This program is open to all Social Sciences faculty and lecturers. Faculty apply to the program, and if selected, will choose students for their research projects. By applying to this program, faculty agree to mentor undergraduate students on a research project or a community-engaged scholarly project. Faculty may apply to mentor up to 4 student-quarters per academic year maximum. The students can work individually with faculty or as part of a group. Faculty are expected to meet regularly with the student researchers. If faculty need help identifying students they can work with the institute and the EOP office.

The program aims to support undergraduate students in Social Sciences who are:

• EOP eligible
• first-generation
• low income
• under-represented/BIPOC
• undocumented
• former foster youth

As the goal is to build a sense of belonging among current students, participating students must be enrolled in at least 6 credits at UCSC for the term requested (except summer). Students can not participate in the program post-graduation. We encourage faculty members to recruit students who are not in their final year for these mentoring opportunities. 

Please note that if the proposed research project is connected or related to a class or independent study where students receive credit, the research must be separate and distinct from the class work. In other words, students cannot receive a Building Belonging scholarship payment for work where they are also receiving course credit.

All student fellows will be required to participate in the Building Belonging Research Symposium in the spring (summer fellows can participate the following year).

Meet the student fellows and faculty mentors who have participated in our program >>

Faculty apply to the program, and if selected, will choose students for their research projects. In the spring all student fellows will be required to participate in a research symposium (summer fellows can participate the following year).

Fall/Winter Timeline

• Faculty applications due August 15, 2022.
• Decisions will be announced in mid September.
• For fall quarter scholarships, student names and IDs must be provided by faculty to IST by September 30, 2022.
• For winter quarter scholarships, student names and IDs must be provided by faculty to IST by January 6, 2023.

Spring/Summer Timeline

• Faculty applications due January 31, 2023.
• Decisions will be announced in mid March.
• For spring quarter scholarships, student names and IDs’ must be provided by faculty to IST by March 17, 2023.
• For summer quarter scholarships, student names and IDs’ must be provided by faculty to IST by May 5, 2023.

Students selected for the program will receive a $1500 scholarship award per quarter and are expected to contribute approximately 100 hours per quarter to the project. In the application, faculty will need to indicate in which quarter the research will be conducted. Student scholarship awards will be processed by the institute and disbursed as a scholarship to the student’s financial aid account per quarter awarded. Please note that these are not posted as jobs in the Handshake System. The award will be incorporated into the student’s financial aid offer and the amount received as a payment/refund will depend on each student’s specific financial situation, including any unpaid university fees and other awards or aid they may have. If students have questions about this they can contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office or click here for frequently asked questions about scholarship payments.