San Diego Match Fellowships - Requests and Nominations

The San Diego Match Fellowship program has been developed as a means of increasing campus diversity. The program is motivated by the campus’ commitment to be fully inclusive and supportive of all students, and by the belief that a diverse graduate student body enhances the quality of all students' educational experience. With the approval of the Dean of the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, fellowships are provided as matching commitments to strengthen select extramural grant proposals that request support for significant numbers of graduate students.

The San Diego Match Fellowship is a recruitment tool that provides fellowship support to students who merit admission into graduate programs at UC San Diego and whose presence would enhance diversity to the benefit of the entire campus community. Although the University seeks racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, California law prohibits preferential treatment of individuals or groups on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. Consequently, selection of award recipients may not be based on these criteria. State law and Regental policy permit initiatives designed to encourage qualified students from all segments of society to attend UC San Diego.

Upon receiving a notice of award, please notify GEPA by emailing gradfinance@ucsd.edu, and share the Kuali Award Number, anticipated program/project start date, and commitment letter received from GEPA. The sooner we are made aware of a successful proposal, the sooner we can assist you with the next steps of nominating a fellow. 

Currently enrolled or incoming graduate students at UC San Diego can be nominated in anticipation of the program/project start date (for example the NOA arrives in April, but the project does not start until July 1st; in this case, fellow nominations can be submitted starting in April).

PI's should adhere to the diversity requirements as outlined by their funding agency and be prepared to submit statistics and narratives to their funding agency at the required intervals. In collaboration with GEPA, the graduate program should have a recruitment plan that outlines how a diverse applicant pool will be achieved.

A principal investigator or research group that has been provided a San Diego Match Fellowship as a matching commitment should work with an appropriate graduate program/department to identify eligible fellows.

• As the fellowship is a recruitment tool, only first year or second year students are eligible

  • Incoming students: have been nominated for admission to graduate study and plan to enroll and register for classes at UC San Diego during the term of the fellowship

  • Second-year students: be in good academic standing and meet established departmental criteria for satisfactory academic progress toward the degree

• Must be assigned a faculty mentor

• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident

Nominees must complete the "Additional Education Experiences" section of the admissions application, or complete the cover sheet and accompanying statement linked below in Step #6.  Fellowships will be awarded based on applicants' eligibility (having social, educational or economic backgrounds that would add to the diversity of UC San Diego's graduate programs) and merit (based on academic preparation and potential). Nominating programs must provide a convincing explanation of how the nominee’s presence would enhance diversity within the program or campus. The following are examples of how a student could enhance campus or program diversity: 

• Student has unique skills, talents, or experiences that would be of benefit to others and would enhance the program or campus. 

• Student has an interest in an innovative approach to or application of the discipline that would enhance diversity.

• Student has a strong interest in undertaking research that would address issues of ethnic, social, or economic diversity.

• Student has overcome significant educational, social, or economic disadvantage or adversity.

During the Academic Year, the nomination should be made at least one month in advance of the program/project start date to allow adequate time for review and approval. 

Before submitting a student nomination, the nominating department should:

1. Review the Frequently Asked Questions at the bottom of this Collab page.

2. Connect with the student's Graduate Coordinator in their Academic Home Department (listed here, SSO required) and inform them that their student will be nominated for an SDF Match award.

   1. The student's Graduate Coordinator should ensure that the student will not be temporarily supported through employment (salary and/or fee remission) during the proposed SD Fellowship Match dates.

   2. If financial support must be set up for the student while the SDF Match nomination is reviewed, a fellowship stipend and/or fee payment should be set up in the FSRT. A funding change to SDF Match stipend and/or fee payments can be processed once a nomination is approved.

3. Verify with the student's Graduate Coordinator that the proposed SDF Match award set up details are agreeable with the Academic Home Department. Award Details:

   1. Stipend Dates

   2. Stipend Amounts

   3. Tuition/Fee Payment Quarters

   4. Tuition/Fee Payment Amounts

4. Collect the original Fellowship Commitment Letter issued by GEPA at the time of proposal submission, which outlines the total dollar value of the commitment and submit via the online nomination form.

5. Collect the faculty nomination letter.

6. Collect the student's completed Cover Sheet and Accompanying Statement. 

Once all steps have been completed, the nomination documents can be submitted by completing the San Diego Fellowship Match Student Nomination Google Form:

GEPA staff will approve the fellow nomination as quickly as possible and will reach out if more information is needed. Once the SDF Match nomination has been reviewed, the nominating department will be contacted via Services & Support Ticket.

If you have questions about the nomination process or eligibility criteria, a current fellow who has already been selected, or questions about remaining fellowship slots for future years, email gradfellowships@ucsd.edu to open a ticket in the Services & Support portal.