, appointed by the Dean, includes a faculty chair and
three community members, including one past recipient of the award. 

Application Materials Required (ideally in one attachment):

  • A 2-3 page essay about your passion for social issues and commitment to public service, in PDF format

  • Resume, in PDF format

  • Unofficial transcript(s), in PDF format

How to Submit Application:

Please email your application materials to the Sociology Undergraduate Advisor: Tina Cossaboom socyadvising@ucsc.edu

Each Department in the Social Sciences Division may nominate two students for this award. To be considered for the nomination, sociology students must submit the application materials to socyadvising@ucsc.edu by Monday, April 1st, 2024

Benjamin Quaye Memorial Endowment for Social Justice

Social Science Divisional Award

Deadline to Apply to the Sociology Department: April 12, 2024

NOTE: Departments in the Social Sciences Division set their own internal deadlines or may have a completely different nomination process. If you are majoring in another department within the division, please check their nomination process with the department advisor.

The Benjamin Quaye Memorial Endowment for Social Justice was established in 2016 to honor UCSC undergraduate Benjamin Quaye. Ben had a strong commitment to spreading the values of tolerance and social justice, and his studies and future plans were built upon these ideals. He was a Sociology and History double major, and his degree was awarded posthumously in Winter 2010.
The Benjamin Quaye Memorial Endowment for Social Justice award is an annual undergraduate scholarship for a student with significant financial need who is pursuing educational and career goals in social justice, with a strong preference for a student who is the first in his/her family to attend college. Students who, like Benjamin, volunteer to help the under-served, such as foster youth, people with disabilities, and the homeless are ideal recipients of this award.
 
Application Materials Required (ideally in one attachment):

  • A 1-2 page essay explaining why you are a good candidate for this award, in PDF format.

  • Resume, in PDF format

  • Unofficial transcript, in PDF format

How to Submit Application:

Please email your application materials to the Sociology Undergraduate Advisor: Tina Cossaboom socyadvising@ucsc.edu

Each Department in the Social Sciences Division may nominate one student for this award. The nominee could be a sociology student applicant or a sociology faculty may nominate a student. To be considered for the nomination, sociology students must submit the application materials by April 12, 2024

Transforming Futures: Summer Internship Scholarship Program

Social Science Division Award

Deadline to Apply: May 1, 2024

The Institute for Social Transformation is excited to offer an internship scholarship program called Transforming Futures. The goal of the program is to open up opportunities and remove financial barriers for first-generation, underrepresented, and low-income students at UC Santa Cruz so they can participate in career-advancing non-credit summer internships off campus.

Learn more about this inclusive scholarship on the Transforming Futures web page >>

  • Inclusive scholarships range up to $7,500, depending on financial need

  • Funding is available for summer 2024

  • Supportive mentorship and community development all summer long

  • Opportunity to gain hands-on experience and build up your professional network

  • Open for undergraduates in the Social Sciences, especially EOP students

  • Expression of interest form due February 15 (optional)

  • Applications are due April 15, so secure your summer opportunities soon!

 

Application Support

 

To learn more about the program or to ask questions about the application process, please fill out an expression of interest form by February 15.

Or join us for one of our Zoom info sessions:

If you have any questions, please reach out to Evin Knight at eck@ucsc.edu.


The Rick Hooper Scholarship

Social Science Divisional Award

Deadline to Apply: March 8, 2024

The Rick Hooper Scholarship, administered through the Division of Social Sciences, is based on academic merit and financial need. Preference is given to undergraduate students in any UC Santa Cruz department who have a demonstrated interest in or are pursuing studies in one or more of the areas in which Rick Hooper focused his life's work:

  • increasing understanding of the Arabic language or the Arabic-speaking or Muslim world
  • study at a college or university in an Arabic-speaking or Muslim-majority country
  • an internship in peace and conflict resolution or human rights
  • study or work in Palestinian human rights issues
More details about the award can be found on our website.

Koret Undergraduate Research Scholarship

Campus Award

Closed. Next application cycle TBD
 
Apply for a $1,500 Koret Undergraduate Research Scholarship! Koret Scholarships are available to students in any major or discipline who are involved in an undergraduate research project or creative activity under faculty or graduate student mentorship in spring or summer. In most cases, Koret Scholars should work with their mentors in a 2 or 5 credit individual studies course. Up to 50 scholarships of $1,500 will be awarded to undergraduate students from any discipline.

