Fellowships

Internal Fellowships

THE INTERNAL FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 1 FOR BOTH NEW AND CONTINUING STUDENTS.

UC Davis offers fellowships and scholarships for both new and continuing students. UC Davis has two types of University fellowships: the UC Davis Graduate Fellowship, awarded by the Animal Behavior Graduate Group, and a variety of internal fellowships competitively awarded by the Office of Graduate Studies. New and continuing students are encouraged to apply for the internal fellowships awarded by the Office of Graduate Studies. Applications for both new and continuing students are due December 1.

New Students

All new students are automatically considered for the UC Davis Graduate Fellowship (awarded by ANB) at the same time that they are considered for admission. This fellowship usually provides fee, tuition, and/or stipend support.

New students are encouraged to apply for the internal fellowships competitively awarded by the Office of Graduate Studies. A complete listing of these fellowships is available on the Office of Graduate Studies' website: http://gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/ssupport/prospectivefellowships.html. New students apply for Office of Graduate Studies fellowships by completing the "Applicant Fellowship" section of the admission application. Some fellowships require that applicants briefly describe why they are eligible for particular fellowships. The online application notes where this is necessary.

New students who submit their admission applications before December 1 are prompted to complete the internal fellowship application while completing the admission application. New students who submit their admission application after December 1 will not be able to access the fellowship application and thus will not be able to apply for Office of Graduate Studies internal fellowships.

The ANB Admissions and Fellowship Committee ranks students who are admitted into the program, and either offers UC Davis Graduate Fellowships to them, and/or nominates them for the internal fellowships administered by the Office of Graduate Studies. The Committee uses the information in the admissions application and any supplemental information provided on the fellowship application (if necessary) to evaluate new students for fellowship support.

Continuing Students

Continuing students are eligible for both research funds and fee, tuition and/or stipend fellowships competitively awarded by the Office of Graduate Studies. Continuing students are eligible for some special fellowships (e.g. dissertation year fellowships) that are not available to new students.

To apply for these fellowships, continuing students complete the online fellowship application, available here: http://www.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/prospective/applicationlanding.html. The Group strongly encourages all continuing students to apply for all funds for which they are eligible by checking the relevant boxes on the fellowship application and to DOUBLE CHECK that they have marked all of the boxes that apply to them. Students can check their eligibility for particular fellowships on the Office of Graduate Studies website: http://gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/ssupport/continuingfellowships.html. The ANB Admissions and Fellowship Committee evaluates these applications and submits a ranked list of nominations to the Office of Graduate Studies.

External Fellowships

ANB students also receive support from a variety of external fellowships. These are fellowships awarded by government agencies, private sources, and non-profits. The awards, applications, deadlines, review criteria and processes differ depending on the fellowship. Students apply for these fellowships on their own, but the Office of Graduate Studies has a website to assist students with finding funding opportunities and composing proposals: http://www.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/ssupport/external.html. Current ANB graduate students are also a good source of information about external grants and fellowships.

Teaching Assistantships

Though the ABGG does not hire students directly as teaching assistants (TAs), the interdisciplinary nature of the group allows students the opportunity to obtain teaching assistantships in many different departments and disciplines. ABGG students often serve as teaching assistants for courses offered through the departments of Animal Science, Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior (NPB), Entomology, Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology (WFCB), Environmental Science and Policy, Psychology, Anthropology, Plant Biology, Evolution and Ecology and more. Students must apply separately to each department/program and should apply for any and all subjects they feel qualified to teach. Students should contact individual departments (not the ABGG) at the same time that they apply to the ABGG to find out more about each department's application process and deadlines. Most departments can be found by searching for them on this page: http://www.ucdavis.edu/academics/academic-depts.html. Students should also contact individual instructors to enquire about TA-ship opportunities since this is often more productive than simply contacting the departmental TA coordinator.

Research Assistantships (GSRs)

Individual faculty may be able to hire students as graduate student researchers (GSRs). Students appointed as GSRs at 25% time or more receive a stipend and full payment of their tuition and fees which is approximately $23,600. Students should consult with their major professors to determine if their major professors have the funding available to hire them as GSRs.

Work Study, Financial Aid and the FAFSA

Financial aid is available for students who qualify. UC Davis has a unit of the Financial Aid office dedicated to graduate students. The Graduate Financial Aid office administers a variety of subsidized and unsubsidized loans and grants in addition to short-term and emergency loans. All of their deadlines and information are available on their website: http://financialaid.ucdavis.edu/graduate/index.html. Financial aid is generally available to domestic students only.

The ABGG also receives work study funds that are awarded to ABGG students to supplement their graduate student researcher appointments.

All domestic students are required to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), regardless of whether they need to take out loans or other forms of financial aid. Students can complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The priority deadline to complete the FAFSA is March 2.

Travel Awards

Several opportunities exist for ABGG students to receive funding for travel. The Office of Graduate Studies puts out a call for applications for travel awards twice a year. These awards provide students who are at or near the end of their graduate studies with funds for travel to present at research conferences.

The campus Graduate Student Association (GSA) also offers an award that supports travel to conferences, professional meetings, and professional development meetings. Unlike Graduate Studies' travel awards, students do not have to be presenting at the conference in order to be eligible for the award (but it helps!). More information can be found on Grad Studies' website: http://gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/ssupport/internal_travel.html.

Individual departments also offer travel awards for graduate students. Students can check with their major professors or home department offices to see what opportunities are available in individual departments.