Environmental Studies Awards
Past Recipients
Click here to view winners!- Awards For Undergraduates
- Awards For Both Undergraduates & Graduates
- Awards For Graduate Students
- Social Sciences Division Awards
- Norris Center Awards
Awards for Undergraduate Students
Want an at-a-glance reference sheet with various awards and funding opportunities that may be of interest to undergrads in ENVS? Check out this list!
Spring 2024
The Terence Freitas Award in Environmental Studies:
Terence Freitas, a biology and environmental studies major, dedicated himself to facilitating the vision of native groups working to build a sustainable future in harmony with their own values and cultures. In February 1999, while working with the U'wa, a Colombian indigenous group, to establish a culturally appropriate school, Terry and two other Americans were kidnapped and killed. This award was established in his honor. This year, the award is for up to 3 students and the amount will be up to $1000 per award.
Criteria, Application Materials:
- Limited to undergraduate students majoring in Environmental Studies
- In order to be eligible for this needs-based award, applicants must be eligible to receive financial aid.
- Preference will be given to students with an interest in and commitment to the livelihood and culture of indigenous peoples in developing countries, or to those whose studies are related to conservation or rainforest preservation.
- Online application (with unofficial transcript, personal statement uploads)
Deadline: Monday, May 13th @ 5pm
Please email envs1@ucsc.edu if you have any questions.
The Richard A. Cooley - Friends Foundation International Award
This award of up to $1000 is given to honor Richard Cooley, who was instrumental in the founding of the Environmental Studies program at UCSC. We will award this to three students this year.
Criteria for selection:
- Open to all registered UCSC undergraduate students
- Preference will be given to Environmental Studies majors, but all are encouraged to apply.
- Applicant must be working on a field project that results in a tangible, positive action for the betterment of the natural environment or improvement in environmental quality. Projects may be local (UCSC included) to international in scope, and examples of successful projects may be seen in the Environmental Studies Internship Office.
- Awardee selection will be based on scholastic ability, demonstrated initiative, and potential for successful completion of project.
- Online Application
It is recommended that applicants submit a draft proposal to a faculty member for review and feedback prior to applying. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. The email address you list will be used to contact you regarding your application status. Please make sure your name appears on the first page of all uploads.
Deadline: Monday, May 13th @ 5pm
Please email envs1@ucsc.edu if you have any questions.
The David Gaines Award in Environmental Studies:
David was a UCSC graduate who started the Mono Lake Committee in 1978. The award is intended to cover expenses incurred for field projects that will make a significant contribution to the field of environmental studies by adding to our knowledge of a specific problem or by strengthening protection of the environment. Please read more about David and Mono Lake at the link above.
Criteria, Application Materials:
- All UCSC graduate and undergraduate students are welcome to apply
- Preference will be given to students majoring in Environmental Studies.
- Students must be working on field projects that will make a significant contribution to the solution of an environmental problem
- Awardee selection will be based on scholastic merit, demonstrated initiative, and feasibility of the project
- Faculty sponsor required, field sponsor if applicable
- Online application (with unofficial transcript, personal statement, budget uploads)
There will be two awards, one for an undergraduate and one for a graduate student, of up to $1,250 each.
Deadline: Monday, May 13th @ 5pm
Please email envs1@ucsc.edu if you have any questions.
Awards for Graduate and Undergraduate Students
The David Gaines Award in Environmental Studies:
David was a UCSC graduate who started the Mono Lake Committee in 1978. The award is intended to cover expenses incurred for field projects that will make a significant contribution to the field of environmental studies by adding to our knowledge of a specific problem or by strengthening protection of the environment. Please read more about David and Mono Lake at the link above.
Criteria, Application Materials:
- All UCSC graduate and undergraduate students are welcome to apply
- Preference will be given to students majoring in Environmental Studies.
- Students must be working on field projects that will make a significant contribution to the solution of an environmental problem
- Awardee selection will be based on scholastic merit, demonstrated initiative, and feasibility of the project
- Faculty sponsor required, field sponsor if applicable
- Online application (with unofficial transcript, personal statement, budget uploads)
There will be two awards, one for an undergraduate and one for a graduate student, of up to $1,250 each.
Deadline: Monday, May 13th @ 5pm
Please email envs1@ucsc.edu if you have any questions.
Awards for Graduate Students
WINTER / SPRING 2024
The David Gaines Award in Environmental Studies:
David was a UCSC graduate who started the Mono Lake Committee in 1978. The award is intended to cover expenses incurred for field projects that will make a significant contribution to the field of environmental studies by adding to our knowledge of a specific problem or by strengthening protection of the environment. Please read more about David and Mono Lake at the link above.