For more details and to apply visit: https://honors.ucsc.edu/koretscholars/. Questions should be directed to ur_hnrs@ucsc.edu.

Blum Scholar Grant Program

Campus Award

Deadline to Apply: TBD
The focus of the UC Santa Cruz Blum Center on Poverty, Social Enterprise and Participatory Governance is to investigate, analyze, educate and train students, scholars and practitioners in mechanisms, policies and practices that will facilitate properly scaled, innovative and effective institutional management and operation. Our approach is based on the premise that those who can realize the greatest benefits from increased capacity are also those who should play the greatest participatory role in implementation and operation of institutions. To this end, the center actively fosters student engagement with, placement in and learning from civil society partners working on poverty and building participatory governance capacity.  

UCSC’s Blum Scholars Program provides funding to undergraduate and graduate students to conduct community-engaged research projects in the United States or internationally that address issues of poverty, inequality, and economic justice. We anticipate making eight awards.

Judy Yung Memorial Fellowship in Asian American/Pacific Islander Studies

Deadline to Apply: February 20, 2024

The Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Department is proud to announce the 2024 Judy Yung Memorial Fellowship in Asian American/Pacific Islander Studies. CRES invites students from all levels (undergraduate and graduate) to apply for funding to support Asian-, Asian diasporic-, Pacific Islander-, and Pacific Islander diasporic-related research geared towards the preservation of oral histories and engagement of local community archives. One awarde will be selected for fellowships up to $1500 this academic year. For questions regarding this process, please reach out to CRES Assistant Manager Dejon Barber at DejonB@ucsc.edu

For details of the fellowship see the CRES Website.

 


Joel Frankel Memorial Scholarship

Latin American Latino/a Studies Award

The Joel Frankel Memorial Fund awards grants to support undergraduate field study projects in Latin America or in Spanish speaking communities within the United States. While any UCSC undergraduate may apply, priority is given to Merrill College students, Latin American & Latino Studies majors and Politics majors focusing on Latin American and Latina/o issues, whose proposals reflect the founding spirit and vision that established the fund.

Application materials will be reviewed as they are received during the academic year. Decisions within 4-6 weeks of submission and sooner whenever possible. Email lalsadvising@ucsc.edu with any questions.

Past Joel Frankel Awardees (get ideas!)

Joel Frankel Application Guidelines

Joel Frankel Application Form


Nancy Pascal Field Study Scholarship Application 

Deadline to Apply: TBD

Awarded annually to students who participate in field study programs. The scholarship is intended to encourage and support real-world experiences that complement formal academic requirements. Nancy Pascal established the scholarship in honor of her retirement after 32 years of dedicated service to UC Santa Cruz in the the Registrar's Office.

Cynthia Mathews Scholarship

Deadline to Apply: TBD
The Cynthia Mathews Scholarship is awarded to students in any UC Santa Cruz department or program who are pursuing studies or internships related to reproductive rights, health policy, healthcare professions, or public health.  Cynthia and her family and friends established a scholarship in 2007 through the generous donations of friends, family, and colleagues of Cynthia Mathews to honor her 40 years of outstanding service in the area of reproductive health.

The Steiner Prize

Deadline to Apply: TBD
When long-time UCSC lecturer Andrea Steiner retired in 2021, Community Studies friends and family established a prize in her name to celebrate students who continue her legacy of excellence in health equity education and achievement.
 
 
Who is eligible: Upper-division (3rd year or higher) undergraduate students majoring or graduating in the Social Sciences are eligible and are warmly invited to apply. A program chair or faculty member may nominate a candidate or students may nominate themselves. 

The Keeley Coastal Scholars Program

Social Science Divisional Award

Deadline to Apply: March 8, 2024

The Keeley Coastal Scholars program will support underrepresented undergraduate students from California with an unmet financial need doing summer research and policy work connected to Coastal Sustainability with a scholarship between $1,000 to $4000 per student. These funds can be used for any expenses incurred during the summer months.

See website for application details

Donald A. Strauss Scholarship

National Award - Apply Through Campus Liaison

Deadline to Apply: February 14, 2024

Sophomores and juniors are encouraged to submit their proposal to pursue a project of public service and social change during their junior or senior year. More information, including examples of previous projects and how to apply, is available on the Strauss Foundation website. 
 
Interested students should contact Don Bard, Coordinator of Undergraduate Honors and Research Opportunities at ur_hnrs@ucsc.edu, for information about the scholarship. 

 

See Also