Financing your degree is an obstacle faced by all students. Support through loans, fellowships, and/or employment is available to both incoming and continuing graduate students through the Financial Aid Office, the University, FSPH, the Department, and affiliated research centers. As a graduate student, it is critical to develop a habit of searching for funding. Taking the initiative to search for opportunities should be done continuously: Apply EARLY, OFTEN, and be PERSISTENT. This will help you later on in your career as a director searching for funding to support programs, or a PI applying for grants to fund research projects.
The mission of UCLA’s Financial Wellness Program is to empower all Bruins to confidently navigate their finances in a way that supports their overall well-being. This program fosters financial literacy skills through workshops, coaching and online educational efforts. Additionally, we aim to encourage students to know who, when and why to ask for help. Overall, the program centralizes and advocates for student economic support services on campus.
Travel support for students presenting at conferences is offered by both the department and FSPH.
Instructions on how to apply and reimbursement form is available for download.
Please note the following:
Applications for conference reimbursement will start with APHA each year. Students are also able to apply for travel reimbursement for conferences held after APHA and before the end of the June.
If you are presenting at a conference before APHA, please email the CHS SAO asap after you receive the acceptance notice to be considered for support.
The maximum amount of support for APHA is dependent on the number of students who will present.
Travel funding will be granted as a reimbursement after the conference. You will need to cover costs up front, then submit original receipts after the conference in order to receive the funding. We are unable to provide funding before the conference.
The maximum amount of support for conferences other than APHA will be dependent on the amount of funds available after APHA, the conference location, and type of presentation. To determine if funding will be available and to save a slot, please contact the CHS SAO asap after you receive the acceptance notice from the conference coordinator.
If you have been accepted to multiple conferences within the year, the amount of support offered may be decreased per application. This is to help other students receive a chance for support.
Students can apply to and receive support from both CHS and FSPH.
Travel funding will not be considered for students who are only attending a conference. Applicants must be accepted to present.
Instructions will be emailed by Arlecia Powell-Halley sometime in the Fall quarter.
As a UCLA student, three main units on-campus - the Department, FSPH, and UCLA Division of Graduate Education, offer fellowships, if funding is available:
The Department typically has a small amount of funds, and it's availability is highly variable each year. These funds are very limited and are awarded on the basis of scholarship and financial need. For new students, recipients were notified with their admission email from FSPH. For continuing students (2nd year+), call for applications will be sent by the SAO if funding is available.
The Fielding School of Public Health has a limited number of interest-based fellowships and scholarships for Masters and Doctoral students. Formal announcements and fellowship applications for School funding opportunities are sent to students via email from the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs upon availability throughout the academic school year. For new students, recipients were notified with their admission email from FSPH.
For MPH students completing the fieldwork in the Summer, FSPH typically sends out a list of available funding opportunities during Winter Quarter.
To prepare for upcoming academic year funding opportunities, a booklet is sent to all graduate students via email from the Division of Graduate Education in December. More information can be found on their website.
The Graduate Division offers a a searchable database, GRAPES, of 540 private and publicly funded awards, grants, and fellowships of interest to prospective and current graduate students, students working on a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation, and postdoctoral scholars. You may opt to subscribe to the Grad Fellowships Listserv.
The UCLA Graduate Division has also created a fellowship directory listing starting points of where to find fellowships.
Students who wish to submit a research grant to the federal government (NIH, NSF), private foundations (RWJF, AHA, Blue Cross, etc), or UC seed grants which require a University signatory authority must contact the Department's Pre-Award Specialist. Due to the numerous policies, documentation, and multi-office reviews needed for these grant proposals, please contact the Pre-Award Specialist at least 30 business days before the grant submission deadline. The current specialist is,
Luis Diaz, ldiaz@ph.ucla.edu, Room 36-071 CHS
The Pre-Award Specialist will assist you with the administrative aspects of completing a grant proposal, will coordinate with the UCLA Office for Contracts and Grants (OCGA) on your behalf, and will ensure that all materials per the grant's RFA is completed correctly.
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