Criteria, Application Materials:
- All UCSC graduate and undergraduate students are welcome to apply
- Preference will be given to students majoring in Environmental Studies.
- Students must be working on field projects that will make a significant contribution to the solution of an environmental problem
- Awardee selection will be based on scholastic merit, demonstrated initiative, and feasibility of the project
- Faculty sponsor required, field sponsor if applicable
- Online application (with unofficial transcript, personal statement, budget uploads)
There will be two awards, one for an undergraduate and one for a graduate student, of up to $1,250 each.
Deadline: Monday, May 13th @ 5pm
Please email envs1@ucsc.edu if you have any questions.
The Hammett Fellowship
The Environmental Studies Department at UCSC is pleased to offer 1 graduate student with a $10,000 fellowship to use during Spring or Summer 2024. This fellowship is open to students who conduct interdisciplinary research on climate change or on climate change and water issues. These funds are made possible by a generous donation from Benjamin and Ruth Hammett. Applications are due April 15, 2024.
Awards are available to graduate students in any department at UCSC. Priority will be given to students who: (1) are working with UCSC faculty in two different disciplines (ideally labs that have not collaborated extensively in the past), (2) whose projects show promise to provide pilot data to help secure additional outside funding, and (3) whose results have clear applications to environmental problem-solving. Please contact envsgpc@ucsc.edu if you have any questions or concerns.
Criteria for selection:
- Quality of proposal.
- Past and continuing evidence of research accomplishments.
- Thematic link of research to climate change or climate change and water issues.
- Priority will be given to students who have not had extensive prior fellowship funding (e.g. an NSF pre-doctoral fellowship).
- Applicant must be a graduate student. Ph.D. projects are best suited, in complexity and duration, for this award.
Funding:
The award provides a $10,000 fellowship for 2024 to be used before Fall 2024.
You must submit the Google Form application and include:
- A completed cover sheet including funding support to date
- A 2-page description of the proposed project which includes: A. A personal statement summarizing your academic situation (e.g., expected time to graduation), with particular attention to how support from the Hammett award would benefit your progress. B. A clear statement of the research being conducted, including your research questions and goals, and a brief description of your basic approaches. C. How your project specifically meets the criteria listed above and, in particular, what each of the two participating faculty will contribute to your research. Please use 11-point or larger font, and 1-inch margins.
- Letters of reference from the two faculty contributing to your project which include a description of their contributions to this project. Letters should be sent by separate email to envsgpc@ucsc.edu.
- A CV that includes the following sections: academic history; awards, grants, and honors; public talks; publications; teaching experiences; and public service activities. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Direct any questions to envsgpc@ucsc.edu
Please upload all files as PDFs and make sure your name clearly appears on the first page of all uploads.
Requirements: By the end of the 1st week of Fall 2024, the awardee is required to submit a brief (1-2 paragraph), non-technical description of what was accomplished with the fellowship to the ENVS Graduate Program Coordinator to provide to financial supporters.
Please use this online form to apply for the Hammett Award.
Letters of reference should be sent to envsgpc@ucsc.edu.
Deadline: April 15th @5pm
Social Sciences Division Awards
Keeley Coastal Scholars Award
The Keeley Coastal Scholars Award provides underrepresented undergraduate students at UC Santa Cruz the financial support they need to engage in summer research and policy work related to coastal sustainability. Students can be doing work in any area of terrestrial, aquatic, or marine systems along the coast.
This award is open to students in both the Social Sciences and Physical & Biological Sciences. Scholarships range from $1000 to $4000 per student with an associated $1000 in support of the sponsoring faculty member. These funds can be used by students for any expenses incurred during the summer months.
How to Apply:
A call letter for applications for the Keeley Coastal Scholarship is sent each year to Divisional department chairs and undergraduate advisors in late fall or early winter.
Candidates must be in good academic standing and have established financial need.
Undergraduate majors are invited to apply by submitting an online application, a project budget, a letter of support from a faculty mentor, and an unofficial copy of their transcripts. The sponsoring faculty member's letter must detail the student’s abilities and specific project responsibilities.
Research related to coastal topics in any department in Social Sciences and Physical & Biological Sciences will be considered. For examples and ideas, read about past award winners' projects.
