Funding Opportunities

Davis Projects for Peace

Davis Projects for Peace is an initiative for all students at the Davis United World College Scholars Program partner schools to design their own grassroots projects - anywhere in the world - which promote peace and address the root causes of conflict among parties. We encourage applicants to use their creativity to design projects and employ innovative techniques for engaging project participants in ways that focus on conflict resolution, reconciliation, building understanding and breaking down barriers which cause conflict, and finding solutions for resolving conflict and maintaining peace. Through a competition on over 90 campuses, projects will be selected for funding at $10,000 each.  

For more information or to apply, please contact Susan Young, Director of the Office for Religious and Spiritual Life

Donald A. Strauss Scholarship Foundation

The Strauss Scholarship Foundation aims to empower students to carry out their vision for social change in the public arena. No fewer than ten and no more than fifteen $15,000 scholarships are awarded annually, to fund student-designed and implemented public service projects. The scholarship is given to sophomores and juniors, with a high GPA and the desire "to make a difference" in local, regional, national, or international communities. Student must apply through Oxy in order to be considered for by Strauss Foundation.

For more information or to apply, please contact Jennifer Locke, Director of International and National Fellowships. 

The Truman Scholarship- Harry S. Truman Foundation

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation - the federal memorial to our thirty-third President - awards merit-based scholarships to college students who plan to pursue careers in government or elsewhere in public service. Truman Scholars receive up to $30,000 for graduate or professional school, participate in leadership development activities, and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the federal government. The Foundation has supported Truman Scholars in many fields of study, from agriculture, biology, engineering, technology, medicine, and environmental management, to fields such as economics, education, government, history, international relations, law, political science, public administration, nonprofit management, public health, and public policy

For more information on the nomination procedure, please contact Jennifer Locke, Director of International and National Fellowships. 

CA Campus Compact's Community Engagement Student Fellowship

California Campus Compact’s Community Engagement Student Fellowship (CESF) program is a 4-month initiative specifically designed to support student leaders advancing service, service-learning and community engagement at California Campus Compact member campuses throughout the state. Students are engaged in providing direct service to the community or supporting a service-learning program, or both. Students are involved in addressing every major issue confronting California & beyond– from access to and success in higher education to economic development, health disparities to homelessness and poverty. 

For more information on CESF opportunities, please contact Marcus A. Rodriguez, Asst. Dean of Students and SLICE Director

CORO Fellowship Program

The Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs is a full-time, nine month, graduate-level experiential leadership training program that prepares diverse, intelligent, and committed individuals for effective and ethical leadership in the public affairs arena. The Fellows program is offered in Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and St. Louis. Sixty-eight Fellows are chosen nationally each year. You must have a commitment to community engagement! 

Capital Fellows Program

These nationally recognized fellows programs set you up in the 18 Assembly Fellows, 18 Senate Fellows, 18 Executive Fellows, and 10 Judicial Administration Fellows. This is an opportunity to engage in public service and prepare for future careers, while actively contributing to the development and implementation of public policy in California. Fellows in each program work for 11 months, receive health benefits and a monthly stipend of $1972 and are considered employees of the state capitol of California. They work as full-time members of a legislative, executive, or judicial branch office, and are typically given assignments with a significant amount of responsibility and challenges. Fellows also enroll as graduate students at Sacramento State and receive 12 graduate credits from the Sacramento State Government Department or Public Policy and Administration Program. The enrollment fees are paid by the programs. 

The Morris K. Udall Foundation

The Morris K. Udall Foundation is committed to educating a new generation of Americans who are strongly committed to improving, preserving, and protecting the environment and our national heritage. The scholarship is offered to students from a broad range of disciplines. Majors have included environmental engineering, agriculture, biology and other natural science, natural resource management, political science, sociology, anthropology, geography, cultural studies, history, public policy, and pre-law. The Foundation will award approximately 80 undergraduate scholarships of up to $5,000 to juniors and seniors on the basis of merit to TWO groups of students:

1. Those who are college sophomores or juniors in the current academic year, have outstanding potential, and who study the environment and related field.
2. Native American and Alaska Native students who are college sophomores or juniors in the current academic year, have outstanding potential, and are in fields related to health care or tribal public policy.

The PPIA Fellowship Program

The PPIA Fellowship Program is designed to prepare college juniors or rising seniors from diverse backgrounds for graduate studies in public and/or international affairs and groom them for professional roles in public service. There is an array of opportunities under the Fellowship which span a period of development from the junior year of college to beyond the completion of a graduate degree.

The APLE

The APLE is a state-funded, competitive teacher incentive program administered by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC). The APLE program is designed to encourage outstanding students to become teachers and serve in critical teacher shortage areas in California's public elementary and secondary schools. Under the provisions of the APLE program, CSAC may assume up to $11,000* in outstanding college loan balances. To be eligible, participants must teach in a eligible California school (K-12) in one of the following (see APLE application for details): designated subject matter areas (mathematics, science, agriculture, business, foreign language, or education specialist instruction (formerly- special education)); designated schools serving populations of students from low-income families; low-performing schools; schools serving rural areas; state special schools, or schools with a high percentage of emergency permit teachers.

Kaiser Fellowships

The URC is able to support one-two students in research at the Kaiser-Sunset Research facility. These fellowships are targeted to underrepresented students interested in careers in the health professions. Specific projects will be defined by the participating Kaiser faculty. If you are interested in this program, please make an appointment with April Mazzeo in the URC to discuss the program. Students who participate in this program receive a stipend of $3900 and subsidized on-campus room and board and are encouraged to participate in the activities of the Summer Research Program as far as their schedule permits.

The Institute on Philanthropy and Voluntary Service

The Institute on Philanthropy and Voluntary Service is an intensive eight-week summer residential program for college undergraduates interested in volunteerism and careers in the nonprofit sector. Students take two courses on the history and ethics of philanthropy and volunteerism worth 6 hours of academic credit from Georgetown University, and hold internships with nonprofit organizations, attend presentations by leading figures from the nonprofit sector and participate in a variety of service projects. Over half of the students accepted to the program will receive a full or partial scholarship. The Institute is sponsored by The Fund for American Studies and the Center on Philanthropy at Georgetown University.

National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health offers a service-connected scholarship program, the Undergraduate Scholarship Program for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds (UGSP), to students who are committed to pursuing careers in health research or basic biomedical science research. This program offers up to $20,000 per year in financial aid as well as research in the summer and paid research training after graduation.

Noyce Teaching Scholarship

Receive your Level-1 teaching credential through Occidental College with the support of the OxyMS Teaching Scholars Project, which is dedicated to the development of excellent Math and Science Teachers in urban school settings. Beginning in 2009 and ending in 2014, each year 10 distinguished applicants will be selected annually as OxyMS Teaching Scholars. They will receive a $15,000 scholarship/stipend to partially fund tuition in the credential program at Occidental College. In exchange, recipients will be expected to teach at least two years in a Los Angeles high-need high school. This Project provides specialized mentoring, peer-group resources, and development of academic leadership skills in content and pedagogy.