Research grant
Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant 2026-27
UC Nature (University of California Natural Reserve System)
- Up to $3,000
- Master’s · PhD
- United States
- Apply directly
- Open to all fields
About
The Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant Program of UC Nature, the University of California Natural Reserve System, funds graduate research conducted at its reserves, encouraging students in any discipline to establish independent field projects. Awards of up to $3,000 each, from up to $38,000 available, support field work at one or more of the 42 UC Nature reserves. The application follows elements of an NSF proposal, giving students experience in writing proposals, managing a research budget and reporting progress, and recipients are invited to present their findings at the UC Nature Symposium. Since 1988 more than 500 UC students have received over $1 million in Mathias funding for projects ranging from intertidal invertebrate responses to predators and plant ranges in the White Mountains to tick-borne disease ecology in California.
Eligibility
Covers: Up to $3,000 per applicant for field work at UC Nature reserves: supplies and minor equipment, reserve user fees, actual food and travel costs to, from and at the reserve, and special logistical costs. Excludes salaries and stipends, travel to scholarly meetings, publication costs, classroom books, computers or printers, and laboratory analyses.
Applicants must be enrolled at a University of California campus, and the field research must take place at one or more UC Nature reserves in California.
Graduate students enrolled in a PhD or master's programme at a University of California campus, from any department or discipline, whose field research uses at least one UC Nature reserve for a significant part of the project. Reserve director approval is required, and research must have the necessary permits and approvals (collecting permits and IACUC approval for animal work or specimen collection; UC IRB approval for human-subjects research). Past Mathias recipients are eligible only if they submitted their final reports.
Source: ucnature.org