About Fred Keeley:
Fred Keeley is currently serving as Mayor of Santa Cruz, CA, and also recently served as the Santa Cruz County Treasurer/Tax Collector. He represented the Monterey Bay area in the California State Assembly from 1996 through 2002, and earlier served as a Santa Cruz County supervisor. During his tenure in the state legislature he authored the Marine Life Management Act, which the Associated Press called the “most significant advancement in ocean policy in 50 years.” Keeley also authored the two largest park and environmental protection bonds in the state (and nation)’s history. He is a board member of Ocean Champions and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
Meet the 2022 Keeley Award Recipient!
McKenna Smith, Crown College, is pursuing a double major in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and Marine Biology. She is currently studying mercury contamination in local watersheds, and working within the School of Engineering to participate in the annual synthetic biology competition, iGEM.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the award, please contact Pam Dewey at 831-459-2919 or pamdewey@ucsc.edu
The Rick Hooper Scholarship
The Rick Hooper Scholarship was established to honor the memory of Richard M. "Rick" Hooper, who died at age 40 in the August 19, 2003, terrorist bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad.
Rick, a 1985 graduate of UC Santa Cruz, spent many years in the Middle East and became one of the UN's chief experts on the region. He became interested in the Middle East as a UCSC undergraduate while studying abroad, and he returned to join a campus student organization, the Palestine Support Group, dedicated to promoting awareness of the culture, aspirations, and human rights situation of Palestinians. He spent an extra undergraduate year studying at Birzeit University, studied Arabic on a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Damascus and the American University of Cairo, and received a master's in Arab studies from Georgetown University.
Rick Hooper first joined the United Nations in 1990 as a refugee affairs officer in Gaza with the UN Relief and Works Agency. He later served at the agency's Vienna headquarters. Since 2001 he had been special assistant to the UN undersecretary general for political affairs. In 1995-96 and 1999-2001, he served as special assistant to the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process. He had a long association with the Norwegian Institute for Applied Social Sciences and helped establish its Program for International Cooperation and Conflict Resolution. He was also founding director of the Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum in New York.
How to apply for the Rick Hooper Scholarship
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
Candidates must be UCSC undergraduate students in good academic standing with demonstrated financial need. To apply, please complete the online application form, including a narrative proposal (500 words max.). Applicants must also send a project budget and a copy of their unofficial academic transcript via e-mail to the Social Sciences Dean's office to pamdewey@ucsc.edu.
- The proposal must concisely explain experience, preparation, and concrete goals related to the topics above.
- The project budget must outline the amount of funding required and how funds will be allocated.
The deadline for applications for the 2023 award is midnight on Friday, March 10, 2023.
Meet the 2022 Rick Hooper Recipient!
Mary Shamon, Stevenson College, is a Politics major with an interest in international law and international relations, who plans to work for a human rights organization with a specific focus on the Middle East.
See Also
Deans', Chancellor's, and Steck Awards
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.
Deadline: March 19, 2023
Click here for more details!
Norris Center Awards
Norris Center Student Award
Norris Center Each academic quarter, the Norris Center funds a select number of undergraduate student projects. Any undergraduate conducting a project relating to natural history can apply for an award of up to $1,000. Click here to download the application.
Deadline: November 4, 2022
Webster Fellows Award
A $3,000 stipend to support 2-quarter-long undergraduate student senior projects that focus on natural history education, collections, or exhibits and promote collaborations between the Norris Center and one of our on- or off-campus partner organizations.
Deadline: TBD
Awards to be offered again in the future:
Bloom Hays Grant
Deadline: TBD, Check back in Spring 23
CONCUR,INC. Scholarship:
Local business CONCUR, Inc. was founded in 1987 by environmental studies alumni John K. Gamman and Scott T. McCreary. CONCUR, Inc. specializes in combining environmental policy analysis with facilitation and mediation skills, to resolve complex disputes involving scarce or limited natural resources.
This award is for up to $500 and it will be given to 1 graduate student and 1 undergraduate student.
Criteria, Application Materials:
- Applicant must be an Environmental Studies graduate student or undergraduate student
- Preference shall be given to students who have a demonstrated interest in or are pursuing studies in environmental dispute resolution
- Awardee selection is based on academic merit as indicated by performance in classes and internships
- Online application (with unofficial transcript, personal statement uploads)
Deadline: TBD
Gabriel Zimmerman Memorial Scholarship
Social Science Division Award
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. This endowment will be awarded to one or more outstanding undergraduate students majoring in any of the departments within the Division of Social Sciences. More information about past recipients is available on the Social Sciences website.
- A 2-3 max page essay about your passion for social issues and commitment to public service
- Resumé
- Unofficial transcript(s) as academic standing is among selection criteria.
- Apply by completing this form.
Deadline: TBD, Check back in Spring 23
Each department may select up to three candidates for this award and will submit an essay for review along with a nomination letter detailing the exceptional qualities of the nominee(s). The department nominees are reviewed by a committee within the division.
Please email ENVS1@ucsc.edu if you have any questions!
The Gliessman Research Fellowship
The Gliessman Research Fellowship in Water Resources and Food System Sustainability supports summer research by graduate and undergraduate students in the UC Santa Cruz Department of Environmental Studies. The focus of the fellowship is on student research that integrates aspects of food and water sustainability. The awards for the summer stipend will provide $8,200 per student.
Short-format application:
1) Two-page research proposal following the guide below.
2) One letter from sponsoring faculty member commenting on the proposed research methods and related previous experience of the student applicant. This should be emailed directly from the faculty mentor to elliott.campbell@ucsc.edu with subject line Gliessman Fellowship and the title of the file should be StudentLastName_StudentFirstName_Reference.
3) Unofficial transcript.
More specific details can be found on application page!
Deadline: TBD, Check back in Spring 23
Rick Hooper Scholarship
The Rick Hooper Scholarship was established to honor the memory of Richard M. "Rick" Hooper, who
died at age 40 in the August 19, 2003 terrorist bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad.
Administered through the Division of Social Sciences, the Rick Hooper Scholarship is awarded on the
basis of academic merit and financial need. Preference will be 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. The award is intended to fund travel expenses for the
selected undergraduate student or students for any of the following purposes:
• 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
Candidates must be UCSC undergraduate students in good academic standing with demonstrated
financial need. To apply, please submit a 500-word proposal and a copy of your unofficial academic
transcript via e-mail to pamdewey@ucsc.edu. The proposal must concisely explain your experience,
preparation, and concrete goals related to the topics above.
Deadline: TBD, Check back in Spring 23
The Richard A. Cooley - Friends Foundation International Award
Criteria for selection:
- Open to all registered UCSC undergraduate students
- Preference will be given to Environmental Studies majors, but all are encouraged to apply.
- Applicant must be working on a field project that results in a tangible, positive action for the betterment of the natural environment or improvement in environmental quality. Projects may be local (UCSC included) to international in scope, and examples of successful projects may be seen in the Environmental Studies Internship Office.
- Awardee selection will be based on scholastic ability, demonstrated initiative, and potential for successful completion of project.
- Online Application
It is recommended that applicants submit a draft proposal to a faculty member for review and feedback prior to applying. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. The email address you list will be used to contact you regarding your application status. Please make sure your name appears on the first page of all uploads.
Deadline: TBD
Please email envs1@ucsc.edu if you have any questions.
Terence Freitas, a biology and environmental studies major, dedicated himself to facilitating the vision of native groups working to build a sustainable future in harmony with their own values and cultures. In February 1999, while working with the U'wa, a Colombian indigenous group, to establish a culturally appropriate school, Terry and two other Americans were kidnapped and killed. This award was established in his honor. This year, the award is for up to 2 students and the amount will be up to $1000 per award.
Criteria, Application Materials:
- Limited to undergraduate students majoring in Environmental Studies
- In order to be eligible for this needs-based award, applicants must be eligible to receive financial aid.
- Preference will be given to students with an interest in and commitment to the livelihood and culture of indigenous peoples in developing countries, or to those whose studies are related to conservation or rainforest preservation.
- Online application (with unofficial transcript, personal statement uploads)
Deadline: TBD
Please email envs1@ucsc.edu if you have any questions.
Norris Center Student Award
Webster Fellows Award
Griswold Fellows Program
Keeley Coastal Scholars Award
Social Science Division Award
The Keeley Coastal Scholars program supports underrepresented students from California with an unmet financial need doing summer research and policy work connected to Coastal Sustainability. Scholarships range from $1,000 to $4,000 per student with an associated $1,000 in support of the sponsoring faculty member. These funds can be used by students for any expenses incurred during the summer months.
Criteria, Application Materials:
- Undergraduate ENVS majors only
- Financial need during current academic year
- Online application (including all uploads)
- Project budget (See a Sample Budget)
- Unofficial transcript (Candidates must be in good academic standing)
- Letter from a sponsoring faculty member detailing the student’s abilities and specific project responsibilities.
Deadline: TBD
See Also
